David Reese

Considered by many to be the greatest high stakes cash game poker player in the world, Chip Reese was born David Edward Reese in Dayton, Ohio in 1951. As a child, David had an uncanny talent for winning at cards and often played with the other kids in the neighborhood for the high stakes of baseball cards and bubble gum. Having suffered from a case of rheumatic fever, David was forced to stay home from elementary school for the better part of a year. His mother entertained him by teaching him how to play several board and card games, including backgammon and gin rummy. Reese has said that the time he spent at home helped make him the card player that he is today.

David Reese was a talented football player and played throughout his high school career. He also excelled at the sport of debate and appeared in the national debating finals.

Upon graduation, David Reese went to Dartmouth University where he became a card playing legend on campus. Teachers and students alike consistently lost their money to Reese and when he graduated, the card room at his fraternity house was named The David E. Reese room in his honor.

In 1974, Reese left Dartmouth and had plans to attend Stanford University in the pursuance of a law degree. On his way to California, he stopped in Las Vegas and two days later David Reese had a new career. Turning the $400 he had in his pocket into $60,000, Reese concluded, “Law doesn’t have the same monetary incentive as poker.” It was a full year before David Reese told his parents that he was no longer going to be a lawyer.

The career choice turned out to be a good one, as David “Chip” Reese went on to win World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets in 1978 and 1982. It is estimated that Reese made more than two million dollars during his first two years of professional poker. After winning his second WSOP bracelet, Chip gave up tournament play and decided to focus his attention on the more lucrative cash games. He returned at the insistence of his children who wanted to see their dad play poker on television. He did well, making the final table at the Jack Binion World Poker Open and finishing fourth in his first televised World Poker Tour appearance.

David “Chip” Reese remains one of the most feared seven-card stud players in the world and is a regular at Doyle Brunson’s home table, the “Big Game” where some of the most expensive cash games occur. Superstars like Brunson, Lyle Berman, Bobby Baldwin, and Johnny “Orient” Express are all regular players. Brunson, a poker legend in his own right, has said that Reese is the best seven-card stud player that he has ever played with. In fact, Reese authored the seven-card stud section of the original “Super System,” the best selling poker book of all time by Doyle Brunson. Doyle was once quoted as saying, “If my family’s lives were threatened and I had to win a poker match in order to save them, Chip is the player I would definitely choose.”

David Reese’s expertise and experience have earned him a great deal of respect in the world of professional poker. He has arguably won more money than any other player in history, spending his time playing in elite games, where what can be won goes far beyond the cash prizes in tournament play. Jack Binion has said, “He’s the premier poker player in the world…since turning pro 29 years ago, the Dartmouth grad has consistently managed to remain among the highest rollers.”

David Reese proved Binion right when in July of 2006 he won the $50,000 buy-in H.O.R.S.E tournament at the Rio All Suite Casino and Hotel. Although his popularity is often overshadowed by the multitude of young highly recognized players who have recently made their way onto the poker scene, Chip Reese beat out 143 other men and women who had paid the $50,000 tournament buy-in. The final table of nine included poker celebrities like Doyle Brunson, Jim Bechtel, Phil Ivey, and T.J Cloutier. The tournament ended with a twelve-hour standoff between Reese and Andy Bloch with Chip eventually earning the champion title.

Reese is known for his stability and unwavering confidence. Always able to control his emotions at the table, he is a solid card player who knows when to stick in a game to make a big score and when to bow out gracefully and wait for another day. He has explained the game as follows: “Like backgammon, it’s a very simple game. But it’s also highly mathematical. If you never play someone on the next level, you don’t know that level exists. It’s almost another dimension.”

When asked when he might consider quitting poker, David “Chip” Reese has been quoted as replying, “I’ll stop playing at my funeral, and only God knows what I’ll do after that.”

