A lot of people who play online poker here at Juicy Stakes know something of the Chris Moneymaker story. In fact, there is a phenomenon, called the Moneymaker Effect that, aware of it or not, is the motivating factor behind the reason that a lot of people play online poker.
There are other reasons, of course, as well. One is the opportunity to play with a poker bonus. Land-based poker rooms generally can’t offer bonuses. They do offer what are called comps but the requirements are for the player to play many hours at the poker table. Just as players at land-based casinos cash out when they leave the casino, so do poker players.
Online poker players have an account at the poker room and can play as often as they like.
So, let’s leave all of the good reasons to play at an online poker room such as Juicy Stakes, and let’s look at the amazing and fascinating Chris Moneymaker story.
Chris Moneymaker is a Cliché of Sorts
We do not mean to disparage him in any way. He pulled off one of the great wins in a competitive format when he won the World Series of Poker back in 2003. But, let’s face it; Chris Moneymaker was an accountant until he won those millions of dollars at the World Series of Poker and he looked like the quintessential accountant.
He is kind of pudgy. He certainly does not have Daniel Negreanu’s gift of gab. He doesn’t have Phil Ivey’s innate charisma. But Chris Moneymaker is a profound analyst of poker hands. He was also very lucky back in 2003 and who isn’t lucky when they win the big prize?
How Did Chris Get Started Playing Online Poker?
When he won the World Series of Poker, Chris was only 28 years old. He may have started playing poker online when he turned 21. Since he earned a Master’s degree in accounting, we can assume that most of his time was spent studying, leaving just a little time for poker.
As we have said many times here at Juicy Stakes, new poker players should start at low stakes and Chris Moneymaker won his seat at the World Series of Poker by winning an online tournament in which he paid $80 to join. Even today, after winning the biggest poker tournament in the world, Chris Moneymaker likes to play in low-stakes games.
Honing One’s Skills at Poker
An online poker player does not have to travel to play. Chris Moneymaker did travel, mixing online poker with poker at land-based poker rooms. Many people became aware of online poker only through Chris Moneymaker’s improbable success.
A lot of people, usually people who do not know poker well, think that Chris was just lucky to win the event in 2003. Experienced poker players recognize that Chris has genuine poker skills.
It is the development and fine-tuning of one’s poker skills that is one of the great benefits of online poker. You can play every day if you desire to but we suggest playing often but not that often. You should have interests outside of poker.
Your outside interests can go a long way to honing your poker skills. Chris Moneymaker was an accountant with a Master’s degree which means that he was far more than a simple bookkeeper. He had to analyze what often are complex accounting matters.
Accountants Need a Lot of Patience
When you play poker at either an online poker room or one on land, you need a lot of patience to get better. A player who daydreams on hands that they have folded out of, usually before the flop, is undermining his or her development as a poker player.
We are sure that Chris never wavered in his attention to the details of every poker hand. We know that there is a lot of skill involved in poker. Otherwise, there would not be a hierarchy of great players. Still, we also have to recognize that luck plays a major part in poker.
The kind of patience that Chris showed in developing his skill over the years in which he played low-stakes online poker, meant that he was well suited to patiently allow the luck side of poker to shine brightly upon him in 2003.
How Much of Poker is Skill and How Much is Luck?
The first thing we should discuss is whether poker is true gambling or not. Making bets on a horse race is true gambling since most bettors have nothing to do with the horse, its training, the jockey and so on. Betting on sports is also true gambling since we cannot get into the thoughts of the manager or coach, we cannot perform the athletic acts the players have to perform and so on.
We can analyze a horse versus the other horses in the race. We can analyze a sports team or an individual athlete’s historical performance. So, even in activities that are true gambling activities, there is palpable skill involved. Poker is also a skill event since it lends itself to analysis over the table.
As such, poker is both gambling and not gambling. Here we wish to be as responsible as we can in saying that if playing poker gets out of hand, it has become more pure gambling than a mix of skill and luck, and we urge players for whom poker has gotten out of hand to stop playing.
The Luck Side is Uncontrollable
Luck is luck. You can’t affect luck despite what one of the bad guys said in Titanic that he makes his own luck. What we can do in life in general and in poker is to do as much hard work behind the scenes in order to be able to make good decisions.
Then, we rely on luck to see us through. This is clearly what Chris Moneymaker did in 2003 and what many poker players at the highest levels do.
Discover the Joy of Online Poker at Juicy Stakes
Poker used to be something people played at home with friends of a Friday night. These games were pure fun. Sometimes, the players would finish off a poker night with breakfast together and the winners would pick up the bill.
Juicy Stakes offers great poker in several games although Texas Hold’em has long been the most popular game. We also offer poker at many stakes levels.
