NEW YORK - I have stared directly into the Oakleys, and lived to tell the tale.

Playing poker with Chris Moneymaker, the accountant who came out of nowhere to win the 2003 World Series of Poker, is a bit like shooting hoops with Michael Jordan - though lady luck can even the odds slightly.

But Moneymaker (yes, that's his real name) is many things not seen on the frequent ESPN replays of his historic Vegas run. For starters, he doesn't even wear those trademark Oakley sunglasses.

"I use them only for the big games," he says, pulling up the table.

This isn't a big game?!

"Well, I'm not going to say that. Big money games, where I might get nervous. I haven't worn glasses in a while. They're more bothersome to me, actually, 'cause you have to take them on and off."

Well, our game was admittedly not big money. It was for, ahem, no money. But the stakes were still very real for the eight players (amateurs but competitive, including myself) The Associated Press brought together on a recent weekday evening to compete against one of poker's biggest names.

The game of Texas Hold 'Em was played at a Manhattan poker club, an apparently cleanly run (though unadvertised and technically illegal) parlor of about ten green felt poker tables. It packs in a crowd of mostly 20-something guys on a nightly basis, many of whom caught the poker bug from the much televised hold 'em games. But they are far from alone in today's full-fledged poker boom.

In 2003, the sport (if you can call it that) became a surprise hit for ESPN, which recently released a DVD of their eight hours of World Series coverage. On it, you can again watch Moneymaker's unlikely rise to the final table, where he ended the tournament (and won $2.5 million) with a full house, two hands after a dramatic bluff against vet Sammy Farha.

That particular hand, where Moneymaker bluffed his way to win over $6 million in chips with just king high, deserves a spot in poker lore. That's a place Moneymaker already resides in, having ascended to the pinnacle of the game in his first tournament.

But the average guy in the baseball cap has indeed changed. For nine months following his big win, Moneymaker, 28, remained an accountant, but as the poker boom grew, he realized the financial prospects at his door. Now with an agent, the Tennessee native has a video game due for this spring, an autobiography in the works and is in talks for a made-for-TV movie.

And here he was, sitting at the AP game with his blonde bangs and grown-up fratboy look.

In Texas Hold 'Em poker, everyone is dealt two cards face down. After a round of betting, the dealer lays down three community cards called "the flop." Another round of betting is followed by one more community card called "the turn" or "fourth street." More betting, then the final card, "the river," is shown. The player who can make the best hand out of their two cards and those on the table wins. But aggressive raises, safe folds and daring bluffs make having the cards to win only half of the battle.

Moneymaker passes his first couple hands, and explains, "If I get good hands, I'll play. I just don't play much early. Playing at a single table like this, the idea is just don't go broke early."

After settling in, Moneymaker says that his strength is reading people, specifically their betting pattern.

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