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View Full Version : It's Official : Chris Moneymaker sucks at limit hold'em


GuyOnTilt
04-26-2004, 04:07 AM
For all the MM fans and haters out there,

I know the guy's taken a lot of grief from everybody here, but I never really formed an opinion of the guy's play myself. I mean, they don't show everything that happens on TV and I don't know Tourney NL very well anyways, so who am I to judge? But limit hold'em! Now limit hold'em is something I do know! I sat with Chris for 4 hours in a 20 game at the Mirage this weekend, and I can very confidently say that he is not a winning player in all but perhaps the softest games at that level. He's a very nice guy. Friendly, funny, enjoyable to have a conversation with. But the guy just can't play limit.

Fact #1 : Chris is far too loose and far too passive preflop. He would very frequently cold-call EP raises, and more than a couple times open-limped from MP after 3 or more folds, once with J9o. He never once raised preflop, and just flat called my open-raise from the CO with KQs in the SB. It's not like he's the fishiest of players preflop at any table, but he definitely losing money there.

Fact #2 : Far too loose on the flop. He would very frequently call a single bet on the flop and fold on the turn in small pots. Not that there couldn't be hands where that's correct, but twice headsup against me he made horrible flop calls that lead me to believe that the multiple other instances were similar. In one hand, I open-raise with KQo from MP. He cold-calls in the CO, both blinds call. Flop comes AK4r. Checked to me and I bet. Chris calls, blinds fold. Turn is a 5. I check, he checks. River is a 4. I check, he checks and announes one pair. I table my hand and it's good. In another hand, I raise two limpers in LMP with AQs. He calls from the BB and limpers call. Flop comes: KQ6 with two diamonds. Checked to me and I bet. Chris calls, limpers fold. Turn is a K of diamonds. He checks, I bet, he calls. River is a low blank and he checks. I consider betting, but he subtely looks like he's about to reach for a large stack so I check through. He tables 88 with a diamond and I'm good.

Fact #3 : He sucks at winning pots against me. /images/graemlins/grin.gif We were in 5 pots together and I was 5-0. When he racked up to leave he said to the table, "Just for the record, I never beat this kid over here one time." Very nice and friendly guy. I only took offense one time when he told me I didn't look a day over 18, which I just laughed off as I always do when people ask for me to be carded (those bastards).

Conclusion : Chris Moneymaker, while a very cool guy, sucks at limit hold'em. So now I don't have to make a guess when it comes up anymore (which is pretty often since everybody loves talking about the guy). I can very honestly say that I would enjoy him being in my game any day.

GoT

Randy_Refeld
04-26-2004, 05:24 AM
"I know the guy's taken a lot of grief from everybody here, but I never really formed an opinion of the guy's play myself. I mean, they don't show everything that happens on TV and I don't know Tourney NL very well anyways, so who am I to judge? But limit hold'em! Now limit hold'em is something I do know! I sat with Chris for 4 hours in a 20 game at the Mirage this weekend, and I can very confidently say that he is not a winning player in all but perhaps the softest games at that level. He's a very nice guy. Friendly, funny, enjoyable to have a conversation with. But the guy just can't play limit."

Which day this weekend was that. Fri night he was in Tunica for the Fri night tournament at the Grand. On Sat he was in Tunica for the taping of the first final table of the River Poker Tour. Sun morning he flew to Omaha and returned to Tunica for the Sun night Moneymaker shootout (which he won). I normally don't comment on the players that are in our room, but since it was advertised that he would be appearing I guess it is safe to say that he was there.


Randy Refeld

Dynasty
04-26-2004, 06:18 AM
I must have missed him. I played more than twenty hours this weekend in the Mirage 20-40 game on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night.

Strangely, in all that time, not a single person mentioned that the current World Champion was playing in any of the 20-40 games or even in the room (either at that time or another time).

Tyler Durden
04-26-2004, 07:00 AM
I don't get it--you made all this up?

Stagemusic
04-26-2004, 08:39 AM
[ QUOTE ]
I must have missed him. I played more than twenty hours this weekend in the Mirage 20-40 game on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night.

Strangely, in all that time, not a single person mentioned that the current World Champion was playing in any of the 20-40 games or even in the room (either at that time or another time).

[/ QUOTE ]

Outed?
Busted?

This is funny stuff.

/images/graemlins/grin.gif /images/graemlins/grin.gif /images/graemlins/grin.gif /images/graemlins/grin.gif /images/graemlins/grin.gif

B-Man
04-26-2004, 11:42 AM
have a major inferiority complex to make up all this stuff about Moneymaker.

Too much time on your hands?

I continue to be amazed with how obsessed people are with this guy--"he's great," "he sucks," "he got lucky," "he played well," etc.--who cares? He's just another poker player who happened to win a tournament. It's a great story... but it's so old. I can't wait for a new champ to be crowned so all the pathetic MM haters and MM worshipers can find something new to discuss.

