Chip Reese

VITALS:

Name: David Edward “Chip” Reese
Date of Birth: March 28, 1951 (dec. December 4, 2007)
Nationality: American
Hometown: Las Vegas, Nevada
WSOP Bracelets: 3
WSOP Cashes: 21
WPT Titles: 0
WPT Cashes: 5
Online Poker Room: N/A

PROFILE:

The poker world was stunned when one of its best, David Chip Reese, died at the age of 56 at his home in Las Vegas on December 4, 2007. Friend and poker legend Doyle Brunson said of Reese, “He’s certainly the best poker player that ever lived.” And that may not be hyperbole from a dear friend as most agree that Chip was perhaps the best cash poker man to ever play the game.

Reese was known as being a smart guy. At the age of six, he devised his own game of poker using baseball cards and later he ably played backgammon and gin rummy. The Dayton, OH, native earned a degree in economics from Dartmouth College while proving to be a monster poker player. He was so good that his fraternity renamed their poker room after him. After Dartmouth, he planned to go to Stanford and become a lawyer.

The rest of the story goes like this. On his way to attend Stanford, Reese stopped in Las Vegas and with a $400 bankroll engaged in various games of Seven-Card Stud. By the end of the weekend, Chip had won the Seven-Card Stud Tournament and $66,000. He stayed in Vegas, becoming a poker pro and an especially adroit stud player. As far as his career at the bar goes, Reese said, “Law doesn’t have the same monetary incentive as poker.”

At the green felt, he was known for his poise and intelligent play. He was one of those players who did not consider the money when gambling. He once said, “I can bet $100,000 and feel nothing.” The ice-in-his-veins approach proved to be successful, making Reese incredibly tough to read and allowing him to focus all of his intellect on the moment and his opponents.

Reese, who was divorced from the former Noralene Boyer, had a daughter, Taylor and son, Casey. He also had a stepdaughter, Brittany Shea. There were two things that the champion seemed to prefer — high-stakes cash games and his kids. It’s said that in his later years he played in TV tournaments so his children could see him. It has also been reported that he once walked away from a cash game while $700,000 down to see his son’s Little League game. He was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1991.