Biography of David "Chip" Reese
David Reese was an extremely highly regarded gambler and professional poker player. He was born and raised in Centerville, Ohio and is held in extremely high regard in poker circles, often being referred to as the finest for-money player ever.
Reese's childhood years were dogged by considerable ill health, and he was afflicted with a lengthy bout of rheumatic fever, which caused him to miss a year of formal schooling. Reese often commented that these nascent years honed his character and helped him to become the success in poker that he later was. Certainly, the fifth-graders that he regularly trounced at poker as a mere five year old would attest that his success came somewhat earlier. As a high school student, he played football and was a keen member of the debating team. It was as a member of the debating team that he won an Ohio State Championship, and later attended the National Finals.
After graduation, he joined Dartmouth College, in the process turning down overtures from Harvard. He continued to participate in debating, had brief forays into freshman football and made the decision to concentrate on economics as his subject franca. He also began to flourish as a poker player, playing against students and professors alike, enjoying huge success. He taught other students the ins and outs of many different card games [http://www.pokerdoom.com/poker-players], especially the many poker variants and bridge.
Following Dartmouth, he was admitted to Stanford Law School. It was at this time, however, that he began to taste real success on the professional poker circuit, initially winning $60,000 at a Las Vegas tournament. His path was decided, and around the same time as he would have been due to enroll at Stanford, he had already made $100,000 at poker. He had been utterly swayed by the glamorous bright lights and remunerative power of Vegas and decided to make it his home. At that time, Reese also participated in the writing of the best-selling book on poker "Super/System". It remains a top selling title to this day.
Despite the fact that Reese's tournament results may seem modest when compared to some; this was principally due to the fact that he decided to concentrate primarily on cash games.
In 1991, he became the youngest ever player ever to be non-posthumously inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame. He was still playing poker and betting on sports in general right up to 2006.
It was in 2006, at the World Series of Poker [http://www.pokerdoom.com/poker-players], that Reese won the very first $50,000 HORSE event, netting the $1,716,000 first prize, defeating Andy Bloch in the final hand. The event is also the longest ever, as Reese and Bloch dueled for a mammoth seven hours and 286 hands.
Tragically, Reese died at his home in Las Vegas on the 7th of December, 2007. In his honor, since 2008, the $50,000 HORSE event has carried a trophy baring his name- "The David 'Chip' Reese Award".
Upon learning of his death, Jeffrey Pollack, the commissioner of the World Series of Poker, dubbed Reese "Not only the greatest cash-game player who ever lived, but also a World Series of Poker legend."
Reese's childhood years were dogged by considerable ill health, and he was afflicted with a lengthy bout of rheumatic fever, which caused him to miss a year of formal schooling. Reese often commented that these nascent years honed his character and helped him to become the success in poker that he later was. Certainly, the fifth-graders that he regularly trounced at poker as a mere five year old would attest that his success came somewhat earlier. As a high school student, he played football and was a keen member of the debating team. It was as a member of the debating team that he won an Ohio State Championship, and later attended the National Finals.
After graduation, he joined Dartmouth College, in the process turning down overtures from Harvard. He continued to participate in debating, had brief forays into freshman football and made the decision to concentrate on economics as his subject franca. He also began to flourish as a poker player, playing against students and professors alike, enjoying huge success. He taught other students the ins and outs of many different card games [http://www.pokerdoom.com/poker-players], especially the many poker variants and bridge.
Following Dartmouth, he was admitted to Stanford Law School. It was at this time, however, that he began to taste real success on the professional poker circuit, initially winning $60,000 at a Las Vegas tournament. His path was decided, and around the same time as he would have been due to enroll at Stanford, he had already made $100,000 at poker. He had been utterly swayed by the glamorous bright lights and remunerative power of Vegas and decided to make it his home. At that time, Reese also participated in the writing of the best-selling book on poker "Super/System". It remains a top selling title to this day.
Despite the fact that Reese's tournament results may seem modest when compared to some; this was principally due to the fact that he decided to concentrate primarily on cash games.
In 1991, he became the youngest ever player ever to be non-posthumously inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame. He was still playing poker and betting on sports in general right up to 2006.
It was in 2006, at the World Series of Poker [http://www.pokerdoom.com/poker-players], that Reese won the very first $50,000 HORSE event, netting the $1,716,000 first prize, defeating Andy Bloch in the final hand. The event is also the longest ever, as Reese and Bloch dueled for a mammoth seven hours and 286 hands.
Tragically, Reese died at his home in Las Vegas on the 7th of December, 2007. In his honor, since 2008, the $50,000 HORSE event has carried a trophy baring his name- "The David 'Chip' Reese Award".
Upon learning of his death, Jeffrey Pollack, the commissioner of the World Series of Poker, dubbed Reese "Not only the greatest cash-game player who ever lived, but also a World Series of Poker legend."
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