Chip Reese
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| Chip Reese | |
|---|---|
| File:Chip Reese.jpg Chip Reese at the 2005 World Series of Poker | |
| Nickname(s) | Chip |
| Residence | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| World Series of Poker | |
| Bracelet(s) | 3 |
| Money finish(es) | 17 |
| Highest ITM Main Event finish | 23, 1989 |
| World Poker Tour | |
| Title(s) | None |
| Final table(s) | 1 |
| Money finish(es) | 5 |
David Edward "Chip" Reese (March 28 1951 – December 4 2007) was an American professional gambler from Centerville, Ohio. He is widely considered to have been the greatest all around poker player who ever lived, having that title bestowed upon him by poker legends Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan and T.J. Cloutier, among many others.
Early life
He suffered from rheumatic fever during his elementary years at school and had to stay at home for almost a year. During this time, his mother taught him how to play several board and card games and Reese later described himself as "a product of that year." By the age of six, he was regularly beating fifth-graders at poker. In high school he was a football player and was on the debate team, winning an Ohio State Championship and going to the National Finals.[1]
He attended Dartmouth College, after turning down an offer at Harvard University. At Dartmouth, he became a member of Beta Theta Pi Fraternity, played freshman football briefly, participated in debate, and majored in economics. His longtime roommate at Dartmouth was Chuck Thomas, who was a Halfback on the Dartmouth College Football Team. Dr. Thomas passed away earlier this year. He also had tremendous success in poker games against students and some of his professors. He taught his fraternity brothers to play a variety of card games, including bridge as well as many poker variants. He played bridge at the Grafton County Grange, one of his regular bridge partners was Jim Ryan. His fraternity later named their chapter card room, the "David E. Reese Memorial Card Room" in his honor. He was admitted to Stanford Law School, but decided instead to play poker professionally after winning $60,000 in a tournament in Las Vegas. By the time he would have started at Stanford, he had made $100,000.[2] His first visit to Las Vegas was so financially rewarding and so much fun, that he literally never left. He called his day job in Arizona several days later to quit and hired someone to fly to Arizona to clean out his apartment and drive his car to Las Vegas.
Poker career
Shortly afterwards, Reese collaborated on the seven-card stud section for Doyle Brunson's Super System, the best-selling poker book of all time. In it, Brunson describes Reese as "one of the two finest young ... poker players in the world" and the best seven-card stud player he had ever played.[3] He won the $1,000 Seven Card Stud Split event at the World Series of Poker in 1978, and the $5,000 Seven Card Stud tournament there in 1982. His tournament results may seem modest, but he had decided to concentrate his efforts on cash games instead. He later became the card room manager at the Dunes casino. In 1991, he became the youngest living player to be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame. By 2006, he was still playing poker, and also betting on sports.[4]
At the 2006 World Series of Poker, Reese won the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event, taking home the $1,716,000 first prize when his held up against Andy Bloch's in the final hand, on a board of . This event was notable for having the largest buy-in in WSOP history, as well as the longest heads-up battle with Reese and Bloch playing for 7 hours and 286 hands. By comparison, the final table of the 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event lasted for 232 hands total.
Reese's total live tournament winnings exceeded $2,900,000.[5]
Death
Reese died on December 4, 2007, at his Las Vegas home. Some sources state that Reese died in his sleep from the effects of pneumonia[6][7], while friends of Chip, including Barry Greenstein and Doyle Brunson, speculate that his death might have been related to an earlier gastric bypass which caused a blood clot.[8]
Upon learning of Reese's death, Doyle Brunson stated, "He's certainly the best poker player that ever lived."[9] World Series of Poker commissioner Jeffrey Pollack said upon his death that many consider "Chip the greatest cash-game player who ever lived, but he was also a World Series of Poker legend."[10]
He is survived by his ex-wife, son, daughter, and stepdaughter.[11]
| Year | Tournament | Prize (US$) |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. | $1,784,640 |
| 1982 | $5,000 Limit 7 Card Stud | $92,500 |
| 1978 | $1,000 Seven-Card Stud Split | $19,200 |
Notes
- ^ Pokernews.com Legends of Poker: David 'Chip' Reese
- ^ Super System 127
- ^ Super System 127 - 128
- ^ Poker-babes.com bio: Chip Reese
- ^ Hendon Mob tournament results
- ^ CardPlayer.com - Chip Reese: 1951-2007
- ^ Poker Legend David 'Chip' Reese Dead at 56
- ^ The Bear Blog - Thinking About Chip Reese
- ^ Poker great Chip Reese dies at 56
- ^ ESPN.com: Three-time WSOP bracelet winner Reese dead at 56
- ^ Associated Press: Poker Player Reese Dies at 56