Chris Moneymaker

Chris Moneymaker is the embodiment of the American dream applied to poker. His name is forever associated with the WSOP Main Event, which he won in 2003 for $2.5 million, having qualified for $86. A tournament that changed the life of this amateur, but also the economy of poker, which boomed after the "Moneymaker effect".

It's every poker fan's dream plan: Start with a few dollars, find yourself playing the biggest tournaments in the world and winning the titles, and the jackpots that go with them. Chris Moneymaker has accomplished this feat in the biggest and most prestigious of tournaments.

From $86 to $2.5 million

In 2003, Chris Moneymaker led a quiet life as an accountant in Tennessee. Passionate about poker, he played on Pokerstars and managed to qualify online, via an $86 satellite for the famous WSOP Main Event, at $10,000 per entry. A great challenge for the first live tournament of his life.

Like something out of a movie, Chris Moneymaker broke through the field of 826 players to find himself heads-up against one of the legends of the game, Sam Farha, an experienced player with a glittering track record, used to big tournaments and high cash game limits. Faced with an opponent who was supposed to be the favourite, Chris Moneymaker took the lead with a move that has been remembered as "the bluff of the century". After checking-checking the flop with K-7 (king of spades) on a 9-2-6 flop with two spades, Moneymaker placed a powerful check-raise on the turn 8 of spades. With absolutely nothing on the river 3 (hearts), Chris decides to go all-in, for 1.5 times the pot. This move caused Farha to fold a pair of 9s. Moneymaker would finish off his opponent a few hands later to win the biggest tournament in the world, for a whopping $2.5 million.

Notoriety and a new career

This unlikely journey would change the poker world forever. His story will be widely publicised in the media, bringing widespread publicity to online rooms and the poker industry in general. For his part, Chris Moneymaker gave up his job as an accountant to become the face of world poker. He was sponsored by casinos as well as Pokerstars, set up his own company, Moneymaker Gaming, and began travelling around the world to play major tournaments.

In 2004, he finished runner-up in the San Jose WPT for $200,000. His prize list wouldn't get much bigger, apart from another runner-up finish in the NBC National Heads-up Championship for $300,000. Chris Moneymaker returned to his amateur ways, playing much more accessible tournaments on the American circuit and on a few trips. He would also write a book recounting his journey, "How one poker amateur turned $40 into $2.5 million", setting down in marble incidentally an inaccuracy, misremembering the price of his famous satellite.