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Chris Moneymaker is an American poker player, born in 1975, who won the 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event and $2,500,000 after qualifying through an online satellite on PokerStars. He was the first Main Event champion to qualify through online poker, and PokerNews credits his win, together with the rise of televised poker, with sparking the poker boom of the early 2000s, sometimes called “the Moneymaker Effect”. He was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2019. [1]
Chris Moneymaker: key facts
| Vollständiger Name | Christopher Moneymaker [2] |
|---|---|
| Land | Vereinigte Staaten [1] |
| Geboren | November 21, 1975, Atlanta, Georgia [2] |
| Wohnort | Near Memphis, Tennessee [2] |
| Bekannt für | Winning the 2003 WSOP Main Event after qualifying online; the “Moneymaker Effect” |
| Poker Hall of Fame | Inducted 2019 [8] |
| WSOP-Bracelets | 1 (37 cashes, 6 final tables on WSOP.com) [2] |
| Wichtige Titel | WSOP Main Event 2003; Triton Montenegro $25,000 GG Million$ Live 2024 [1][12] |
| Gewinne bei Live-Turnieren | $8,643,738 as of October 5, 2026 [1] |
Early life and the name Moneymaker
Moneymaker was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on November 21, 1975. [2] He grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee, and became an accountant [3] after earning a master’s degree in accounting from the University of Tennessee. [1]
Moneymaker is his real family name. In a 2021 interview with CNN he explained its origin: “My father is Moneymaker, and we’ve had a long line of males in our family tree.” According to the family story he told, his ancestors made silver and gold coins, and the name was originally Nurmacher: “when they went to England, they took the literal translation of someone that made the silver and gold coins and it was Moneymaker.” [3]
In the spring of 2003 he was a Tennessee accountant working two jobs, and his daughter was born three weeks before the World Series of Poker. He had never played a live tournament; his experience came from playing online, and not at high stakes. [4]
Beginning in poker: the online satellite
Moneymaker won his seat in the $10,000 Main Event through an $86 satellite on PokerStars, according to his WSOP.com and PokerNews profiles. [1][2] Other accounts give a different starting figure: a 2016 PokerNews interview mentions a $39 satellite, [6] a 2009 WSOP.com feature and the title of his memoir say $40, [4] and Card Player described a two-step route, a $40 super-satellite followed by a $600 satellite for the $10,000 seat. [5]
He told CNN that he had not set out to win the seat. With five players left in the final qualifier he was the chip leader but was trying to finish fourth, because that place paid $8,000 in cash: “My goal was to win that eight grand. And a buddy talked me into taking the seat, and that’s how I got the World Series seat.” [3] Because he did not have enough money for travel and a hotel, he sold shares of himself to his father and a family friend to make the trip to Las Vegas. [4]
The 2003 WSOP Main Event
The 2003 Main Event at Binion’s in Las Vegas drew 839 entries, [3] and Card Player noted that only 63 of them had paid the $10,000 entry fee directly; the rest had qualified through satellites, online or in casinos. [5] Moneymaker, then 27, [3] played on the ESPN feature table with hole-card cameras on day 3, where he eliminated Johnny Chan. At the end of day 4, with ten players left, his ace-queen made a bigger full house on the river than Phil Ivey’s nines full, sending Ivey out in 10th place and Moneymaker to the final table as chip leader. At the final table he eliminated Tomer Benvenisti in fifth place, Jason Lester in fourth and Dan Harrington in third, and started heads-up play against Sam Farha with a two-to-one chip lead. [5]
Early in the heads-up match came the hand that made him famous. Holding king-seven against Farha’s queen-nine on a board of nine, six, two, eight and three, Moneymaker moved all in on the river with only king high. Farha, holding a pair of nines, folded. ESPN commentator Norman Chad called it “the Bluff of the Century”. On the final hand Moneymaker’s five-four flopped two pair against Farha’s jack-ten, and a five on the river gave him a full house. Chad’s call was: “This is beyond fairytale. It’s inconceivable!” [3]
