Lock Poker has managed to further solidify their status since the Full Tilt meltdown last month by recruiting two new professional poker players: Chris Moorman and Nicky Evans. Jennifer Larson, the chief executive officer for Lock Poker, states that the two players are stars, and that she is “very excited” to welcome them to the Lock Poker family. Both of the new Lock recruits are excellent players; there’s no denying that.
It’s hard to see Chris Moorman as anything but a sort of Wunderkind. The more you know about Moorman, the more impressive he is (unless what really impresses you is completing university with the highest marks, as Moorman let his studies suffer in order to play poker). He spent his university years learning economics, but not through the works of Adam Smith or John Maynard Keynes– Moorman was educated by poker guides and tutorials, through hours starting at .25 or .50 games so that he could slowly make a little money. By the time he was out of university, he had made enough money to pay off his student loans and still have a decent amount left over, and he presented his argument to his father: he should be able to play poker full-time.
In addition to his remarkable rise to fame, Chris Moorman has some other special talents under his belt. At this year’s World Series of Poker, he’s currently in fourth place in the Player of the Year race– not close enough to challenge Ben Lamb or Phil Hellmuth, who are leading the pack, for the title, but well enough to make a good showing and keep his name circulating among poker players and aficionados. It’s not just name recognition that Moorman managed to take home from the 2011 WSOP, however; he also left with over a million dollars in prize money (which may seem insignificant when compared to the over 7.5 million that he’s garnered through online play).
Moorman obviously learned something of economics from his time in school, as he finally followed his father’s advice and decided to do something with his winnings. Moorman’s investment of choice? Other players. Moorman currently sponsors 20 professional poker players, usually beginners who could use the financial backing or some pointers; from Moorman, they get both, as this astute businessman knows that helping his investments better their game means a better chance at return for him. In 2010, he estimated that he was fronting about 250,000 a month in stakes for other players with whom he would split the winnings if they cashed, a deal that proved lucrative when Moorman sponsored Tyler Reiman, who came in second at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, netting Moorman half of the $1.75 million score.
Moorman’s a pro at MTT (Multi-table tournaments), which can be taxing for a lot of players. Moorman doesn’t seem to mind, because he’s turned a game that he loves into a career (with three days a week off to enjoy life as a 26-year-old should). He’s such a strong player, in fact, that he not only holds the record for the most PokerFives triple crowns (currently 11), but he was hand-picked by Doyle Brunson to be a member of the Brunson 10.
Nicky Evans isn’t quite the success story that Moorman is, but he still plays a solid game: solid enough to earn him over a million dollars since he went pro a couple of years ago. Like his fellow Lock Poker recruit, Evans started playing poker in university, but Evans’ game was a purely live one, playing first with fellow students and then at the small tables at the casino close to his school. After university, he headed to Canada, where he played at a casino in Niagra Falls when he wasn’t working. He would soon meet a sponsor, and the rest, as they say, is history. Under the tutelage of James Dempsey, Evans would begin to win every live tournament he encountered, but things changed when he made the transition to an online game. It would take some time (and a new backer) before Evans was successful online.
Who was the new backer who changed Evans’ game once more? None other than Chris Moorman.
The two players will join other Lock Poker pros (called LockPro ELITE members) such as Jose “Girah” Macedo, Matt Stout, Stevie Devlin, and Eric Lynch.