Darvin Moon
Encyclopedia
Darvin Moon is an American self-employed logger
and amateur poker
player who was the runner-up of the 2009 World Series of Poker
(WSOP) US$10,000 no-limit Texas hold'em main event. It was his first time playing in the World Series of Poker
. Moon, who taught himself how to play poker, ran a small logging company in the Maryland Panhandle
, before earning a 2009 World Series seat by winning a $130 satellite tournament
.
Moon earned the chip lead early in the tournament, and eventually entered the final table as the chip leader, with about 30 percent of the chips in play. Although Moon briefly lost the lead, he eventually regained it after eliminating veteran players like Steve Begleiter and Phil Ivey
. Moon ultimately lost heads up against Joe Cada
, earning Moon US$5.18 million for his second place finish.
Although some criticized his playing style and lack of experience, Moon was also praised for his working stiff personality and self-deprecating manner. Moon participated in the 2010 National Heads-Up Poker Championship
, but lost in the second round to Annie Duke
. He also competed in the 2010 World Series of Poker
main event, but was eliminated on the second day.
town of Oakland
, at the foot of Backbone Mountain
. Prior to entering the World Series of Poker
, Moon lived in a 14 by trailer with his wife, Wendy. Moon owns and operates a small logging
company with other family members. Most of his days were spent in pine forest
s scattered throughout the Maryland Panhandle
. Moon taught himself how to play poker, and he first started playing with his grandfather at a young age. He started playing frequently around 2006 and studied the game by watching televised poker. Moon regularly played home games at such places as fire departments, Elks Lodges
and American Legion
buildings.
Prior to his appearance on the World Series of Poker, Moon experienced several legal and financial problems. Liens have been filed against Moon for almost $20,000 against the City National Bank of West Virginia
, as well as about $15,000 to other banks and businesses. Moon also pleaded guilty to several criminal charges, including forgery and theft, passing bad checks and open burning. When the legal issues became public following his poker success, Moon said, "I'm not hiding anything. I know what kind of person I am in here," pointing at his heart.
no-limit Texas hold'em main event by winning a $130 satellite tournament
at the Wheeling Island Casino
in Wheeling
, West Virginia
. He lost two Wheeling Island tournaments before finishing in first place on his third attempt, winning a $10,000 main event seat and $6,000 for expenses. The event marked Moon’s first time playing in the WSOP, as well as visiting Las Vegas
, Nevada
and riding in a commercial plane. Due to the poor economy's impact on the logging business, Moon considered keeping the $10,000 instead of entering the tournament, but decided to play after visiting the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino
and watching World Series games there.
On the first day of the tournament, Moon was dealt pocket aces six times and got three-of-a-kind on the flop three times. He performed well on the first day and continued a successful streak throughout the tournament, although he himself proclaimed it was luck. He eliminated several professional poker players during the tournament, including David Benyamine
. He eventually obtained the chip lead and kept it until the seventh day of play. At that time he fell to tenth place, but won a few big hands to recover and ended the day back in the lead. He eliminated Billy Kopp in one of the biggest hands in the tournament when his led to a higher flush than Kopp's . Moon entered the final table as the chip leader, holding 58.6 million chips, or about 30 percent of the chips in play.
During the final table, Moon eliminated Steve Begleiter and seasoned pro Phil Ivey
. In both cases, Moon was behind but caught cards to win; Ivey lost with A-K to Moon's A-Q when a queen came up on the flop, and Begleiter's pocket queens lost to Moon's A-Q when he caught an ace on the river. Moon lost the chip lead during the November Nine
game, but his knockout win against Begleiter brought him back into the chip lead with 63.9 million chips. He made it to the final two players and went heads up against Joe Cada
, with Moon at 58.85 million and Cada at 135.95 million. Moon briefly recovered the chip lead from Cada, but lost it during the 79th heads-up hand, where Cada bet 3 million chips with his J-9 on a 10-5-9-10 turn after the flop was checked, Moon check-raised all in with 8-7. Cada called with his remaining 58 million chips, won the hand and regained the chip lead and the momentum for the duration of the match.