The effect on the tournament was immediate. The Main Event grew to 2,576 entries in 2004 and 5,619 in 2005, [4] and to 8,773 within three years of his win, as online satellites and televised poker brought in new players. [1] Moneymaker himself did not see it coming at first: “I went back to work, because I didn’t realize I could be making enough money to retire or quit doing what I was doing,” he told PokerNews in 2016. [6]
Spielstil
Moneymaker arrived at the 2003 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event as an online player without live tournament experience. [4] His reputation for nerve rests largely on the river bluff against Farha, which he later described as a moment for amateurs everywhere: “When you could see an amateur like me pull off a bluff like that, it gave everybody hope that they could do it too.” [3] He has never built his career around the biggest games. When he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, PokerNews wrote that he “might not satisfy all of the voting requirements, specifically in playing in high stakes games”. [8] After his 2024 Triton win he said: “I don’t really play a whole lot of high rollers, but when I do I enjoy it.” [12]
Größte Erfolge
Turnierergebnisse
| Jahr | Event | Ergebnis | Preisgeld | Quelle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | WSOP $10,000 Main Event (839 entries) | 1. | $2,500,000 | [1] |
| 2023 | Triton London $250,000 Luxon Invitational (118 entries) | 5. Platz | $2,030,000 | [11] |
| 2024 | Triton Montenegro $25,000 GG Million$ Live | 1. | $903,000 | [12] |
| 2024 | WSOP Paradise Super Main Event (1,978 entries) | 10. | $500,000 | [2] |
| 2011 | NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship | 2. Platz | $300,000 | [10] |
| 2004 | WPT Shooting Star | 2. Platz | $200,000 | [1] |
In the 2011 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship at Caesars Palace he reached the best-of-three final, which he lost to Erik Seidel. [10] In August 2023 he finished fifth in the $250,000 Luxon Invitational in London, his first seven-figure payout since the 2003 Main Event, when his pocket jacks lost to Punnat Punsri’s king-queen. [11] In May 2024 he beat Brian Kim heads-up to win the opening event of the Triton series in Montenegro, a result that put him at the top of Tennessee’s all-time money list with $7.1 million at the time. [12]
World Series of Poker
His only WSOP bracelet is the 2003 Main Event. His WSOP.com profile lists 37 cashes, 6 final tables and $4,682,460 in earnings, a total that includes the Triton events shown on that profile. [2] Looking back in 2020, he said: “I didn’t expect it; never in a million years. I honestly thought I would go back to work and play poker here and there but it would be a small part of my life. I was wrong.” [7]
Poker Hall of Fame, 2019
Moneymaker was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2019, together with David Oppenheim. The class was announced in July 2019 during ESPN’s coverage of the WSOP Main Event, after a vote by 30 living Hall of Fame members and 21 members of the media. [8]
PokerStars and later ventures
After his win Moneymaker became a PokerStars ambassador, a partnership that lasted 17 years and ended in December 2020, when he said he planned to play less poker and spend more time with his family. [9] In September 2022 he opened the Moneymaker Social Club, a card room in Paducah, Kentucky. In February 2023 he removed the poker tables after the new McCracken County Attorney took the view that the poker operation was illegal under Kentucky law; the club continued as a social club without poker. [13]
Buch
His memoir, Moneymaker: How an Amateur Poker Player Turned $40 into $2.5 Million at the World Series of Poker, written with Daniel Paisner, was published by HarperCollins in 2005. [14] The $40 in the title differs from the $86 satellite figure given by WSOP.com and PokerNews. [2]
In seinen eigenen Worten
- “My goal was to win that eight grand. And a buddy talked me into taking the seat, and that’s how I got the World Series seat.” On the 2003 qualifier, 2021. [3]
- “When you could see an amateur like me pull off a bluff like that, it gave everybody hope that they could do it too.” 2021. [3]
- “It would be cool for my kids or my Dad. I know he would really geek out over something like that, he would love it, but awards have never really been a driving factor for me.” On the Hall of Fame, 2016. [6]
- “I wasn’t going to lose today.” After winning at Triton Montenegro, May 2024. [12]
Legendäre Hände und Momente
How Chris Moneymaker won the 2003 WSOP Main Event (PokerGO)
The full house against Phil Ivey (PokerGO)
Run It Back with Chris Moneymaker (PokerGO)
FAQ zu Chris Moneymaker
How old is Chris Moneymaker?
