A Look at 888poker Ambassador Chris Moorman’s Second Poker Book
When Chris “Moorman1” Moorman, the 888poker ambassador, released “Moorman’s Book of Poker” in 2014, recreational poker players and professionals alike were scrambling to get their hands on a copy.
Online poker’s most successful tournament player of all-time, in terms of prize money won, had previously shied away from giving poker strategy advice and here he was, laying out his trade secrets over 384 pages for all to read.
Personally, I enjoyed Moorman’s first publication even though I rarely hit the tables these days. It was well set out, easy to read and gave an insight into how one of the best poker players of his generation thinks about a hand when it is playing out in front of him.
Moorman's Second Book
Recently, in July 2017, Moorman published his second book, “Moorman: The inside story of the most successful online poker player of all time.” This latest book is similar in size to his first work at 344 pages, but instead of being purely a strategy book, we are also treated to part autobiography and get to learn more about Moorman the man not just Moorman the poker player.
Like many poker players who were becoming rising stars, Moorman used to keep a blog where he would share his latest poker sessions and update his fans and followers with trip reports and such on a regular basis. The blog had many followers, but we never really got to see who Moorman was or what he was about. This new book scratches the surface.
The first 100 pages of Moorman’s new book give readers a glimpse of Moorman growing up, from discovering poker and being, well, a lucky fish, in home games and the like, to being down to his last $25 online and putting it all on a sit & go tournament, which he won by the way, to kick-start what is now an illustrious career.
We learn about Moorman’s foray into poker staking, including having half of Tyler Reiman’s action when he finished second to Harrison Gimbel in the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event for $1.75 million, and also how he was stiffed by a couple of his “horses” in backing deals that went sour.
As you read throughout the autobiography section of the book, you almost feel Moorman growing up and maturing, culminating in him winning the World Poker Tour L.A. Poker Classic, getting engaged and ultimately marrying his sweetheart. You also learn of the struggles Moorman faced during this growing up period. It would be easy to think that someone so successful had enjoyed an easy ride throughout their life; nothing could be further from the truth.
Strategy Section
After the life story comes detailed analysis of 44 hands Moorman has played online. A mixture of hands from multi-table tournaments and cash games are displayed and Moorman gives a detailed analysis of each and every one of them. This section alone would probably be worth buying the book for.
In addition to the expert analysis from Moorman, there are eight hands where Moorman enlists the help of some of the world’s elite players to discuss strategy. Team PokerStars Pros Daniel Negreanu, Vanessa Selbst, Liv Boeree, Jake Cody and Igor Kurganov are joined by German superstars Fedor Holz and Dominik Nitsche, the latter being Moorman’s fellow 888poker ambassador.
Much like Moorman’s own strategy section, these professional critiques of Moorman’s play are worth their weight in gold and it is such a rarity that you get to have an insight into such great poker minds that you simply have to read their comments.
To summarize, despite being almost 400 pages long, you’ll sail through Moorman’s latest book with ease, and you never know, the tips and strategy you pick up may just push you on from being a break-even player to one who is in the winner’s circle on a regular basis.
