ACR Poker Pro Chris Moorman knows a thing or two about winning tournaments – online and live – and has the results in both disciplines to back up his knowledge. With well over $15M in online earnings and an additional $10.2M won in live events, Moorman has a particular set of skills which have enabled him to find success in both realms.
With this in mind, PokerOrg reached out to Moorman to get his thoughts on his own game and how you can best approach the upcoming $10M GTD Mystery Bounty Venom tournaments on ACR Poker.
You’ve been one of the top online players for years with remarkable consistency. What’s your secret for maintaining focus and composure during long online sessions with multiple tables and a high volume of hands?
I try to make sure I’m having fun whilst I’m playing and avoid being on my phone outside of sync breaks when possible. Also, I remind myself that all it takes is one tournament to get out of it when you have that sinking feeling of being buried in a session. Some of my favorite online sessions ever are when I get even or out of it in the last tournament of the day. So, I try to think of those and have a never-give-up attitude whilst playing.
Coming close to a WPT title twice — how do you process those moments where success and falling short mix together? How long does it take to feel great about the deep run and the big score?
I think you have to take all the positives, and there are so many of them, rather than being mad that you didn’t win. Obviously, in the moment, it's very tough to bust out when so close to the finish line. But I try to look at the big picture and as long as I’m happy overall with my play it's best to enjoy the moment and celebrate the result. Both times I was able to go out and have a great evening with my friends and I think that's something that I’ve gotten better at dealing with over the years.
Chris Moorman finished in fourth place at the 2024 WPT World Championship. How has your strategy changed since you first started playing poker?
So much! I could write an essay on all the things that I’ve switched up. In general, though, I try to never stay too stagnant on my approach to the game and to always be looking at ways to improve and things that I need to work on. If you stand still in this game, the results won’t be pretty.
How should online players who are playing in their first Venom approach the unique Mystery Bounty format? Do you have a preferred version, PLO vs NLH?
Day 1 is still much the same with regards to it being a mystery bounty. Obviously, gaining a big stack is important so that you cover as many people as possible for Day 2 when the bounties come into play. Therefore, I think it's good to take some higher variance lines and really try to crush the bubble for Day 2 as people really don’t want to bust near the end of the day. I will probably only fire the NLH one unless I satellite the PLO one as I don’t feel sharp enough on PLO equities to play that.
The dual Venom Mystery Bounty tournaments kick off January 19. 
