Player Interview: Moorman1

26 March 2007

By James Hipwell

I also admire Annette for her aggression - she rarely lets a hand go. She will re-pop me all-in and I find I have to call with pocket 5s or something

Poker Verdict interviewed UK online sensation Chris Moorman. Find out more...

One of the best young poker players in Britain to emerge last year was Chris Moorman. He turned pro about nine months ago and since then has had a remarkable run online, taking down tournament winnings of around $200,000, including third in the PokerStars Second Chance recently, good for $18k. This is what he told us:

Name/Age/Location/Poker Nickname and why you chose it?

Chris Moorman, 21, Essex. I’m “moorman1” for obvious reasons.

What do you currently play now?

I play all the big multi-table tourneys (MTTs) on PokerStars and Full Tilt. I also play cash games, $3/$6 NLH up until now but I’m moving up to $5/$10. Sometimes I also play a bit of $5/$10 PLO but that’s not my main game.

When or what started you off in playing poker? How were your early experiences in learning how to play?

I was at Essex University and me and a few mates from the Poker Society started playing online freerolls every Monday night. We were sharing a house and playing student qualifiers on VC Poker. There was a live final for all those who won the qualifiers but unfortunately my best result was 2nd so I didn’t get through. After this experience I started playing online regularly and have continued ever since.

How did you start off your online bankroll?

I won $70 in an online freeroll and then built up from there. I have actually never deposited so much as $10. I also withdraw all my profits from my accounts when I have a big win because I don’t want to fall into the trap a lot of players do and get drunk, move to crazy stakes and lose my entire bankroll.

So what factors/skills /attributes got you to that level?

I started just playing ABC poker on micro-stakes tables and waited for people to make mistakes. I then moved to $1/$2nl to $3/$6nl short-handed. I got to learn when players are weak and then took advantage of them.

I also read Harrington like everyone else although it’s very important to develop your own game. Now, I like to make someone work hard for a pot – I really like to put them to the test if I think they’re weak.
Other things that helped me were signing up to training site Cardrunners and on this I watched a lot of ActionJeff videos which I learned a lot from. Taylor Caby aka “Green Plastic” was good too.

I also learned a lot from talking to mates and other players I’ve met along the way like Paul Foltyn, who I met in Vegas during last year’s WSOP. He Final Tabled the $5,000 Short Handed No Limit Holdem alongside the likes of Jeff Madsen and Erick Lindgren. I talked a lot to him about strategy, especially the art of the resteal.

How much money have you made from online poker in the last two years?

I’ve made about $200,000 in MTTs and about the same in cash games.

Which sites do you play on?

I mainly play on PokerStars and Full Tilt but I also like to play the $200k Guaranteed on Ultimate on Sunday nights.

Do you play Sit ‘n’ Gos and, if so, which ones are your favourites?

No, I hate SNGs as I don’t like crap shoots which they always dissolve into.

What are your golden rules for playing in MTTs?

Never be scared to put all your chips in.
Try to really concentrate on the Final Table – play to win, not just to cash.
In the early stages just play hands which have potential so I prefer to play suited connectors on the button to Ace-rag.
You must be hyper-aggressive once you reach the top 50 – you must play as if you’re hell-bent on getting into the Top 3 places, which is where all the money is.

Do you play offline, and if so, where/when did you play?

I played in the WSOP last year and also the Master Classics of Poker in Amsterdam last year. However, I failed to get in the money in both of these. I’m looking to play many more live events this year.

I qualified for last year’s WSOP main event on Full Tilt last year, playing in a $1,000 buy-in Mega Satellite. There were about 80 runners and you needed to come in the top six to get a $12k package which I did.

The first time I tried to get in via one of these satellites I came 7th ie on the bubble but I still got $4k. I had gone to the Final Table as chip leader but lost it all in two hands. I had pocket 9s and the other guy had A-K. Four Queens came on the board so he won with Ace-high. The next hand I had Jacks but ran into Kings and two more Kings came out.

I have qualified already for this year’s WSOP main event through the same satellite, coming in the Top 5 of a 70-runner tourney in early March.

I have also won an $8,000 Irish Open seat too on Full Tilt so will be going over to Dublin to contest this shortly.

Has there ever been a time when things just weren't going right for you while playing poker? What was your worst run ever and what did you do to get through these times?

I had a bad run just after the WSOP last year. I was playing $3/6 and felt I’d moved down a level after having played against people like David Williams and Noah Boeken in the $1,500 NLH event just a few days earlier. When I came back to the UK I didn’t really care about losing a buy-in. I just wasn’t concentrating. For three or four weeks I lost focus, could not concentrate and wasted a month. I soon got back to winning ways though.

Who is your favorite professional poker player and why?

I like Phil Ivey – that hand where he’s playing Paul ‘ActionJack’ Jackson in Monte Carlo is unbelievable.

What do you consider is your biggest accomplishment in poker?

I guess getting the Triple Crown which is winning three MTTs with $10k prize pools on three different sites within a week. I won an $18k Guarantee on PartyPoker, a $30 rebuy on Full Tilt, and a $12.5k Guarantee on Paradise in six days.

Do you have one memorable hand you would like to share?

I was on the bubble of the PokerStars Nightly $150. I was average in chips when dealt 9-10 offsuit. The flop came 8-7-5 rainbow, so I shoved and got two callers. One guy had 5-5 for bottom set, the other guy had pocket 8s for top set and I then rivered a Jack to become chip leader. This set me up for the Final Table and I ended up finishing 4th for a nice $6k pay-day.

Which online poker players do you consider to be the best? And why

I rate Imper1um and Annette_15 very highly. Imper1um I find very difficult to read. I also admire Annette for her aggression - she rarely lets a hand go. She will re-pop me all-in and I find I have to call with pocket 5s or something. I also think JohnnyBax is a great player.

What are some tips and tricks you can give out to the readers that might improve there games/build a bankroll? What do you suggest is the best ways to improve?

All the usual things. Read books like 'Harrington on Holdem' and sign up to a good training site like Cardrunners.

Do you want to say ‘Hi’ to anyone?

Hi to Pirate-Pab and geeforce1. Thanks for helping me improve my game, guys.