Chris Moneymaker is one of the most famous poker tournament winners of all time. Not only did he famously win the 2003 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, Moneymaker since added wins on the European Poker Tour, the Asia Pacific Poker Tour and the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series — not to mention victories on his own poker tour!
And that’s not even counting his online results, which not only include the cheap satellite win that saw him qualify for the WSOP Main Event (and $2.5M) for under $100, but a final table at ACR Poker where he landed a $382K payday.
So whether it’s to do with online poker or the WSOP Main Event, when Moneymaker talks poker, we shut up and listen. Here are 12 things we’ve learned.
Chris Moneymaker’s tips for online poker tourneys
Plan your schedule
You need to pick events on the schedule that fit your bankroll and skill level. And when planning your schedule, make sure to have downtime. The weekend is always going to be softer, both online and live. Also the game selection on the weekend is more comprehensive.
Mystery bounty tournaments
When it comes to mystery bounty tournaments my advice is to be aggressive early and build big stacks. Have a bankroll big enough to fire multiple bullets so that you can go after that stack.
You need this big stack later so that you can call off small stack shoves with -EV hands, which is standard in a mystery bounty format. You call off -EV because the value is so high to bust a player. Push edges and try to accumulate a stack.
Big field events
Navigating large fields online and live is pretty similar. The larger fields have more weaker players, which is good but also bad. Weaker players are often harder to put on ranges.
To counter this, I generally do not 3-bet as much in larger fields, but instead I will call in position and play post-flop. I generally try to keep pots smaller if at all possible.
Events with slow structures
While big stacks are important, these events are unique online in that you get tons of play. The structure is slow so there is a delicate balance between accumulation and survival.
You will see some players going nuts early on trying to get chips, while others are in survival mode. Pick up on which players are doing what and adjust your game against them accordingly.
Big buy-in tournaments
Play your style. Don’t be afraid. Treat the game like your normal buy-in and don’t try to get fancy or do things out of the ordinary.
Many times in these events, people will look up your stats and see you are a smaller buy-in guy and try to attack you. Just realize that people will apply a lot of pressure to you based on that info. You can use that to your advantage.
If things don’t go to plan
You're always disappointed when you bust a big event, but you realize that’s part of the game. I don’t get real upset when I make the right decisions. I get more upset if I do something silly or stupid. I generally feel fine by the time I leave the tournament area. I do not have to do anything special after I bust as I realize it’s part of the game.
Chris Moneymaker’s tips for the WSOP Main Event
Pre-tournament prep
It’s more about sleep than study for me. I have studied and prepared long before the tournaments start. Then it’s just about getting adequate rest each night before the long grind.
Overall strategy
The Main Event is different because not only do you have weaker players, you have many players that are there for a bucket list experience. Players in this event value their tournament life more than in any other tournament. That can be exploited and you are able to get away with so many bluffs against these players. The hard part is identifying who is scared money vs. just bag players.
While it’s definitely special, I treat it like any other tourney now. I used to psych myself up to play the Main Event every year, and I didn’t cash for 16 years. When I started to just treat it like any other event, my results improved a lot.
Why you should play from the start
You'll hear a lot of pros talk about the advantages of late registration. I'm sure some will even buy directly into Day 2 with 75 big blinds this year. That's not my plan.
One thing that makes this event so unique is the wide variety of skill levels of players who you see putting up $10,000. A lot of amateurs and satellite winners will be in the mix early.
The early levels are a great chance to accumulate valuable chips for later in the tournament. I pick my spots carefully. The two-hour-long levels allow you to be extremely patient. People will make mistakes, and I want to be there to catch their chips. You can't do that if you're not there.
Of course, there will be good, tough players at the table, too. Still, on Day 1 I don’t get out of line much, and neither do they. I try to dodge the better players as much as possible. It's not something you worry too much about on Day 1, that's more of a Day 2 or 3 problem.
Day 1 strategy
The deep starting stack and long levels mean that the Main Event is a marathon, not a sprint. You can't win the tournament on Day 1, but you can sure lose it.
Until this year, I don't think I'd been all-in on Day 1 in 10 years. You just don't need to be most of the time. You can sit back, be patient, and let the chips come to you; there will be plenty of opportunities.
In the first couple of levels, I'm spending most of my time just trying to figure out who the players are. I'm analyzing their playstyle; do they fold too much, play too many hands, or call too much? How am I going to play against them?
There's no reason to force the action, this is an 11-day event.
Take all the information you can get
The Main Event is special for a lot of people. As such, people are generally happy to chat and get to know each other in the early levels. Hey, I like doing that too, but I'll be using that information as well.
People are generally honest when they're just having a conversation. Where they're from, what they do for a living, how many times they've played the Main Event; it's all valuable. People might lie about what hand they had on the river, but not about the bar league where they won their seat.
I'll look at how they handle their chips, how confident they are at the table, how they interact with the dealer. These all tell me their comfort level on the biggest stage. Again, this is all information you can't get if you're not there.
Give yourself the best chance of success
You have no idea how many times I see people who can't keep their eyes open on a Day 2 because they stayed out partying the night before.
Don't make that mistake. But, in order to avoid it, you have to make a plan in advance.
Vegas always has something going on. Every day, 24/7, something is happening in that city. It's a pro and a con about the city. If you jump at every opportunity, you'll end up sleeping, or wishing you could sleep, while I'm raking pots.
You should know which events you plan to play before you step foot off the plane. Plan days off between events if you'll be there for a while. Get plenty of rest at night. These tips may sounds basic, but discipline in the small things makes all the difference in a city like Vegas.
I'd personally recommend never playing more than two tournaments in one day. Bust one, maybe hop in a second one you have as a backup plan. I've played three and four before, and busted them all. It's not good for the psyche, or the bankroll, usually.
Vegas will wear you out. The heat, the long days, the non-stop distractions; they take their toll. After four or five days in Vegas, I'm tired. And I don't party, I don't drink, none of that. It can be an exhausting grind.
These days, I fly in for the Main Event. When I bust, I'm ready to catch the next flight home.
Finally, listen to your body. These days can be difficult when you're at the top of your game. If you're stretched too thin, exhausted, or hung over all the time, you're asking to burn out or worse.
Chris Moneymaker is an ambassador for ACR Poker and a member of the PokerOrg Player Advisiory Board. Follow him on X and join the action in the Sunday Moneymaker tournament..
Featured image courtesy of Manuel Kovsca/Rational Holdings Ltd.
