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One of the most beloved and well known high-stakes players passed away peacefully last week on December 4th. David Edward "Chip" Reese, considered one of the best poker players that ever lived, died at the age of 56 after he was admitted to a hospital with symptoms of pneumonia. In the next morning he died in his sleep.

Reese's performances as a poker player were astonishing. He was the winner of 3 World Series of Poker bracelets, a member of the Poker Hall of Fame, cash-game superstar, and author of Doyle Brunson's chapter on Seven Card Stud in his world famous book "Super System".

The poker superstar was born in Ohio and once in an interview said that the one who brought him into the world of card games was his mother. During his elementary school years he had to stay home for one year because he was suffering from rheumatic fever and then his mother taught him several card games. Later he described himself as “a product of that year”. By the time he was only six years old he was already defeating fifth graders at poker.

As he grew older he proved to have a powerful character and a keen intellect. During the high school years he made it to the national finals in debate, and did so well in school that was accepted into Harvard University. However, he refused the offer and attended Dartmouth College. At Dartmouth he played football for short period of time, during his freshman year, continued to participate in debate, became a member of the Beta Theta Pi Fraternity and majored in economics.

This is also where Reese started perfecting his poker playing skills beating in poker games fellow students and professors as well. Because of his stunning poker playing style, later, the Beta Fraternity named their card room as the "David E. Reese Memorial Card Room".

After he graduated Dartmouth he was admitted to the Stanford Business School but it was then when he decided to follow a career in professional poker gambling. This was just after he won $40,000 in a Las Vegas poker tournament. Just by the time he would have started school he managed to have winnings valuing a grand total of $100,000.

His first visit proved to be financially rewarding and extremely thrilling for the future poker super star so he decided to never leave the Sin City. He actually quit his day job over the phone in Arizona and hired somebody to clean out his apartment and drive his car over to him.


Since then his reputation in the poker world exploded. He became known as one of the best cash game players in the business, and several gambling magazines have even called him the best all-around gambler in the world at different times, a testament to his adaptability with card games.

At the age of 40 he was the youngest living player to be introduced into the Poker Hall of Fame. The word goes that by 2006 Reese was still playing poker and but he had also explored the world of sports betting. As a member of the "Computer Group", one of the most famous sports-betting syndicates in history, he allegedly earned sums estimated in tens of millions. During the 2006 World Series of Poker he won the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event, bringing him his third bracelet

His was the life of a real player in all senses and the poker world will beyond doubt miss one of its most gifted and recognized friends.