Chip Reese: Biography, Career and Poker Results

June 5, 2025
Updated October 20, 2026

David “Chip” Reese was an American professional poker player, born in Ohio in 1951, who spent most of his career in the highest-stakes cash games in Las Vegas. He won three World Series of Poker bracelets, the last of them in the inaugural $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event in 2006, and in 1991 he became the youngest player inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame. He died in Las Vegas on December 4, 2007, at the age of 56. ^[1][2][4]

Chip Reese at the 2005 World Series of Poker — “Chip Reese 2” by Photos by flipchip / LasVegasVegas.com is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Chip Reese: key facts

Full name	David Edward Reese ^[3]
Nickname	Chip ^[2]
Born	March 28, 1951, Centerville, Ohio, United States ^[2]
Died	December 4, 2007, Las Vegas, aged 56 ^[4][5]
Education	Dartmouth College ^[3]
Known for	High-stakes mixed cash games, including the Big Game in Las Vegas; seven-card stud ^[1]
Poker Hall of Fame	Inducted 1991, aged 40 ^[3]
WSOP bracelets	3 (1978, 1982, 2006); 25 WSOP cashes, 16 final tables ^[2]
Live tournament earnings	$3,999,090 as of October 5, 2026 ^[1]

Early life and education

WSOP.com gives Reese’s birthplace as Centerville, Ohio, and he grew up in the Dayton area. ^[2] In his first year of elementary school he caught rheumatic fever and had to stay at home for most of the year. His mother stayed with him and taught him board and card games, and he later said: “I’m really a product of that year.” By the age of six he was playing poker for baseball cards with fifth-graders on his street, and winning. ^[3]

In high school he played football and was on the debate team, which won an Ohio State Championship and went to the National Finals. He was accepted at Harvard but chose Dartmouth College. ^[3] He played so much poker at Dartmouth that his fraternity named its game room the “David E. Reese Memorial Card Room”. ^[6]

Beginning in poker: a detour to Las Vegas

After Dartmouth, Reese was due to start graduate school at Stanford; WSOP.com and Card Player describe it as business school. ^[2][6] He stopped in Las Vegas for the summer. According to PokerNews, he arrived with $400, lost it playing blackjack, took a job selling land and played $5/$10 seven-card stud, his favorite game. Near the end of the summer he entered a $500 tournament at the Sahara and won $40,000. By the time he should have been at Stanford, his bankroll was over $100,000. ^[3] Reese himself summed it up for Card Player: “I came to Vegas in 1974, and I really just came for a weekend.” ^[6]

With a playing partner, Danny Robeson, he then risked $15,000 of their bankroll in a $400/$800 high-low split game that included Doyle Brunson and Johnny Moss. After a four-day weekend the bankroll stood at $400,000. Reese was 23. At 28 he became poker room manager at the Dunes casino, a job he kept for five years. ^[3] Card Player reported that he won more than $2 million in cash games in the mid-1970s, and that for a few years in the 1980s he was a central figure in the Computer Group, a team of sports bettors who used computers and mathematics. ^[6]

Playing style

Reese built his reputation in cash games rather than tournaments. He was a regular in “The Big Game”, the highest-stakes mixed game in Las Vegas, ^[1] and ESPN described him and Brunson as its anchors in Bobby’s Room at the Bellagio. ^[5] In 2006, at 54, he could still be found in $4,000/$8,000 limit games there. ^[3]

Seven-card stud was considered his strongest game. David Sklansky rated him the best seven-card stud player in the world, ^[3] and in Super/System Brunson called him “the best seven-card stud player I’ve ever played with.” ^[1] Peers most often described his temperament. Brunson said: “I knew him for 35 years, I never saw him get mad or raise his voice.” ^[5] Mike Sexton said that “Chip has always been admired by players for his success, his demeanor at the table, and that he never steamed or went on tilt.” ^[4] Reese’s own view was that the players who make the most money are the ones willing to gamble, and of pros who only sit in perfect games he said: “Those guys have cost themselves a fortune over the course of their careers.” ^[3]

Greatest achievements

World Series of Poker bracelets

Year	Event	Entries	Prize	Source
2006	Event #20: $50,000 H.O.R.S.E.	143	$1,716,000	[2]
1982	$5,000 Limit Seven Card Stud	37	$92,500	[2]
1978	$1,000 Limit Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo	32	$19,200	[2]

The 1978 title came in a seven-card stud high-low event and the 1982 title in seven-card stud. ^[2] Reese later said that bracelets were not a big deal back then and that he did not play the World Series for ten years: “Had I known that the bracelets were going to become so important, I would have played in a lot more tournaments.” ^[10] Card Player dates that break to the mid-1990s, with a return to major tournaments around 2002. ^[6]