Commentators later criticized Moon for making such an expensive bluff for a small pot, and Moon seemed visibly disappointed after the game. Storms Reback, of All In Magazine, said the hand was a crucial moment for Moon, and that his fatigue from it may have resulted in a bad call at the final hand of the tournament. After 18 hours of play, Moon ended up finishing second against Cada when his succumbed to Cada's . He won $5,182,601 for his second place finish.
After the tournament ended, Moon was congratulated by professional poker player Phil Hellmuth
, who said, "I'm proud of you, Darvin." Some were critical of both Moon and Cada. Mike Matusow
, a professional poker player with a reputation for trash-talking, called the heads-up contest between the two "a new low for poker as a skilled game". Storms Reback, of All In Magazine, said Moon was "out of his league" at the tournament, and made a number of questionable calls and bets. As an example, Reback cited a hand in which Moon attempted to bluff by re-raising a bet by Begleiter for 15 million chips, then folding when Begleiter went all in for an additional 6 million, even though Moon was getting better than 7-to-1 odds on his money. Moon said he planned to spend some of his World Series winnings on putting relatives through college and charitable contributions to his home town, including a new youth ball field and recreation center. Moon said of his victory, "We ain't gonna change. The next time you see us, we'll be wearing jeans and everything else, like we always have."
at the Caesars Palace
in Las Vegas. He paid the $20,000 buy-in from his personal funds. Moon was paired against online qualifier William Huntress in the first round of the tournament on March 5. ESPN
writer Gary Wise said Huntress stood "as good a chance of toppling an invited player as any qualifier ever has", and questioned why Moon participated in the tournament given Moon's past claims of disinterest in media exposure and sponsorship. However, PokerNews.com writer Mickey Doft predicted Moon would do well in the tournament due to his unpredictable play. Moon defeated Huntress when his held out against Huntress' . The flop was , giving Huntress the better draw, but Moon won with king-high when another club failed to come on the turn or river, advancing Moon to the second round. He lost in that round to Annie Duke
, whose three Kings bested Moon's two pair of Queens and Tens. Duke went on to win the tournament.
In August 2010, Moon joined Chris Moneymaker
and Jonathan Duhamel
in hosting the Mega Stack Series XVII, a live poker tournament at Foxwoods Resort Casino
that drew 2,200 participants and had a total prize pool of more than $1 million. The next month, Moon entered the 2010 World Series of Poker
no-limit Texas hold-em main event. Early in the tournament, Moon doubled up with pocket kings against a player with pocket jacks. He was eliminated on day two, however, after moving all in with on a flop. His opponent had pocket aces, and Moon received no help with a turn and river. Leaving the poker room, he said to his wife, "At least the pressure's off, honey."
In 2011, Moon accepted a deal to become Tour Ambassador for Heartland Poker Tour
, wearing the patch of the nationally-televised tour and playing in several HPT events. HPT President Todd Anderson of Moon: "Darvin is our kind of guy. He's worked hard his entire life and now lives the dream that attracts so many to the game." Moon became a fan favorite among HPT's tour regulars when he declined an invitation for the November Nine taping in 2010 to play an HPT stop in Iowa. A last minute replacement for an ill Scotty Nguyen
, Moon bonded with HPT’s crew and players. Moon said, "I'm very comfortable with the HPT folks. They're like family."
. Moon has also been nicknamed the "Luddite Logger" because of his distaste for anything technological, including credit cards and online poker. Moon refused to sign a sponsorship deal with an Internet poker company during the 2009 tournament because he said he did not want to answer to anybody. Moon wore a New Orleans Saints
hat throughout the tournament because, "I like cheering for the underdog." Moon was invited to guest at the Saints games for their entire playoff run
, and watched them win Super Bowl XLIV
against the Indianapolis Colts
in Miami.
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
and amateur poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
player who was the runner-up of the 2009 World Series of Poker
2009 World Series of Poker
The 2009 World Series of Poker was the 40th annual World Series of Poker . It was held at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, and ran from May 27 to July 15. There were 57 bracelet events, culminating in the $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event...
