It’s time we firmly put this myth to bed — if anything, soaking the wood chips will hurt, not help, your cookout every single time. Water barely penetrates wood further than a fraction of an inch (recall, for instance, every Spanish galleon or raft that has ever touched the seas). The “smoke” you might see from soaked wood is really steam; the only real reaction wet wood will provide is to simply cool down your fuel source. If you want to make it that much harder to start (or maintain) a decent fire… sure, go for it!