Dubbed as one of the ‘world’s best poker players’, Chris Moorman has won millions playing the game and is now releasing an autobiography documenting his achievements.

Mr Moorman, 32, who grew up in Rayleigh and attended Westcliff High School for Boys, learnt to play poker whilst studying at the University of Essex.

Once he started racking up his winnings, poker got in the way of his studies.

Chris’ Dad, Simon, 60, said: “He opened up to me about three or four weeks ago that he never finished his degree. He was like a lot of 22 or 23-year-old lads - lazy unless he is interested in something. He just got the bug for this.”

Mr Moorman’s book, which documents his success and leads the readers through certain hands he faced, will be launched on Friday, October 13 at Aspers Casino in  Westfield Shopping Centre in Stratford where a poker tournament is being held.

Currently in Las Vegas, where he has a home, Mr Moorman has won more than $14 million online and $5 million in live tournaments.

However Mr Moorman, the only British Ambassador for 888Poker, once hid his hobby from his parents. He said: “Mum would have gone mad if she had known what I was doing. But I was starting to win some money playing online and so I was able to cover my tracks by saying I had a job stacking shelves in a supermarket. In reality my friend and I were playing poker online and watching the best Ashes series ever.

“By the end of the summer, I had gone from having a couple of hundred dollars in my online account to having a bank roll of five thousand dollars.”

The main festival event at Aspers Casino starts this Thursday, October 12 and finishes Monday, October 16.