We all know about Chris Moorman’s online prowess; for years, he’s been regarded as one of the world’s best, and certainly most consistent players – but in 2011 he finally transferred that success onto the live felt, and in emphatic style: an Aussie Millions final table, second at WSOPE, and over a million in Vegas winnings. His doubters have now been silenced.
How was 2011 online?
2011 probably wasn’t one of my best years; much better than 2010 when everything went terribly, but not amazing like 2008. I won a decent amount online, and did pretty well in SCOOP events with two final tables, but didn’t play too much over the last few months as I was playing a lot of live poker and chasing Player of the Year points.
Having said that, I did make my biggest cash online just before Black Friday for $235,000. It was a multi-entry $1K, and you could play six times. I had all my horses in and obviously didn’t want everyone playing it six times and sending me busto, so I made a rule where the stronger players would play it a maximum of three times. I was initially going to play it three times to keep in line with the rule, but I ran bad and right at the last second before the late registration finished, I added another three bullets. It ended up being my sixth one that I did well in, and it worked out, so nobody could say anything.
How do you stay motivated?
I suppose I should be bored with poker by now considering how much I play, so I’m lucky in that respect. I just love the game. It’s not about the money; every time I play, I want to win, even if it’s an eight-dollar rebuy or something, and it makes me feel good about myself when I do. It's like at school. I could have done really well, but I was never quite disciplined enough. If I get into something, and put my heart into it, then I’ll keep doing it until I’m the best. I have to want to do it though.
I don’t get as excited in the regular tournaments, but I still get a buzz when I go deep something really big. When it’s a major event, and you've got people coming online and wishing you good luck, it's really good. I’ll keep playing until I wake up one day and that isn’t the case.
How did Black Friday affect you?
Losing Full Tilt [Poker] wasn't ideal. It was always the site where I did the best, and I only had two or three losing months in my life on there, whereas Stars was quite different. So, missing the regular Full Tilt schedule made it hard to get the incentive to grind as much as the tournaments were two or three times smaller than before in terms of buy-in, and five or six in terms of how much you could win. If you were in the hole from the previous month, it was going to be tough to get out.
The standard was definitely getting really tough, but then it was a lot weaker for quite a while after Black Friday. Those good players are starting to come back now. I don’t worry about it too much, though. I’m improving as a player, and I try to improve all the time, so as long as that keeps happening, I’ll keep doing well.
I don't tend to look into the future; I don't know what I'm doing next week, let alone a few years down the line. Before Full Tilt went down, it felt like them and Stars would be around forever. You’d worry a bit about sites like Ultimate Bet, and knew they could go down any week, but Full Tilt felt invincible, so now it feels like anything can happen.
If poker disappeared tomorrow, I think I’d be all right as there’d always be live poker. I would have been in the shit if it had happened a year ago as I couldn’t beat any live game, but I’ve at least fluked a couple of tournaments now and proved I can win, so hopefully I’d be all right. Nevertheless, I could definitely be better at investing my money.
Why did your live game come together in 2011?
I guess it had to happen sooner rather than later as I've been playing every big event on the circuit for four or five years and not had much luck. I don’t believe I played overly different last year; I just played my game, like I'd been doing the previous years. I just happened to win the big races.
Perhaps I was playing tighter than I did before, and adapting to opponents better, but only small things - it's still the same game, I'm still playing poker, and I wasn't playing bad before that. I was just losing the key pots, whereas last year I won them and it obviously made a huge difference at the end of the year with regards to the final numbers.
The Aussie Millions was a strong start…
Yeah, although it was a really tough final table. Patrik Antonius was probably the most dangerous player. He was seated two or three seats to my left, so I was always going to be trying to steal his big blinds, which is not ideal, because he never folds. Patrik has a certain aura around him that makes you shit scared every time you play a pot with him.
The tournament’s really great because it’s top heavy and only has six or seven hundred runners, so is a beatable field. The standard’s soft too, because they’ve got qualifiers for it all the year round at the Crown [Casino]. Also, many of the big name pros sit it out because they’re playing the PCA [PokerStars Caribbean Adventure] instead. And when you get into the money, it’s six-man down to the final table, which really suits aggressive players like me.
I didn’t even get a sweat this year. I busted before the dinner break on Day 1, so back to normal I guess. I played a couple of side events and the first one I cashed in 20th, which was also the event that Middy [Thomas Middleton] ended up winning. I then late-reg’d for a A$500 turbo for 9,000 at 300/600. I only had 15 big blinds, but ran like God and made it to the final table. I was one out of eight with 550K at 3,000/6,000, which is massive for a turbo, and had five times that of second, but somehow came seventh. It was ridiculous.
Melbourne’s a really good location for a holiday, as well as a tournament, as there’s plenty of stuff to do. I’m a big tennis fan, and got to see the Nadal/Federer match, which was a sick game. We also went to this big music festival which had Kanye West and a few others, and Flushy [James Dempsey] was trying to get me to see these dancing penguins too. I can imagine him stealing one and doing prop bets with it or something.