Name: David "Chip" Reese Location: Las Vegas, NV, United States Cashes: 31 Total Winnings: $3,105,138 First Place Finishes: 3 WSOP Bracelets: 3

David Reese Poker Results EVENT PLACE PRIZE DATE 38th Annual World Series of Poker Event #7 - WSOP Pot Limit Omaha 12th $43,365 Jun 4, 2007 Bellagio Five Diamond World Poker Classic / WPT Event Season 5 WPT No Limit Hold'em Championship Doyle Brunson North American Classic 30th $50,745 Dec 19, 2006 37th Annual World Series of Poker Event #20 - WSOP No Limit H.O.R.S.E 1st $1,784,640 Jul 14, 2006 Shooting Star - WPT Season 4 WPT No Limit Hold'em 26th $35,000 Mar 3, 2006 36th Annual World Series of Poker Event #31 - WSOP No Limit Hold'em 30th $8,490 Jun 29, 2005 Poker Superstars Invitational No Limit Hold'em 5th $250,000 Feb 9, 2005 2004 Festa al Lago III /Doyle Brunson North American Poker Championship - WPT Event Season 3 WPT Main Event - No Limit Hold'em 39th $15,000 Oct 22, 2004 Rendezvous a Paris - WPT Season 3 WPT No Limit Hold'em 11th $28,834 Jul 21, 2004 35th Annual World Series of Poker Event #2 - WSOP No Limit Hold'em 11th $16,880 Apr 23, 2004 5th Annual Jack Binion World Poker Open - WPT Season 2 WPT Main Event - No Limit Hold'em 4th $207,304 Jan 29, 2004 26th Annual World Series of Poker Event #21 - WSOP No Limit Hold'em 5th $31,125 May 15, 1995 Poker Classic No Limit Hold'em 4th $20,800 Sep 20, 1994 24th Annual World Series of Poker Event #21 - WSOP World Championship - No Limit Hold'em 26th $12,000 May 10, 1993 24th Annual World Series of Poker Event #11 - WSOP Limit 7 Card Stud 6th $14,250 Apr 30, 1993 Poker Classic No Limit Hold'em 5th $25,000 Jan 22, 1992 Superbowl of Poker No Limit Hold'em 6th $21,600 Feb 14, 1990 5th Annual Diamond Jim Brady Event #20 - Main Event - No Limit Hold'em 2nd $150,000 Aug 29, 1989 20th Annual World Series of Poker Event #14 - WSOP World Championship - No Limit Hold'em 23rd $10,000 May 14, 1989 20th Annual World Series of Poker Event #13 - WSOP No Limit Deuce to Seven Lowball 3rd $46,500 May 13, 1989 19th Annual World Series of Poker Event #12 - WSOP World Championship - No Limit Hold'em 32nd $7,500 May 16, 1988 19th Annual World Series of Poker Event #9 - WSOP No Limit Deuce to Seven Lowball 2nd $87,500 May 13, 1988 18th Annual World Series of Poker Event #10 - WSOP Limit Razz 16th $1,630 May 9, 1987 18th Annual World Series of Poker Event #8 - WSOP Limit Hold'em 18th $3,000 May 7, 1987 17th Annual World Series of Poker Event #10 - WSOP Limit 7 Card Stud 4th $14,000 May 19, 1986 16th Annual World Series of Poker Event #8 - WSOP Pot Limit Omaha 2nd $42,500 May 11, 1985 16th Annual World Series of Poker Event #4 - WSOP No Limit Deuce to Seven Lowball 2nd $38,000 May 7, 1985 13th Annual World Series of Poker Event #10 - WSOP Limit 7 Card Stud 1st $92,500 May 18, 1982 12th Annual World Series of Poker Event #12 - WSOP No Limit Deuce to Seven Lowball 5th $9,500 May 18, 1981 12th Annual World Series of Poker Event #11 - WSOP Limit Ace to Five Draw 5th $4,400 May 17, 1981 12th Annual World Series of Poker Event #9 - WSOP No Limit Ace to Five Draw 3rd $13,875 May 15, 1981 9th Annual World Series of Poker Event #9 - WSOP Limit 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo 1st $19,200 May 15, 1978 See an error in the results? an email

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