Interviews with famous poker people

Interview with Chris Moneymaker

  Chris Moneymaker: the name always gets attention. If the person hearing it is a fan of the poker world and the pros who play in it, they recognize the name of the 2003 World Series of Poker champion, the man who turned a win in an online tournament into a seat at the biggest event in the land, winning millions in the process. If the person hearing it is not a poker fan, especially after they hear the story of who he is, always asks the same qu3estion, usually while laughing; “Is that his real name?”

  It is indeed, and Chris is no stranger to making money; he was an accountant before his big win, and after he is now a big time celebrity endorser for PokerStars.com and Canadian Club whiskey, and has his own business.

  In a telephone conversation where Chris proved to be friendly, honest, and willing to answer questions abut his life and his game, the poker super star showed he was very down-to-earth, a quality commented on by most who meet and know him. He did a great job summing this up on his own in a PokerStars.net (the play money version of the online poker site) commercial, where he said, referring to his life after the big win, “Same guy; nicer car.”

  Here are the questions and his answers, asked and given around dinner time on November 1st, 2005.

LaunchPoker (LP): If you had to give only one piece of advice to a player who wants to turn pro, what would it be?
Chris Moneymaker (CM): Have a day job. (Note: he was completely serious when he said this.)

LP: Why is that?
CM: A lot of people don’t understand what it takes to become a professional poker player; the size of the bankroll you need, the time it takes, the sponsors and endorsements you need. People see the poker on TV and think it is all glamorous- which it can be, if you have (the support you need) Without all of that it is a tough way to make a living.

LP: Every story that has your name has an obligatory “anyone can do this” feel to it, that if Chris Moneymaker can come off a $40 satellite and win $2.5 million, beating out hundreds of pros, then anyone can.” How true is that statement?
CM: It is not very true at all. I’m better than most people you see out there. I can put an amateur on a hand within 8 or 10 hands. I’m pretty good at knowing what those two cards are, not many people can do that.

LP: From interviews you have done and your book, it seems you had a childhood that set you up to win the 2003 WSOP. A family of gamblers who hate to lose, an innate affinity for cards and card games of all sorts, and a big focus on competing and winning; does a player need some sort of edge to become a successful poker pro?
CM: Well, you gotta have some gamble in you. You have to be willing to take chances, you have to have good math ability, to be able to calculate pot odds, you need the ability to read people- the key to all of that is having a great memory.

LP: If a player isn’t born with an edge, such as a photographic memory, a steel trap/ mathematical mind or a native ability to read people, is it possible for them to create an edge, through experience and training?
CM: It’s possible. I don’t have a photographic memory. I have a good memory for poker, but I can’t remember what I had for breakfast, lunch or dinner sometimes; but I can remember hands I played two years ago.

LP: Has the spotlight on you dimmed or brightened in the last two years?
CM: It is about the same. Wherever I go it’s pretty insane. I’m always noticed wherever I go, endorsement offers are there; its about the same as it was two years ago.

LP: How’s that Moneymaker movie coming along?
CM: We are so busy right now, there is so much going on, it’s tough to go down that road. We’ve approacyhed different producers, one is interested in doing it. We have a couple of companies working on it, but we have so much else going on; it will be later for (the movie).

LP: How did it feel to write your book?
CM: Amazing. It was hard. I’m not a writer, so having a ghostwriter come in definitely helped. But is was great, fun to do.

LP: You returned to your job after your big 2003 win and even after you left to pursue the opportunities it opened up, you said you would one day return to traditional work. Has that changed at all?
CM: Well, traditional work would be different now. I own my own company, so running that is what I will be doing. So that would be my work.

LP: Is your company poker-related?
CM: Yes, poker chips- it’s poker chips and poker accessories.

LP: The Jeff Gordon Foundation Poker Classic tournaments are about to begin; what are you looking forward to most about that experience?
CM: The fact that we can help out a charity is nice, and the fact I get to hang out with a NASCAR driver is a fantastic opportunity.

LP: It’s been said you began playing poker competitively after seeing the movie “Rounders”; do you ever stop and think, “Wow; I AM a rounder!”?
CM: Oh, maybe a little bit. I don’t sit down and play and try get a blind an hour. I started playing competitively a year and a half ago. A rounder or a grinder plays a lot of cash games, but I don’t. I play for about four hours(at a time).

LP: Because Rounders was such an inspiration, what was it like to be sitting next to and playing with Johnny Chan, who was in the movie? Was it surreal?
CM: Super surreal. He was the idol in the show, and to be able to sit down and play next to him was pretty cool.

LP: You’ve become an icon, a celebrity, an author and a better poker player since your 2003 win; what’s next?
CM: Just a lot of family time. I plan on promoting PokerStars and Canadian Club whiskey- I’m on the road doing that now- for the next six months. I plan on playing in about six tournaments a year. I plan on doing what I am doing for a while.

  At this point my time was up; Chris is a busy guy, and it was great for him to take his time out from travel and appearance, not to mention playing poker, to talk with LaunchPoker.com. He wished me well and we hung up, me to type up this interview from my hastily written notes, and him to rest up for his next duty as a poker icon—or perhaps he logged on to PokerStars under his “Money 800” ID and allowed a few hopefuls to take a shot at him. If he did, I’m certain he cleaned up, all the while answering questions from his opponents and generally being a nice guy.

Related Links:
Chris Moneymaker

by LaunchPoker
Copyright 2005 by Launchpoker.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed

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