(WSOP) US$10,000 no-limit Texas hold'em main event. It was his first time playing in the World Series of Poker
World Series of Poker
The World Series of Poker is a world-renowned series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2005, sponsored by Harrah's Entertainment...
. Moon, who taught himself how to play poker, ran a small logging company in the Maryland Panhandle
Western Maryland
Western Maryland is the portion of the U.S. state of Maryland that consists of Frederick, Washington, Allegany, and Garrett counties. The region is bounded by the Mason-Dixon line to the north, Preston County, West Virginia to the west, and the Potomac River to the south. There is dispute over the...
, before earning a 2009 World Series seat by winning a $130 satellite tournament
Satellite tournament
A satellite tournament is either a minor tournament or event on a competitive sporting tour or one of a group of such tournaments that form a series played in the same country or region.-Poker:...
.
Moon earned the chip lead early in the tournament, and eventually entered the final table as the chip leader, with about 30 percent of the chips in play. Although Moon briefly lost the lead, he eventually regained it after eliminating veteran players like Steve Begleiter and Phil Ivey
Phil Ivey
Phillip Dennis "Phil" Ivey Jr. is an American professional poker player who has won eight World Series of Poker bracelets, one World Poker Tour title and appeared at nine World Poker Tour final tables...
. Moon ultimately lost heads up against Joe Cada
Joe Cada
Joseph "Joe" Cada is an American professional poker player from Shelby Charter Township, Michigan, best known as the winner of the Main Event at the 2009 World Series of Poker ....
, earning Moon US$5.18 million for his second place finish.
Although some criticized his playing style and lack of experience, Moon was also praised for his working stiff personality and self-deprecating manner. Moon participated in the 2010 National Heads-Up Poker Championship
National Heads-Up Poker Championship
-2006:- 2007 :-2008:In additional to the poker professionals, several poker-playing celebrities from other fields were invited: Gabe Kaplan, Don Cheadle, Jennifer Tilly, Shannon Elizabeth, Jason Alexander and Orel Hershiser. Also invited was Alisha Kunze of Greensburg, Indiana, who won her seat...
, but lost in the second round to Annie Duke
Annie Duke
Annie Duke is a professional poker player and author who won a bracelet in the 2004 World Series of Poker $2,000 Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better Event and was the winner of the 2004 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions, where she earned the Winner-Take-All prize of $2,000,000...
. He also competed in the 2010 World Series of Poker
2010 World Series of Poker
The 2010 World Series of Poker was the 41st annual World Series of Poker , held at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, and ran from May 28 to July 17. There were 57 bracelet events, culminating in the $10,000 No Limit Hold'em Championship that began on July 5...
main event, but was eliminated on the second day.
Early life
Darvin Moon lives in the western MarylandMaryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
town of Oakland
Oakland, Maryland
Oakland is a town in the west-central part of Garrett County, Maryland, United States. With a population of 1,925 according to United States Census 2010 figures, it is the most populated community in Garrett County...
, at the foot of Backbone Mountain
Backbone Mountain
Backbone Mountain is a ridge of the Allegheny Mountains of the central Appalachian Mountain Range. It is situated in the U.S. states of West Virginia and Maryland and forms a portion of the Eastern Continental Divide...
. Prior to entering the World Series of Poker
World Series of Poker
The World Series of Poker is a world-renowned series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2005, sponsored by Harrah's Entertainment...
, Moon lived in a 14 by trailer with his wife, Wendy. Moon owns and operates a small logging
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
company with other family members. Most of his days were spent in pine forest
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
s scattered throughout the Maryland Panhandle
Western Maryland
Western Maryland is the portion of the U.S. state of Maryland that consists of Frederick, Washington, Allegany, and Garrett counties. The region is bounded by the Mason-Dixon line to the north, Preston County, West Virginia to the west, and the Potomac River to the south. There is dispute over the...
. Moon taught himself how to play poker, and he first started playing with his grandfather at a young age. He started playing frequently around 2006 and studied the game by watching televised poker. Moon regularly played home games at such places as fire departments, Elks Lodges
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks
The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks is an American fraternal order and social club founded in 1868...
and American Legion
American Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
buildings.