The first $50,000 H.O.R.S.E., 2006

In 2006 the WSOP held a $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event for the first time, at the time the largest buy-in in WSOP history. ^[11] It drew 143 entries. ^[2] Brunson and Phil Ivey were also at the final table, and the three were presented as “the three generations of poker”. ^[5] Reese then faced Andy Bloch heads-up for 286 hands over about seven hours, the longest heads-up match in WSOP history at that point. ^[11] Bloch had him all in four times; the final hand came when Reese’s ace-queen held against Bloch’s nine-eight. ^[10]

The official WSOP.com result lists the first prize as $1,716,000. ^[2] Some reports at the time gave $1,784,640, and Bloch received $1,029,600 for second place. ^[10] It was Reese’s first bracelet in 24 years. ^[5]

Other WSOP results

Year	Event	Result	Prize	Source
1989	$5,000 No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball (Rebuy)	3rd of 34	$46,500	[2]
2007	$5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha (Rebuy)	12th	$41,229	[2]
1995	$2,500 No-Limit Hold’em	5th of 249	$31,125	[2]
1993	$10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event	26th of 231	$12,000	[2]

He never won the Main Event. In total WSOP.com lists 25 cashes, 16 final tables and $2,246,089 in WSOP earnings. ^[2]

Poker Hall of Fame, 1991

Reese was elected to the Poker Hall of Fame in 1991 at the age of 40. PokerNews noted that he was the 19th inductee, only the third living player to be enshrined, and the youngest. ^[3]

The David “Chip” Reese Memorial Trophy

After his death, the WSOP announced that future winners of the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. would receive a trophy named after him. ^[8] The David “Chip” Reese Memorial Trophy was first presented in 2008, ^[11] and since 2010 it has gone to the winner of the $50,000 Poker Players Championship, the event that replaced the H.O.R.S.E. ^[1] WSOP.com states that he is the only player with a trophy named after him at the WSOP. ^[2]

Super/System

Reese did not write a book of his own. He and Brunson wrote the seven-card stud section of Brunson’s original Super/System, whose other expert contributors were Mike Caro, David Sklansky, Joey Hawthorne and Bobby Baldwin. ^[12]

Death and tributes

Reese died in his sleep at his Las Vegas home on December 4, 2007. The night before, he had called his doctor with pneumonia symptoms but did not go to hospital; his son found him the next morning. ^[5] Card Player reported at the time that the exact cause of death was not yet known, ^[6] and Barry Greenstein suggested that gastric bypass surgery he had undergone a few years earlier might have contributed. ^[9] He had lived in Las Vegas for 33 years. ^[7] He was survived by a son, a daughter and a stepdaughter. ^[5]

Brunson said of him: “He’s certainly the best poker player that ever lived.” WSOP commissioner Jeffrey Pollack said: “Many consider Chip the greatest cash-game player who ever lived, but he was also a World Series of Poker legend.” ^[5] Greenstein told Card Player: “When it comes to respect, Chip was number one.” ^[6]

In his own words

“I’m really a product of that year.” On the year he spent at home with rheumatic fever. ^[3]
“There is nobody I won’t play if the conditions are right.” 2006. ^[3]
“My ability to play all the games equally well.” Asked what was the key to winning the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E., 2006. ^[10]
“This is the biggest payday I’ve ever had in tournament play.” After the same win. ^[9]

Iconic moments on video

NBC Heads-Up Poker Championship 2006

Reese played the 2006 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship; this episode also features Huck Seed and Barry Greenstein. ^[13]

A WPT tribute to Chip Reese

The World Poker Tour’s tribute to Reese. ^[14]

FAQ about Chip Reese

What was Chip Reese’s real name?

His full name was David Edward Reese. “Chip” was a nickname. ^[3]

How old was Chip Reese when he died?

He was 56. He was born on March 28, 1951, ^[2] and died on December 4, 2007. ^[4]

What was Chip Reese’s cause of death?

He died in his sleep at home after reporting pneumonia symptoms the night before. The exact cause was not known at the time, and friends such as Barry Greenstein suggested an earlier gastric bypass operation might have played a part. ^[5][6][9]

What was Chip Reese’s net worth?

There is no reliable public figure for his net worth. What can be verified is his live tournament record: $3,999,090 in earnings as of October 5, 2026, according to PokerNews. ^[1] Most of his career was spent in cash games and sports betting, whose results are not published.

How many WSOP bracelets did Chip Reese win?

Three: in 1978, 1982 and 2006, the last in the inaugural $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. ^[2]

When was Chip Reese inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame?

In 1991, at the age of 40, which made him the youngest inductee at that time. ^[3]

Where did Chip Reese go to college?

Dartmouth College. He had also been accepted at Harvard. ^[3]

Did Chip Reese write a poker book?

Not under his own name. He co-wrote the seven-card stud section of Doyle Brunson’s original Super/System. ^[12]