Chip Reese: Poker Hall of Famer, Cash-Game Legend and Three-Time WSOP Bracelet Winner
POKER HALL OF FAME
Inducted 1991
David “Chip” Reese built a reputation that extended far beyond tournament results. A three-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, 1991 Poker Hall of Fame inductee and celebrated high-stakes cash-game player, Reese became especially respected for his command of seven-card stud and mixed games. His victory in the inaugural $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship at the 2006 WSOP provided one of the defining tournament achievements of a career better known for success in poker’s toughest cash games.
Reese died in 2007 at age 56, but his influence remains part of poker history. The Chip Reese Memorial Trophy associated with the WSOP Poker Players Championship continues to connect his name with one of the game’s most prestigious tests of all-around poker ability.
⠀
Who Was Chip Reese?
Chip Reese was an American professional poker player born David Edward Reese on March 28, 1951, in Centerville, Ohio. The World Series of Poker lists him as a three-time bracelet winner and a member of the Poker Hall of Fame.
Reese became known primarily as an elite cash-game and mixed-game player rather than as a tournament grinder. His reputation among other leading professionals was particularly strong in seven-card stud, a game in which he won two of his three WSOP bracelets.
His tournament record still provides substantial evidence of his versatility. Reese won WSOP bracelets in three different decades and eventually captured the inaugural $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship, an event created to test players across multiple poker variants.
⠀
Early Life and Road to Las Vegas
Reese developed an interest in games at a young age. According to WSOP and PokerNews accounts of his life, he spent an extended period at home during childhood because of rheumatic fever, and his mother taught him card and board games during that time.
He later attended Dartmouth College, where PokerNews reports that he studied economics and continued playing poker and other card games. His ability at the table became an important part of his college experience.
After graduating, Reese traveled to Las Vegas before planned graduate study at Stanford. The trip changed his career path. He won substantial money playing poker and decided to remain in Las Vegas rather than continue with his original academic plans.
That decision placed Reese inside the high-stakes poker world during an era when many of the game’s strongest players built their reputations primarily in cash games rather than televised tournaments.
⠀
Chip Reese’s Cash-Game Reputation
Tournament databases document Reese’s bracelets and recorded cashes, but they capture only part of his standing within poker.
Reese became widely associated with the biggest cash games in Las Vegas and was frequently described by prominent contemporaries as an exceptional all-around player. The WSOP has characterized him as one of the most highly regarded cash-game players of his era.
Seven-card stud was particularly important to his reputation. Doyle Brunson selected Reese to write the seven-card stud section of Super/System, the influential poker strategy book first published during the 1970s. Being chosen to contribute alongside other leading specialists reflected the respect Reese had already earned among elite professionals.
His strength across multiple games later became central to the significance of his final WSOP bracelet.
⠀
Chip Reese’s Three WSOP Bracelets
According to the World Series of Poker, Reese won three WSOP bracelets.
His first came at the 1978 WSOP in a $1,000 Limit Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo tournament. WSOP records list 32 entries, with Reese earning $19,200 for the victory.
Four years later, he won his second bracelet in the 1982 WSOP $5,000 Limit Seven Card Stud event. Hendon Mob records list a $92,500 first-place payout.
Reese then went 24 years without another bracelet before delivering the tournament victory that became one of the most memorable accomplishments of his career.
His bracelet victories were:
1978 WSOP — $1,000 Limit Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo
1982 WSOP — $5,000 Limit Seven Card Stud
2006 WSOP — $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship
The three wins demonstrate both Reese’s longevity and the mixed-game skills that defined his reputation.
⠀
The 2006 $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship
Reese’s third bracelet came in the inaugural $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship at the 2006 World Series of Poker.
The tournament was designed as an elite all-around poker competition. Players had to navigate a rotation of different games rather than specialize in a single format, and the $50,000 buy-in attracted many of the era’s strongest professionals.
Reese outlasted a 143-entry field that included Andy Bloch, Phil Ivey, Jim Bechtel, T.J. Cloutier, David Singer, Dewey Tomko and Doyle Brunson among the top finishers.
An official WSOP report from 2006 lists Reese’s first-place prize as $1,784,640. Hendon Mob also records that amount as his largest live tournament cash.
The victory was especially significant because Reese had spent much of his career earning his reputation away from tournament poker. Winning a championship built around multiple poker disciplines gave him a major tournament result that closely matched the all-around skill for which he was already known.
It was also Reese’s final WSOP bracelet.
⠀
Poker Hall of Fame
Reese entered the Poker Hall of Fame in 1991.