Prior to his appearance on the World Series of Poker, Moon experienced several legal and financial problems. Liens have been filed against Moon for almost $20,000 against the City National Bank of West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
, as well as about $15,000 to other banks and businesses. Moon also pleaded guilty to several criminal charges, including forgery and theft, passing bad checks and open burning. When the legal issues became public following his poker success, Moon said, "I'm not hiding anything. I know what kind of person I am in here," pointing at his heart.
2009 WSOP
Darvin Moon earned his seat in the 2009 World Series of Poker2009 World Series of Poker
The 2009 World Series of Poker was the 40th annual World Series of Poker . It was held at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, and ran from May 27 to July 15. There were 57 bracelet events, culminating in the $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event...
no-limit Texas hold'em main event by winning a $130 satellite tournament
Satellite tournament
A satellite tournament is either a minor tournament or event on a competitive sporting tour or one of a group of such tournaments that form a series played in the same country or region.-Poker:...
at the Wheeling Island Casino
Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack
Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack is located on Wheeling Island in the middle of the Ohio River, which is a part of the city of Wheeling, West Virginia...
in Wheeling
Wheeling, West Virginia
Wheeling is a city in Ohio and Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia; it is the county seat of Ohio County. Wheeling is the principal city of the Wheeling Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
. He lost two Wheeling Island tournaments before finishing in first place on his third attempt, winning a $10,000 main event seat and $6,000 for expenses. The event marked Moon’s first time playing in the WSOP, as well as visiting Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
and riding in a commercial plane. Due to the poor economy's impact on the logging business, Moon considered keeping the $10,000 instead of entering the tournament, but decided to play after visiting the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino
Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino
The Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino is located off the Las Vegas Strip in the unincorporated area of Paradise, Nevada, USA. It is better known as The Rio and is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment Inc. The Rio was the first all suite resort in the Las Vegas area...
and watching World Series games there.
On the first day of the tournament, Moon was dealt pocket aces six times and got three-of-a-kind on the flop three times. He performed well on the first day and continued a successful streak throughout the tournament, although he himself proclaimed it was luck. He eliminated several professional poker players during the tournament, including David Benyamine
David Benyamine
David Benyamine is a French professional poker player with a World Poker Tour title. Benyamine was a professional tennis player in his early career but had to retire because of shoulder pain. He was also a successful top ten billiards player in France. He learned poker at the age of 12 and plays...
. He eventually obtained the chip lead and kept it until the seventh day of play. At that time he fell to tenth place, but won a few big hands to recover and ended the day back in the lead. He eliminated Billy Kopp in one of the biggest hands in the tournament when his led to a higher flush than Kopp's . Moon entered the final table as the chip leader, holding 58.6 million chips, or about 30 percent of the chips in play.
During the final table, Moon eliminated Steve Begleiter and seasoned pro Phil Ivey
Phil Ivey
Phillip Dennis "Phil" Ivey Jr. is an American professional poker player who has won eight World Series of Poker bracelets, one World Poker Tour title and appeared at nine World Poker Tour final tables...
. In both cases, Moon was behind but caught cards to win; Ivey lost with A-K to Moon's A-Q when a queen came up on the flop, and Begleiter's pocket queens lost to Moon's A-Q when he caught an ace on the river. Moon lost the chip lead during the November Nine
November Nine
The November Nine is the name used to refer to the final nine contestants, or final table, at the Main Event of the World Series of Poker since 2008. The winner of the WSOP Main Event is considered to be the World Champion of Poker....
game, but his knockout win against Begleiter brought him back into the chip lead with 63.9 million chips. He made it to the final two players and went heads up against Joe Cada
Joe Cada
Joseph "Joe" Cada is an American professional poker player from Shelby Charter Township, Michigan, best known as the winner of the Main Event at the 2009 World Series of Poker ....
, with Moon at 58.85 million and Cada at 135.95 million. Moon briefly recovered the chip lead from Cada, but lost it during the 79th heads-up hand, where Cada bet 3 million chips with his J-9 on a 10-5-9-10 turn after the flop was checked, Moon check-raised all in with 8-7. Cada called with his remaining 58 million chips, won the hand and regained the chip lead and the momentum for the duration of the match.
