How a Student Became the World’s Best Online Poker Player
Posted by Harry Kane on Thursday, October 19, 2017
With the Apprentice and Lord Alan Sugar back on UK screens this week, we are once again reminded that great success and wealth can built on relatively humble foundations. While many of the traditional methods used to create wealth still apply, the technological revolution has also created new avenues to success. These are embodied by some of the more recent rags-to-riches stories, including the fascinating tale for former student Chris Moorman.
Now renowned as the world’s leading online poker player, Chris has amassed a £13 million by the tender age of 32. But how did this accomplishment come about, and what does it tell us about the virtual gambling sector in the modern age?
The Story of Chris Moorman
In his early 20s, Chris Moorman was a struggling economics student who was stacking shelves in a supermarket to earn some much-needed cash. Uninspired and lacking in direction, Chris began to experience the frustration that so many students go through as they work towards a professional career.
Then he discovered Texas Hold ‘Em poker online.
He quickly learned and got to grips with the basics of the game, which became hugely popular through emerging social channels such as Facebook a decade ago. While still a 21-year old student, he managed to amass earnings of £50,000 in no time and had a bank roll of £100,000 within six months of starting out.
As his winnings mounted, he took the difficult decision to drop out of his degree course at the University of Essex and started to play online poker full-time. So while his friends were studying and partying at the weekends, Chris would spend his evenings alone in lodgings playing in live poker tournaments (often for the duration of the night).
Having subsequently earned £13 million online, Chris is widely-accepted as the most successful virtual poker player of all-time. He also has a base in Las Vegas and a passion for luxury holidays, although he adheres to the relatively modest lifestyle and strategies that served him so well on his way to the top.
What does this tell Us About the Online Gambling Sector in the UK?
While this path is clearly not for everyone, it shows how a passion for gaming and the accessibility of modern technology can be combined to generate wealth in 2017. It also highlights the fact that responsible gambling can deliver sustained and viable returns, especially when players focus on defined games of skill, take the time to hone their craft and are able to display focus in the pursuit of their goals.
We can also see why online poker has become such a lucrative earning opportunity for players across the UK, as relatively relaxed regulations and innovation have established a virtual gambling market worth approximately £4.5 billion. In fact, online activity now accounts for 33% of the gambling industry as a whole, and this share is likely to increase further in the years’ ahead.
With this in mind, expect to see more stories like this in the future. We should probably also change our perspective on virtual gambling, particularly when appraising games of skill and their capacity for generating wealth in the digital age.