Chris Moneymaker was born on November 21, 1975, so he is 50 years old as of October 5, 2026. [2]
Is Moneymaker his real name?
Yes. His WSOP.com profile lists him as Christopher Moneymaker, [2] and he has said that Moneymaker is his father’s name and that, according to family history, it is an English translation of the German name Nurmacher. [3]
Where is Chris Moneymaker from?
He was born in Atlanta, Georgia, [2] grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee, [3] and, according to WSOP.com, lives outside Memphis, Tennessee. [2]
Wie hoch ist das Vermögen von Chris Moneymaker?
There is no reliable public figure for his net worth. What can be verified is his live tournament record: $8,643,738 in earnings as of October 5, 2026, according to PokerNews. [1] Sponsorship income, such as his 17 years with PokerStars, is not public. [9]
When did Chris Moneymaker win the WSOP Main Event, and how much did he win?
He won the Main Event in May 2003, beating Sam Farha heads-up, and took home $2,500,000 from a field of 839 entries. [1][3]
Wie hat sich Chris Moneymaker für die WSOP 2003 qualifiziert?
Through an online satellite on PokerStars. WSOP.com and PokerNews give the buy-in as $86; [1][2] some earlier accounts, and his memoir’s title, say $39 or $40. [5][6]
How many WSOP bracelets does Chris Moneymaker have?
One, from the 2003 Main Event. His WSOP.com profile shows 37 cashes and 6 final tables. [2]
Is Chris Moneymaker in the Poker Hall of Fame?
Yes. He was inducted in 2019, together with David Oppenheim. [8]
Did Chris Moneymaker write a book?
Yes. Moneymaker: How an Amateur Poker Player Turned $40 into $2.5 Million at the World Series of Poker, written with Daniel Paisner, was published by HarperCollins in 2005. [14]
Weitere Pokerlegenden
Read more about three players Moneymaker eliminated on his way to the 2003 title: Phil Ivey, Dan Harrington und Johnny Chan.
Quellen
- PokerNews, Chris Moneymaker player profile, abgerufen am 5. Oktober 2026.
- WSOP.com, Christopher Moneymaker player profile, abgerufen am 5. Oktober 2026.
- CNN, The Moneymaker Effect: Meet the man who helped change the fortunes of poker overnight, November 17, 2021.
- WSOP.com, WSOP #10: Chris Moneymaker, May 15, 2009.
- Card Player, WSOP History: 2003 Recap, July 2008.
- PokerNews, Chris Moneymaker on the Hall of Fame, Being an Ambassador and the State of the Game Today, September 21, 2016.
- PokerNews, Chris Moneymaker’s WSOP Memories, July 12, 2020.
- PokerNews, Chris Moneymaker and David Oppenheim Inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame, July 16, 2019.
- PokerNews, Moneymaker, PokerStars End 17-Year Partnership, December 31, 2020.
- PokerNews, 2011 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship Day 3: Seidel Defeats Moneymaker to Win Title, March 7, 2011.
- PokerNews, Triton Poker $250K Luxon Invitational report, August 5, 2023.
- PokerNews, Chris Moneymaker wins Triton Montenegro $25,000 GG Million$ Live, May 14, 2024.
- PokerNews, Facing Potential Criminal Charges, Chris Moneymaker Closes Kentucky Poker Room, February 15, 2023.
- Google Books, Moneymaker: How an Amateur Poker Player Turned $40 Into $2.5 Million at the World Series of Poker (bibliographic record).
Zuletzt überprüft: 5. Oktober 2026. Werte, die sich mit der Zeit ändern, etwa die Karrieregewinne, werden mit dem Datum ihrer Überprüfung angegeben.