Commentators later criticized Moon for making such an expensive bluff for a small pot, and Moon seemed visibly disappointed after the game. Storms Reback, of All In Magazine, said the hand was a crucial moment for Moon, and that his fatigue from it may have resulted in a bad call at the final hand of the tournament. After 18 hours of play, Moon ended up finishing second against Cada when his succumbed to Cada's . He won $5,182,601 for his second place finish.
After the tournament ended, Moon was congratulated by professional poker player Phil Hellmuth
Phil Hellmuth
Phil Hellmuth is an American professional poker player. He is best known for holding a record 11 World Series of Poker bracelets, for winning the Main Event of the 1989 World Series of Poker and for his temperamental, "poker brat" personality...
, who said, "I'm proud of you, Darvin." Some were critical of both Moon and Cada. Mike Matusow
Mike Matusow
Michael Matusow is an American professional poker player, residing in Henderson, Nevada. Matusow's nickname of "The Mouth" reflects his reputation for trash-talking at the poker table...
, a professional poker player with a reputation for trash-talking, called the heads-up contest between the two "a new low for poker as a skilled game". Storms Reback, of All In Magazine, said Moon was "out of his league" at the tournament, and made a number of questionable calls and bets. As an example, Reback cited a hand in which Moon attempted to bluff by re-raising a bet by Begleiter for 15 million chips, then folding when Begleiter went all in for an additional 6 million, even though Moon was getting better than 7-to-1 odds on his money. Moon said he planned to spend some of his World Series winnings on putting relatives through college and charitable contributions to his home town, including a new youth ball field and recreation center. Moon said of his victory, "We ain't gonna change. The next time you see us, we'll be wearing jeans and everything else, like we always have."
Post-WSOP poker career
Moon played few major poker games since the 2009 World Series of Poker, preferring instead to play local games among friends in the Oakland area. When asked how he had done in those games, Moon replied, "I've done all right. I've held my own." Moon joined 63 other players in the 2010 National Heads-Up Poker ChampionshipNational Heads-Up Poker Championship
-2006:- 2007 :-2008:In additional to the poker professionals, several poker-playing celebrities from other fields were invited: Gabe Kaplan, Don Cheadle, Jennifer Tilly, Shannon Elizabeth, Jason Alexander and Orel Hershiser. Also invited was Alisha Kunze of Greensburg, Indiana, who won her seat...
at the Caesars Palace
Caesars Palace
Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, an unincorporated township in Clark County, Nevada, United States in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. Caesars Palace is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment Corp....
in Las Vegas. He paid the $20,000 buy-in from his personal funds. Moon was paired against online qualifier William Huntress in the first round of the tournament on March 5. ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
writer Gary Wise said Huntress stood "as good a chance of toppling an invited player as any qualifier ever has", and questioned why Moon participated in the tournament given Moon's past claims of disinterest in media exposure and sponsorship. However, PokerNews.com writer Mickey Doft predicted Moon would do well in the tournament due to his unpredictable play. Moon defeated Huntress when his held out against Huntress' . The flop was , giving Huntress the better draw, but Moon won with king-high when another club failed to come on the turn or river, advancing Moon to the second round. He lost in that round to Annie Duke
Annie Duke
Annie Duke is a professional poker player and author who won a bracelet in the 2004 World Series of Poker $2,000 Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better Event and was the winner of the 2004 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions, where she earned the Winner-Take-All prize of $2,000,000...
, whose three Kings bested Moon's two pair of Queens and Tens. Duke went on to win the tournament.
