Level 7 (400/800/800)
Total Entrants: 116
If you ask Charles "Woody" Moore about his poker career, make sure you have the time to hear the answer. Not because Woody can't stick to a narrative, but because the stories he has to tell are rich and vibrant with many asides and full of detail.
Prior to interviewing Woody at the table, I took a moment to look up his tournament history online, and oh boy, the history goes back practically to the birth of the internet in 2000. Two decades of Woody's tournament winnings are recorded in the digital matrix, encompassing 110+ cashes and over $1,600,000 in prizes.
The largest of these is the 2008 L.A. Poker Classic, where Woody finished in 3rd place for $625,630. Moore traded blows with poker legends at this table, including Phil Ivey, Phil Hellmuth, Nam Le, and Theo Tran. Those names made this particular final table the most-watched poker event for years to come.
But when you ask him about it, he says the real story there is about a school teacher from Canada who took $215 and won a satellite seat into the event for $12,000, finished 5th in the L.A. Poker Classic, then ended up at the final table of the WSOP Main Event a few months later.
"It's a better story than Chris Moneymaker," Woody tells me, withholding the player's name to the end. "Scott Montgomery turned $215 into $4,000,000 in five months."
But this is what it's like talking to Woody about Woody. The retired oil and gas explorer has played with all the big names and has qualified for the National Championship for seven years in a row--the only player to do so. Humble to the last, he'd rather tell you about how he likes to play because of all the nice people you meet.
It's at this point in the conversation that Woody picks up a hand he wants to play, and the conversation pauses as I step back from the table.
Woody limps in for 800 and the action folds to Melannie Craig in the small blind, who raises to 2,400. Woody flashes me his hole cards, but I'm not looking, so he says to me, "Do you see them?"
I look down to see Q♣Q♥.
Woody re-raises to 8,000 and after some thought, Craig announces all-in. Woody calls and the hands are turned up.
Melannie Craig - A♦T♦
Woody Moore - Q♣Q♥
The board runs out Q♦T♣8♥5♦4♠, and as the pot is pushed, Woody says, "Well, we had a sweat."
The conversation went on for a bit, longer than a live reporter should spend during an ongoing event, I must admit. But take my advice, if you're at the table with Charles "Woody" Moore, ask him about the 2008 L.A. Poker Classic. You will not be bored.