|
Poker Bio: David Reese
David “Chip” Reese won the World Series of Poker gold bracelet in 1978,
taking the $1000 Seven-Card Stud Split Championship, and won the $5000
Seven-Card stud Championship in 1982. He has been called the best seven
card stud player in the world, and was elected to the Poker Hall of Fame
in 1991 at the age of 40.
David Edward Reese was born on March 28, 1951 and grew up in Dayton,
Ohio. He started playing poker for baseball cards very young, including
taking on kids who were four years older than him and beating them.
Before many of his adversaries knew what had happened, Reese owned all
the baseball cards on the block. In his first year of elementary school,
he had to stay home for the full year after contracting rheumatic fever.
Reese’s mother taught him all sorts of board and card games during this
time, which Reese points to as the key time in his development.
In high school, Reese continued to play poker, and also began to play
football. He was also a highly successful member of the debate team, and
won the Ohio State Championship and went to the National Finals. He
received his degree form Dartmouth, and his fraternity named their game
room in his honor.
Reese had planned to attend Stanford School of Law after graduation, but
became sidetracked in Vegas. He found a job selling land, and began to
play $5/$10 7-card stud. He entered a tournament at the Sahara Casino
with $500 dollars at the end of the summer and took first place, winning
$40,000. When the fall semester came, Reese was still in Vegas, with a
$100,000 bankroll and a playing partner, Danny Robeson.
Reese was watching Doyle Brunson and Johnny Moss playing hi-low split
late one night, and believed they were playing terribly. He convinced
Robeson that the game was worth spending $15,000 of their bankroll for
the buy-in, at $400/$800 stakes. After a four day weekend of play, the
partners bankroll had risen to $400,000, in large part helped by Reese’s
lack of reputation. Reese was 23. His luck wasn’t always good, and he
did go broke on several occasions, but he would manage to climb back
through his phenomenal play.
Reese married at 35, and began to use computer programs to handicap
sporting events. He has now made millions from his system for betting
baseball. Now with children, Reese makes most of his living off the
income from his business, as the time it takes in the casinos to warn a
decent living would take time away from his family.
Reese was the nineteenth inductee into the Poker Hall of Fame, and only
the third living player to be enshrined, as well as the youngest. He has
also been noted as one of the best side games players in history.
|
