How many players are in this year’s WSOP Main Event because of Chris Moneymaker?
Given the man’s influence on the game since his era-defining 2003 win, that’s a tough question to answer. But for one player it’s easy: Steve Rada knows just how he got here, and it really is all down to Moneymaker.
It was just last month that Chris Moneymaker issued a challenge on ACR Poker: finish in the top two in one of four special $8 tournaments to win a spot in an invitational sit & go; make the top two in that, and take on the man himself in a best-of-three heads-up match. Win that, and you'll play the Main Event on ACR Poker's dime.
Rada worked his way through the qualifiers and ended up facing Moneymaker for the prize package, defeating him heads-up for the Main Event seat.
We caught up with both of them in the PokerOrg Legends Lounge, where Moneymaker picks up the story:
“Me and Steve had to play heads-up, and they basically told me, ‘be nice, be gentle, don’t be too rough on him.’”
At this, Rada raises an eyebrow. “My honest opinion is, I cleaned house,” he laughs, “I straight up cleaned house. It was not a contest, I knew what was going to happen!”
“He had a Hennessy bottle there, ready to celebrate,” Moneymaker smiles, “but it’s alright… we’ll see who goes further in the tournament.”
(Update: Moneymaker bust on Day 2ABC. Rada resumes his Main Event on Day 2D on Monday with a little under starting stack, still good for 70 big blinds.)
Advice from the champ
“Steve played really well heads-up,” Moneymaker continues, “I think he’s going to do really well on Day 2. Day 2 is very similar to Day 1, it’s going to depend a lot on your table draw: your table draw is just massive on Day 2. You still have a lot of chips. You’ll have more chips than you need for the first three hours – just play the same way you played on Day 1, don’t do anything too out of the ordinary.”
“You don’t need to take any big risks or run any big bluffs,” adds Moneymaker. “Day 1 and Day 2 are all about survival. Day 3 is when you need to start doing some creative things to build your stack.
“If you get a good table draw then great; if you don’t, find out when the table breaks are. If you’re going to be there all day, find out who the weakest players at your table are, attack those guys and avoid the strongest ones. Do some research and find out everyone’s experience levels.”
With 20 years of experience playing the Main Event, being able to listen to Moneymaker’s advice is one thing Rada won in the prize package that’s harder to put a price on. And listening is one thing Moneymaker certainly recommends.
“On Day 2, it’s funny how people will be so proud to tell you how they got their chips on Day 1,” he explains, “By speaking to them at the start of the day, you can ask them about where they’re from, their hand histories, and you can pick up how knowledgeable they are by the words and the terms they use… before play starts, you can pick up a lot of information.”
Having turned an $8 satellite ticket into a once-in-a-lifetime trip to play the Main Event, Rada is enjoying the experience and learning all the time. Other than the obvious - a deep run and big score - we ask if there’s anything in particular he’s hoping for?
“I just don’t want to end up on Chris Moneymaker’s table."
That definitely won't happen. But there are plenty of other crushers still in the mix.
We'll follow Rada's progress through the tournament, starting on Monday on Day 2D.
