Christopher Bryan Moneymaker (born November 21, 1975) is an American poker player who won the Main Event at the 2003 World Series of Poker (WSOP). His 2003 win is said to have revolutionized poker because he was the first person to become a world champion after qualifying at an online poker site. This has been referred to in the press as the "Moneymaker effect".

Early life

Moneymaker was born in Atlanta, Georgia. He attended Farragut High School in Knoxville, Tennessee, and later earned a master's degree in accounting from the University of Tennessee.

Poker career

World Series of Poker

Moneymaker was working as an accountant when he won a seat in the Main Event of the 2003 World Series of Poker through an $86 satellite tournament at the PokerStars online poker card room. Although largely unknown prior to the tournament, on day one of the tournament his skills caught the attention of professional sports handicapper Lou Diamond, who called Moneymaker his "dark horse to win the whole tournament." Moneymaker went on to win the first prize of $2.5 million, instantly garnering poker superstar status. The 2003 WSOP Main Event was his first live poker tournament, and he made the final table by knocking out Phil Ivey who finished 10th. On the final table, Moneymaker knocked out several players, including Tomer Benvenisti and former Main Event champion Dan Harrington. One of Moneymaker's most memorable hands was heads-up against Sam Farha, when on the river he bluffed "all in" with King high. Farha folded a pair of nines, quickly changing the momentum of the match. Moneymaker eventually won the tournament when his beat Farha's on a board of , giving Moneymaker a full house () to Farha's two pairs (). After winning the Main Event, he quit his job to serve as a celebrity spokesman for Series owner Harrah's Entertainment as well as PokerStars. He also started his own company, Moneymaker Gaming, As part of Moneymaker's success, it appears that Moneymaker misremembered the buy-in to the satellite that he won on PokerStars, leading to the error in the title of his autobiography, which refers to winning a $40 satellite, rather than the correct figure of $86.

Other poker tournaments

On the World Poker Tour, Moneymaker finished second at the 2004 Shooting Stars event and won $200,000.

During Event 5 of the 2008 World Championship of Online Poker, which was a $10,300 buy-in of No Limit Hold'em, Moneymaker finished in sixth place, taking home over $139,000. He also did well in Event 16, the $215 Pot Limit Omaha with Rebuys, where he finished fifth, earning over $28,000.

Moneymaker won the Deep Stack Pot Limit Omaha event of the World Poker Open tournament in July 2009 and won $15,889.

Moneymaker placed 11th in the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event, earning $130,000.

In 2011, Moneymaker placed second at the National Heads-Up Poker Championship against Erik Seidel, earning $300,000.

As of June 11, 2025, his total live tournament winnings are $8,294,912,

Personal life

Moneymaker has been married twice. He and his first wife divorced in 2004; in an interview for a 10-year retrospective on the 2003 WSOP Main Event, he said "The main reason was me wanting to be a traveling poker pro. She didn't sign up for that life. She was married to a stay-at-home accountant who was not traveling the world, gone all the time, and gambling a lot of money. And it was a choice I had to make. I tried to be good, stay at my job, and be that accountant, but in all honesty I didn't want to." With his first wife, Moneymaker has a daughter.

Bibliography

  • Moneymaker: How an Amateur Poker Player Turned $40 into $2.5 Million at the World Series of Poker (2005)
  • Chris Moneymaker: A True Story, Graphic Novel (2015)

References

  • Chris Moneymaker Interview (audio + transcript)
  • Card Player profile
  • Hendon Mob profile
  • PokerNews profile
  • WPT profile
  • WSOP profile