Chris Moneymaker

Chris Moneymaker’s rise to poker fame and fortune is, by now, the stuff of legend.

As the winner of the 2003 World Series of Poker (WSOP) main event, Moneymaker is the poster boy for every wanna-be poker professional and for all amateur players who think they can beat the biggest sharks in poker and make a name for themselves.

You see, Moneymaker did exactly that. As an accountant in Tennessee in 2003, Moneymaker spent $39 at the PokerStars online poker card room to join a WSOP satellite tournament. He won the online tourney and booked himself a seat to the 2003 WSOP main event.

Some call it destiny, but once Moneymaker got to the WSOP, he promptly lived up to his name, won the world championship and pocketed a whopping $2.5 million first prize. But what was impressive about Moneymaker’s feat is that he did it with daring and decisive play at the poker table, undaunted by the caliber of professionals he was up against. Poker analysts said his win was no fluke. With his triumph, Moneymaker was almost instantly hailed as a superstar of the game. And to think that it was only the first live poker tournament of his life.

People are still talking about Moneymaker’s best move of the WSOP tournament, which came in the final table. Holding only a king high against Sam Farha’s pair of nines, Moneymaker moved all-in. Farha fell for the bluff and folded. With that win, Moneymaker seized momentum and kept it until the final hand.

Once he collected his championship winnings, Moneymaker left his job as an accountant. He was appointed as a celebrity spokesman for WSOP owner Harrah's Entertainment and also became a spokesman for the PokerStars Web site. But the best thing about the WSOP victory, Moneymaker says, is that it allowed him to live his dream to become a professional poker player.

Moneymaker promptly hit the road and joined the biggest tournaments around. He hasn’t fared too bad, either. He has finished in the money in WSOP tournaments four times, but has yet to win his second championship. He has also had two money finishes on the World Poker Tour, including one Shooting Stars event where he finished in second place, winning $200,000.

Of course, he likes to joke that he leads all poker players in hearing this question the most -- "Is that your real name?" Just imagine the jibes he used to get when he was an accountant.

Moneymaker reveals that he grew up in a family of fiercely competitive gamblers, which is where he honed his poker skills. But he says he did not want to become a professional poker until later in life. The turning point came in 2000 when he watched the movie "Rounders" with his friends. All that he could think about from that point on was to become a professional poker player.

In 2005, Moneymaker published his autobiography, "Moneymaker: How an Amateur Poker Player Turned $40 into $2.5 Million at the World Series of Poker." It’s fast becoming a poker bestseller.