Views on WSOP…
The first year I went, I only played the Main [Event] and a $1,500, but you only got 1,500 chips and half the field was out in a couple of hours, so the structure of the smaller events has improved a lot. They’re still quite fast to start with, but the structure is good when you’re deep, and you can turn a little money into a lot.
Overall, the Series is a lot better organised, and I think the November Nine is good for poker as well as you get a build up to the final table which gives the public a chance to watch the coverage and find a player they want to win. The players themselves can earn sponsorship, and make an extra chunk of money in the meantime.
I like the schedule too; it’s a pretty good mix, and there aren’t too many clashes, although maybe that’s because I only really play No Limit and Omaha at the moment. Perhaps it goes on a little too long, as everyone’s drained by the end of it and hating poker unless you’re in the minority that’s been winning. Everyone's just trying to get out of it in the Main Event.
How close were you in the $2.5K six-max?
[Chris finished third in the $2,500 six-handed event for $271,800.]
I was pretty much first or second with seven left, so cruising. Everything was going my way, and I didn't think the standard of players remaining was something to be overly concerned about, so I felt really good about my chances. But then I lost a massive hand where it was A-Q versus A-2 off-suit all in pre, and it came 3-4-5, which meant I was short-stacked heading into the final with less than 20 big blinds. I grinded up to third, but lost a big hand with K-J versus K-9, so it was frustrating as I felt I played well but just got unlucky in two key pots.
What are the dynamics of six-max?
Everyone seems to bust our really early in the six-max events. Obviously, you have to play a lot more aggressive, but people take it to the extreme, and then there's other people who are treating it like full-ring, so everyone's playing different strategies. It's about playing aggressive, but keeping it together the best you can.
They’re hard tournaments, and there are a lot of good players in them, but there are also plenty of people giving away their chips. Every one I played, I felt confident, because I’m used to playing these guys, and know how to adjust to them.
Did you embrace the break in the $10K?
[Due to a new rule, play was brought to a close during heads-up, only for players to return the following day to play out the remaining few hands.]
I was happy to do it because I had bad momentum at the time after losing a big pot with flopped two pair against a straight. I never really recovered from that, and it almost felt as though I wasn’t playing hard enough over the last few hands as I wanted it to be a new day. I thought it would be good if he [Joe Ebanks] had it hanging over him that he was in front, and close to the bracelet, but still needed to finish it off.
I knew him pretty well from online, so I was unfortunate to be up against a really tough opponent. In fact, the whole final table was strong. ElkY’s obviously a great player, although he’s a lot tighter than people think so he gets a lot of action when he shouldn’t. He’s capable of making crazy moves, but on the whole, he plays more on the solid side, yet everyone keeps paying him off, so it works.
Were you distracted by the support at all?
Maybe a little, but I feel like it would put off the other players more, and intimidate them. There was one hand that got messed up. It was three-handed, but I was still sitting in the nine-seat, and my opponent in the one-seat, so I couldn't really see him in between the dealer. I had A-2 on a K-4-3 board, and I bet, and he raised, and I just didn't believe him so I shoved all in. Whilst he’s in the tank, everyone’s going crazy and chanting for a good three or four minutes, and I'm just sitting there staring at the felt. They then let out a cheer, so I figured he'd just folded and so turned over one of my cards. Just as I’m flipping over the deuce, I see that he’s still got cards, so I quickly flip back my hand, but it’s too late as by now there are people chanting, ‘Deuce!’
The guy ended up calling my all-in with A-2, so we chopped it up, but if I hadn’t have shown he would have folded and I would have won the pot. That might have been the difference at the end of the day. Nevertheless, it was good to have everyone’s support; it made it such a big occasion, and it felt like something special was happening. There were some great songs – including one about American VPNs – and Sammy Grafton was a legend on the rail.
Any strategies for WSOPE?
[Chris came second in the WSOPE Main Event for €800,000.]
Just avoid Jake [Cody], because he's so good. There weren't any real weak links. Shawn Buchanan's a beast, and I've always struggled against him, Max Silver’s always putting you to the test, and I knew Elio Fox from online too, and he’s a great player.
Max is like a ticking timebomb and pretty crazy, so I kept praying I’d get a hand against him early, and I actually did when I had J-J against his A-K. I expected him to turn over some shit hand, but he actually had it, so I was hugely fortunate to win that massive race and eliminate him from the final because he was a dangerous player. I just had to play my game, pick a few good spots, and hope to run good as well.
My main aim was to try and be in the mix three-handed and go from there. I just had to play my game, pick a few good spots, and hope to run good as well. I was lucky to make it heads-up in the end.
There were a few key hands, including the K-9…
[See here for details of the hand.]