In August 2010, Moon joined Chris Moneymaker
Chris Moneymaker
Christopher Bryan Moneymaker is an American poker player who won the main event at the 2003 World Series of Poker . His 2003 win is said to have revolutionized poker because he was the first person to become a world champion by qualifying at an online poker site...
and Jonathan Duhamel
Jonathan Duhamel
Jonathan Duhamel is a Canadian poker professional from Boucherville, Quebec, best known as the winner of the Main Event at the 2010 World Series of Poker . He is the first Canadian player to capture the Main Event bracelet....
in hosting the Mega Stack Series XVII, a live poker tournament at Foxwoods Resort Casino
Foxwoods Resort Casino
Foxwoods Resort Casino is a hotel-casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut, United States. Together with the MGM Grand at Foxwoods, it is one of the largest casino complexes in the world in terms of floor space for gaming. The entire resort comprises of space. The casino has over 380 gaming tables...
that drew 2,200 participants and had a total prize pool of more than $1 million. The next month, Moon entered the 2010 World Series of Poker
2010 World Series of Poker
The 2010 World Series of Poker was the 41st annual World Series of Poker , held at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, and ran from May 28 to July 17. There were 57 bracelet events, culminating in the $10,000 No Limit Hold'em Championship that began on July 5...
no-limit Texas hold-em main event. Early in the tournament, Moon doubled up with pocket kings against a player with pocket jacks. He was eliminated on day two, however, after moving all in with on a flop. His opponent had pocket aces, and Moon received no help with a turn and river. Leaving the poker room, he said to his wife, "At least the pressure's off, honey."
In 2011, Moon accepted a deal to become Tour Ambassador for Heartland Poker Tour
Heartland Poker Tour
Heartland Poker Tour is an internationally-syndicated television program airing 52 weeks each year and a U.S.-based poker tour. Created by friends Greg Lang and Todd Anderson in 2005, HPT promotes the tagline "Real People, Unreal Money." Originally developed to be a regional TV show airing in...
, wearing the patch of the nationally-televised tour and playing in several HPT events. HPT President Todd Anderson of Moon: "Darvin is our kind of guy. He's worked hard his entire life and now lives the dream that attracts so many to the game." Moon became a fan favorite among HPT's tour regulars when he declined an invitation for the November Nine taping in 2010 to play an HPT stop in Iowa. A last minute replacement for an ill Scotty Nguyen
Scotty Nguyen
Thuận B. "Scotty" Nguyễn is a Vietnamese American professional poker player who is a five time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, most notably as the winner of the 1998 World Series of Poker Main Event and the 2008 WSOP $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship...
, Moon bonded with HPT’s crew and players. Moon said, "I'm very comfortable with the HPT folks. They're like family."
Personality and style
Moon displayed what he described as a humble and self-deprecating manner during the World Series of Poker, repeatedly acknowledging his lack of poker experience throughout the tournament, and often attributing his success to luck and a high number of strong cards, rather than talent. Moon adopted a phrase, "If I win, I win. If I lose, I lose," which reflected his casual approach to the game. Moon also said one of his philosophies was, "Make the other guy pay to see the cards", a strategy attributed to many re-raises Moon made during the 2009 WSOP despite weak hands. Moon had almost no experience in heads-up poker, which some commentators said factored into his loss against Cada in the final hours of the 2009 World Series. Many fans and commentators praised his working stiff style, with some dubbing him "Darvin Gump", a reference to the underdog protagonist of the 1994 drama film, Forrest GumpForrest Gump
Forrest Gump is a 1994 American epic comedy-drama romance film based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis, starring Tom Hanks, Robin Wright and Gary Sinise...
. Moon has also been nicknamed the "Luddite Logger" because of his distaste for anything technological, including credit cards and online poker. Moon refused to sign a sponsorship deal with an Internet poker company during the 2009 tournament because he said he did not want to answer to anybody. Moon wore a New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
hat throughout the tournament because, "I like cheering for the underdog." Moon was invited to guest at the Saints games for their entire playoff run
2009–10 NFL playoffs
The National Football League playoffs for the 2009 season began on January 9, 2010 and led up to Super Bowl XLIV on February 7, 2010 at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida...
, and watched them win Super Bowl XLIV
Super Bowl XLIV
Super Bowl XLIV was an American football game between the American Football Conference champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference champion New Orleans Saints to decide the National Football League champion for the 2009 season. The Saints defeated the Colts by a score of...
against the Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
in Miami.