How Moneymaker Made It
I just got a couple new books from Chapters.ca today. I picked up Super System II and for fun, "Moneymaker -- How an amateur poker player turned $40 into $2.5 Million at the World Series of Poker" by Chris Moneymaker (with Daniel Paisner). I have to admit, although the outcome of this story is well known, I find myself completely riveted by his first person account. The book sets the stage at the 2003 WSOP main event, interspersed with chapters that tell the story of how he got there. Granted, we're not talking about Tom Wolfe-quality writing here, but I can't seem to put the book down. I'm already 100 pages in and I have so many more important things to do at the moment.
As it turns out, Chris had quite a gambling problem in college. I had already read this online on various sites (and we all know how reliable they can be) but he confirms it in the book and is quite candid about describing his lack of control over sports betting. Perhaps the most interesting part so far is his account of the online satellite that sent him to the series (on PokerStars). He went into the final table with the chip lead and he was actually planning on dumping his chips to pick up fourth prize which paid $8000 (top three awarded $10,000 entrance fees). Check out this excerpt:
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...as we took turns knocking each other out of the tournament, the talk in the chat box turned to side deals. Remember, the tournament offered three $10,000 seats to the World Series of Poker, along with travel and expenses, and one fourth-place cash prize of $8,000, and when we got down to five or six players, there was a whole lot of out-in-the-open collusion going on. There was some private communication as well. I received a bunch of messages from other players at the table, wondering if I'd be interesting in tanking a couple hands if I could still be guaranteed a top-three finish...
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I've never made deals online before. Is this how it is normally done? Do people PM each other asking them to dump chips? I don't understand.
Phil
As it turns out, Chris had quite a gambling problem in college. I had already read this online on various sites (and we all know how reliable they can be) but he confirms it in the book and is quite candid about describing his lack of control over sports betting. Perhaps the most interesting part so far is his account of the online satellite that sent him to the series (on PokerStars). He went into the final table with the chip lead and he was actually planning on dumping his chips to pick up fourth prize which paid $8000 (top three awarded $10,000 entrance fees). Check out this excerpt:
**********
...as we took turns knocking each other out of the tournament, the talk in the chat box turned to side deals. Remember, the tournament offered three $10,000 seats to the World Series of Poker, along with travel and expenses, and one fourth-place cash prize of $8,000, and when we got down to five or six players, there was a whole lot of out-in-the-open collusion going on. There was some private communication as well. I received a bunch of messages from other players at the table, wondering if I'd be interesting in tanking a couple hands if I could still be guaranteed a top-three finish...
**********
I've never made deals online before. Is this how it is normally done? Do people PM each other asking them to dump chips? I don't understand.
Phil
Comments
Interesting post Phil, thanks. From what I understand, Stars now turns off the chat altogether in satellites once the tournament is (I believe) within ten spots to the seats. So, that more or less prevents the blatant 'at the table' collusion chat. As for PM's, IM's, etc... I guess this kind of takes care of that as well, since you have to ask the guy what his IM address is to IM him. If the chat is turned off, you can't do that, unless you ask everyone for their IM addresses before they turn the chat off--unlikely.
So, I think Stars has mostly corrected the problem. Still, a fascinating read, and maybe I'll pick up the book as well, on your recommendation. I'll just keep it in a plain brown paper bag, and only read it at home.