Chris Moneymaker History, profile, and background

Now, among professional poker players, perhaps nobody has ever made it into the empyrean of famous poker players for their name like Chris Moneymaker. Now, of course, I need to tell you that Moneymaker is a top-winning professional poker player; but he has a name that some would say is, well, quite a coincidence. "Moneymaker"?

Few people have ever heard the question "Is that your real name?" more than Mr. Chris Moneymaker, famous riverboat gambler...er, that is, famous poker player.

Perhaps what is more ironic is that Chris Moneymaker started off his professional life as an accountant with a degree from the University of Tennessee!

But gambling at cards came to Moneymaker way before he needed to make life decisions about what to do to make money. He started off playing cards with his grandmother and then became an avid fan of blackjack. While living a normal suburban life where serious gambling was just a fantasy, one day, Chris Moneymaker and his friends watched the movie Rounders starring Matt Damon. He became inspired to become a professional card player during that viewing.

But, he didn't have much access to (legal) poker games where he was living, so Moneymaker relied on learning Texas Hold'em poker through then-new online poker rooms.

After playing at cards online against some cocky unknown card "sharks", Chris discovered the online site but Poker Stars (where, today, he works as a spokesman). The site's multi-table tournament schedule was highly interesting to him, and he became drawn into numerous $20 and $30 events. He became a rising star, cashing and winning some of the biggest events. And all of that was very exciting, until...Moneymaker entered a $39 satellite tournament. Through this, Chris Moneymaker eventually found himself the top of the class among 64 players and he won himself a seat to the main event and a trip to Las Vegas' Binion's Horseshoe for the World Series of Poker. Facing famous poker players like Dan Harrington, Phil Ivey, and Johnny Chan (who, at one point, mocked a slow-to-act Moneymaker by saying to him, "You know it's on you, right?") Moneymaker turned an investment of $39 into $2.5 million at the 2003 WSOP. He has gone on to other important victories since then, too.

Because he is so colorful during play, and because of his all too appropriate name, Chris Moneymaker has been asked if he would consider acting some day. He replies, "Acting is Hollywood. It's an American dream. If you asked just about anybody and said, 'Would you become an actor if given the opportunity?' -- everyone would say yes. Why not? It would be an ideal. It would be an interesting opportunity. But I have other interests as well."

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