** this was in response to Guy On Tilt, not Stagemusic--replied in the wrong place, sorry for any confusion)

EWillers
04-26-2004, 12:05 PM
MM was playing 20-40 at the Mirage (with his dad) the Saturday before Easter--the (first) night of the Bellagio blackout.

GuyOnTilt
04-26-2004, 04:10 PM
Whoa dude. I'm seriously trippin'. Everybody on my half of the table was talking to him like he was Chris, he totally looked like him, and he was making conversation like he was. One asian guy went so far as to tell him that he was seriously his hero and ended up basically shoving $500 in Chris' pocket for 4% of his action in the main event! No joke, I'm seriously trippin'. Maybe it's the fact that I just woke up, but this is seriously weirding me out...

GoT

HUSKER'66
04-26-2004, 06:10 PM
Nice recovery. /images/graemlins/smirk.gif

James Boston
04-26-2004, 06:19 PM
I'm vouching for Randy here. I was at the Grand all weekend, and Moneymaker was definately there.

TimTimSalabim
04-26-2004, 06:54 PM
Tell us what day/time it happened and maybe we can all resolve the mystery?

GuyOnTilt
04-26-2004, 07:20 PM
Tell us what day/time it happened and maybe we can all resolve the mystery?

My sleep schedule was so off during my trip I thought day was night and night was day, but my best guess would be Friday evening between 8 and midnight local time.

GoT

J.A.Sucker
04-26-2004, 08:15 PM
That is interesting. When he was playing at Bay 101, people were stacked 3 deep around the table to watch us play. Granted it was the biggest game in the house, but I suppose that people would rather do other stuff in Vegas than watch a bunch of dudes toss chips around. I can't blame them.

FWIW, GOT's assessment is exactly on par with mine from my dozen or so hours of play with MM in 40-80 and spread limit that I posted about a month ago. That said, the guy could still play my money in a tourney any day, not that he'd have to, of course.

Ed Miller
04-26-2004, 08:57 PM
My sleep schedule was so off during my trip I thought day was night and night was day, but my best guess would be Friday evening between 8 and midnight local time.

That's right. I came by the Mirage around 10:30 on Friday, and GoT was talking about just having finished playing with Moneymaker.

M.B.E.
04-26-2004, 09:09 PM
[ QUOTE ]
One asian guy went so far as to tell him that he was seriously his hero and ended up basically shoving $500 in Chris' pocket for 4% of his action in the main event!

[/ QUOTE ]
Hmmm... including the $500, did the imposter come out ahead in the game?

SpaceAce
04-27-2004, 12:26 AM
[ QUOTE ]
My sleep schedule was so off during my trip I thought day was night and night was day, but my best guess would be Friday evening between 8 and midnight local time.

That's right. I came by the Mirage around 10:30 on Friday, and GoT was talking about just having finished playing with Moneymaker.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is hilarious /images/graemlins/smile.gif I wonder if everyone else at the table was in on the secret. What a weird way to get your fifteen minutes of fame: looking just like someone else who is currently getting his fifteen minutes of fame.

SpaceAce

alpine0000
04-27-2004, 12:35 AM
ummmm, hello? chris moneymaker doesnt suck at limit hold em! he sucks at POKER, in any variation.

Zetack
04-27-2004, 01:04 AM
[ QUOTE ]
ummmm, hello? chris moneymaker doesnt suck at limit hold em! he sucks at POKER, in any variation.

[/ QUOTE ]

If by sucking you mean he makes a buncha money in tournaments...yeah he really sucks...

--Zetack

BreakEvenPlayer
04-27-2004, 03:25 AM
Are you sure you weren't playing against John Daly?

tiltboy
04-27-2004, 03:46 AM
[ QUOTE ]
Are you sure you weren't playing against John Daly?

[/ QUOTE ]

Ouch, that had to hurt.

Al_Capone_Junior
04-27-2004, 09:14 AM
Thanks for posting something HONEST and well thought out regarding MM. Tho I may appear to be his biggest critic, that's not really the case. I'm just the biggest critic of seeing 1,000,000+ posts about how great he is clogging up the forums all the time (from people who had nothing to go on other than the exact same thing I saw on espn).

It's cool to know that he's a nice guy. And I'll look for him to be at my table too, since I will soon be in vegas.

al

Dynasty
04-27-2004, 09:18 AM
[ QUOTE ]
Thanks for posting something HONEST and well thought out regarding MM.

[/ QUOTE ]

Dynasty
04-27-2004, 04:09 PM
Wow. The first 28 voters all voted "Yes".

The Dude
04-27-2004, 05:43 PM
I would have voted differently if you had put TiltBoy's UserPic as one of the options!

SinCityGuy
04-27-2004, 11:37 PM
FWIW, Clarkmeister played 40/80 with the real Chris Moneymaker a few weeks ago. Clark said that CM played pretty well.

jerome baker
04-28-2004, 05:47 AM