Few, if any, online poker players have enjoyed the success of Chris Moorman. The UK player is widely recognized as one of the best online tournament players of all time, with tens of millions of dollars in earnings to his name.
And he’s no slouch in the live arena, either. On his way to $10M+ in live tournament winnings — including incredible back-to-back fourth-place finishes at the WPT World Championships in the past two years — we’ve been able to watch Moorman make moves in high-pressure scenarios under the TV lights. But we’ve never been able to hear him talk through his decisions in real time.
Until now.
ACR Poker’s $10M GTD NLH Venom event got up and running on April 13, and Moorman will be playing Day 1b on Thursday, April 17. For the first time ever, he will be streaming his play to viewers around the world.
“This will be the first time I’ve ever streamed a tournament online,” Moorman tells PokerOrg, “so I’m excited to showcase some creative plays that I make that have helped me make a lot of deep runs in main events both live and online.”
Could prize pool surpass $10 million?
With a $10M guaranteed prize pool in ACR Poker’s $2.5K buy-in Venom hold’em tourney, a total of 4,000 players will be required to meet the guarantee. Following the conclusion of Day 1a there are 177 remaining from 975 entrants — a figure which puts the event on track to possibly surpass the guarantee, given there are a total of five starting flights.
Day 1b starts at 1:05pm ET on April 17, and Moorman will be streaming his play from the moment he enters.
As he shares with us ahead of the tournament, one of the keys to success in the Venom is to think of it not so much as a typical online tourney, but to adopt more of a live poker mindset.
“To me the Venom is the equivalent of a live tournament but played out online,” Moorman explains. “What I mean by this is, you get to play deepstacked against a lot of different player types, which allows for creative plays and unique situations to come up that you haven’t really studied or practiced extensively.
“This is the ultimate test as a poker player, because it’s about adapting to different bet sizes, board textures and opponents that you often aren’t super familiar with, and then figuring out the best way to maximize your EV in a hand.”
‘The best structured tournament you’ll play all year’
As a long-serving ambassador for ACR Poker, Moorman has played the site’s flagship Venom events more than once. But, as he explains, they remain unmissable tournaments for the sheer value involved.
“It’s a must play," says Moorman, "the best structured tournament you’ll play all year. The satellites on offer are extensive at all different price points and often you can find ones with overlay for that extra value. If you manage to satellite into it, even a min-cash in the Venom can be a significant boost to someone’s bankroll.”
But while Moorman may be no stranger to the challenges and appeal of the Venom, he’s a newcomer to the world of streaming. We’re excited to catch a glimpse into the thought processes of such an established winner, even as we’re somewhat surprised it’s taken him this long to share his play with viewers via webcam.
“I think viewers that tune in to watch me play on Thursday will see some unique ways in which I think about the game, and adapt to different situations that arise in a poker tournament as it progresses. They could use them to help work on their own games.”
ACR Poker's Venom tournament is a dual-format event with one $10M GTD no-limit hold'em tournament and a separate $2M GTD pot-limit Omaha tourney. Starting flights are running until April 27.
Find out more, including information on the many satellites still available, in our ACR Poker Venom preview.
Catch the action, including Chris Moorman's debut on stream, at ACR Poker's Twitch channel.
Featured image courtesy of WPT.