That was a bit of a train wreck. I'd opened under the gun, and Brian Roberts flat-called in the next seat, and he'd been three-betting me so much that I felt as though he wouldn’t trap with a big hand. Then, when Elio squeezed, it’s always going to look strong, and I knew from online that he liked to use those spots, so I four-bet him because I thought he’d never rebluff me. When Brian shoved, I knew I was in trouble, but I messed up the stack sizes because I thought I was priced in, when maybe I wasn’t against his range, which is obviously really strong. It felt so dirty to fold, so I just gambled and hope to get lucky, but I didn’t even get a sweat out of it.
And, on the flip side, the 8-4…
[See here for details of the hand.]
I wouldn't normally open 8-4 off under the gun, but a few people had got three-bets through on previous hands, so I felt like everyone was going to take a hand off and play pretty honest. The German player [Moritz Kranich] defended his big blind, and the flop was about as good as it’s going to get for my hand, so I just c-bet for value. When he check-called, I thought he could have ace-high for sure, maybe even floating with king-high, and obviously he can have various other hands.
On the turn, he could have made a straight, but I didn’t feel he’d call pre with T-9 off, so I was only worried about T-9 suited. When he led, I thought he was polarised to this hand and maybe a turned flush draw, so I just flat-called. The river was a really good card for him to bluff, and I didn’t think he’d be betting too thin, maybe a set, but there were enough combinations of missed floats and draws that I could call. Even though my hand was third pair with a weak kicker, I didn’t expect him to show up with second pair. He had nuts or air, and I was fortunate that he had air this time, although f he’d turned over the nuts, it would have looked like a terrible call-down.
How pissed were you at missing out on the bracelet again?
I went into heads-up with a deficit against a good player, so I knew I was the underdog, and had prepared myself for coming second. We did a chop, so I can’t really moan about winning a million Euros, but it would be nice to win one eventually. It’s just given me more motivation to close it out next time.
In Vegas, I just went out and got drunk. Both times, I was doing well going into the final day, and after seeing Jake’s rail, my main goal was to make the final and get everyone to come down for a good night out. A few days later, I was thinking about how close I’d come, but at the time I was just happy to give the fans a sweat. The year before, I would have been a lot more disappointed about missing out on the bracelet, but because I'd been losing money through Black Friday, the money was huge for me, and it helped getting over missing out on the bracelet.
How did your recent change in sponsorship come about?
Well, Doyle leaving was kind of good game; you can’t have DoylesRoom without Doyle. They offered us new deals, but they were terrible, so none of us signed and just decided to part ways. The experience was great though and it was a great team of players; it was just unfortunate timing. I’m sure it would have been a success otherwise.
Nicky Evans told me about his deal with LockPoker, so I started talking with them near the end of the Series. I had my concerns as they were still operating in the US, but they seemed to have all the right answers, and I was really impressed with what they had to say, so I signed for them.
They’ve been expanding fast, and introduced a new tournament last week. It’s $500 and happens every month, and I think the first one ended up with a $45,000 first prize, which was much more than they expected. Hopefully the only way is up.
You sponsor players yourself. What are the mechanics of having a stable?
There are around 20 of them at the moment, and I have a database that I subscribe to which everyone can input their numbers into after every session. I’ve been a bit slack recently, so I’m thinking of passing the job over to David Jones because he’s pretty good at that stuff, and then paying him a wage.
They've been doing all right recently. I had Flushy win the WPT in December, which got him out of the makeup by a couple of thousand [laughs], and Middy won that side event at the Aussie Millions. The percentage starts at 50-50, but if someone makes a certain amount of profit, I’ll increase their side, but that’s just for online as live is such high variance. If they were all wiped out tomorrow, I probably wouldn’t be in profit because the make-up is high at the moment. But I’m confident in my horses and I think it’s only a matter of time before they start picking up a lot of results.
I get a lot of requests for staking, and pretty much every time I log in to Facebook, there’s like five messages, four of which are bad. I normally just ignore them, but the problem with that is that I end up ignoring people I need to respond to as well.
What are you goals for 2012?
I want to win one of those live ones. I’ve never won a tournament, so it would be nice to get that monkey off my back, and obviously extra nice it if came with a bracelet. I don’t care what the event is to be honest, I’ll take anything really.
I've got a pretty hectic schedule in the next month or so. There's a 5K event in Niagra I'm going to, and from there I'm going to play Shooting Stars and a couple of other tournaments, but then after that, I'm going back to Cyprus where I'm living at the moment. I've got a place there for a year after the World Series, and I persuaded a few horses to move out, and get back playing for me.
I’ve got a guy who’s going to be my personal trainer, so hopefully I’ll be able to get into shape before Vegas. That’s the plan: be more disciplined, and hopefully continue the live success, whilst doing all right online in the process. I also want to learn all the other games properly so I have a better chance of winning something, so will put an intense coaching session in with a few guys Stuart Rutter recommended to me, and you might see me on that Stud 8 final table.
#1 - JP Kelly
#2 - Roberto Romanello
#3 - Daniel 'jungleman12' Cates
#4 - James Keys
#5 - Julian Thew
#6 - Jerome Bradpiece
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#8 - Barny Boatman
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