WSOP: Chris Moneymaker Chasing His Own Ghost

Diana Cox | May 29, 2009

Chris Moneymaker playing Event #2 ($40,000 No Limit Hold'em)

Six years after setting off a boom in the poker world, Chris Moneymaker is off to an excellent start to the 2009 World Series of Poker. Moneymaker played strong for 10 levels during day one of Event #2 ($40,000 No Limit Hold ‘em), finishing the day with a chip stack of 805,000.

A bracelet for Moneymaker in this event could spark a whole new wave of the ”Moneymaker Effect”, the surge of people who began playing poker online and in card rooms after his storybook win in the Main Event of the WSOP 2003, but Moneymaker himself does not think so. “The poker world is pretty strong right now, I don’t know if me winning would do anything to it. It may help, it may not,” he said.

While the rest of the world may have been inspred by the story of an accountant from Tennessee turning $39 into $2.5 million, Moneymaker is pretty modest when it comes to discussing the effect he has had on the game. “I was at the right place at the right time,” he said. He does not think much about terms like “Moneymaker Effect,” “if you think about it to much, crazy thoughts get in your head.” Moneymaker also said he has not noticed a change in the poker world since his one of a kind win, “I wasn’t really around when poker was dying off, so to me it just seems normal,” he said.

Moneymaker started off day two at a table with Doyle Brunson, Alex Jacob, Ted Forrest and Antonio Esfandiari and focused on collecting as many chips as he could rather than what a win in the event would mean for amateur poker players all over the world. “I’m at a pretty tough table, well all tables in a 40k are tough,” he said. Moneymaker is not concerned with bringing more players to live and online poker rooms. “Winning would be great for me and certainly great for my family,” he said.

Moneymaker said he felt great and played great during day one but had trouble getting in the zone during day two. But in the zone or not, he managed to stay strong during the early levels of the day. He kept his chip stack larger than average and found himself in the position of chip leader at one point. “I’m not seeing the cards I want today,” he said. “I lost queens versus kings, but overall I’ve been able to keep my losses to a minmum.” Moneymaker’s plan was to coast through, concentrate on getting into the money and work his way up the ladder from there. “First things first,” he said.

Moneymaker is planning to play four events during the 2009 WSOP. And no matter the outcome of Event #2 or any other event he plays in this year, the story of Chris Moneymaker will continue. “I love playing poker and I envision myself playing in the future,” he said. The accountant and father of two turned professional poker player with a story straight out of a movie has no plans to leave the felt anytime soon. “You’ll see me here 20 years from now.”

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