The induction came years before his 2006 H.O.R.S.E. victory and reflected the standing he had already achieved in the poker community. WSOP historical material notes that Reese was 40 when inducted and was the youngest living Poker Hall of Fame inductee at that time.
His Hall of Fame credentials were based on more than tournament trophies. Reese had established himself through high-stakes cash games, his expertise in seven-card stud, success across multiple poker formats and the respect he commanded among other leading professionals.
The 2006 championship later added a highly visible tournament accomplishment to that legacy.
⠀
Chip Reese’s Live Tournament Earnings
As of August 25, 2026, Hendon Mob lists Chip Reese with $3,999,090 in recorded live tournament earnings and a best live cash of $1,784,640.
Those figures should be understood as recorded tournament results rather than a measurement of Reese’s overall poker winnings. His reputation was built substantially in cash games, where complete lifetime profit records are not publicly available.
The WSOP currently lists Reese with:
Three WSOP bracelets
Zero WSOP Circuit rings
25 WSOP cashes
16 WSOP final tables
$2,246,089 in career WSOP winnings
Tournament databases can be updated or corrected over time, so career totals should always be treated as current to the date they are checked.
⠀
WSOP Main Event Results
Reese never won the WSOP Main Event, but he recorded several notable finishes.
WSOP records show that he finished 32nd in 1988, 23rd in 1989 and 26th in 1993.
Those results further illustrate that Reese’s tournament ability was not limited to stud or mixed-game events. Even so, his historical reputation remains much more closely connected with high-stakes cash poker and all-around game selection than with No-Limit Hold’em tournament specialization.
⠀
Super/System and Reese’s Influence on Poker Strategy
One of Reese’s most enduring contributions outside competition came through Doyle Brunson’s Super/System.
Reese wrote the book’s seven-card stud material, sharing expertise from the game in which he was considered one of poker’s leading specialists. Super/System became one of the most influential strategy books in poker history, giving Reese a role in documenting high-level poker thinking for players outside the private high-stakes games where his reputation had been established.
That contribution also helps explain why Reese’s legacy cannot be measured solely by bracelet totals or recorded earnings. His standing came from a combination of results, peer recognition and expertise across forms of poker that required substantially different strategic skills.
⠀
The Chip Reese Trophy
Reese died on December 4, 2007, following a brief illness, according to an official WSOP statement.
After his death, the WSOP honored him through the championship he had won in 2006. The trophy associated with the $50,000 Poker Players Championship became known as the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy.
The connection is fitting. The Poker Players Championship is designed to reward versatility across multiple poker variants, the same quality that defined much of Reese’s career.
Winning the event requires far more than mastery of one popular format, and the trophy has helped preserve Reese’s association with all-around poker excellence for generations of players who never had an opportunity to compete against him.
⠀
Chip Reese’s Poker Legacy
Chip Reese occupies an unusual place in poker history because some of the achievements for which he was most respected cannot be neatly summarized by tournament statistics.
He won three WSOP bracelets and nearly $4 million in recorded live tournaments, but his reputation among other elite professionals was built largely through high-stakes cash games. He became closely identified with seven-card stud, contributed to Super/System, entered the Poker Hall of Fame in 1991 and capped his tournament career by winning the inaugural $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship.
That combination makes Reese an important figure in understanding the era before poker success became heavily associated with televised tournaments, online databases and publicly tracked earnings.
For Reese, the tournament record supports the reputation rather than completely defining it.
⠀
Frequently Asked Questions
What was Chip Reese’s real name?
Chip Reese’s full name was David Edward Reese. He was born March 28, 1951, in Centerville, Ohio.
⠀
How many WSOP bracelets did Chip Reese win?
Chip Reese won three World Series of Poker bracelets. His victories came in 1978, 1982 and 2006.
⠀
What was Chip Reese’s biggest tournament win?
Reese’s largest recorded live tournament cash was his victory in the 2006 WSOP $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship. The official contemporary WSOP report and Hendon Mob list his prize as $1,784,640.
⠀
How much did Chip Reese win in live poker tournaments?
As of August 25, 2026, Hendon Mob lists Reese with $3,999,090 in recorded live tournament earnings. That total does not represent his complete lifetime poker winnings because much of his career was spent in cash games.
⠀
Was Chip Reese in the Poker Hall of Fame?
Yes. Reese was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1991.
⠀
What poker game was Chip Reese known for?
Reese was especially renowned for seven-card stud, although his broader reputation was as an elite all-around and mixed-game player. He wrote the seven-card stud section of Doyle Brunson’s Super/System.
⠀
Did Chip Reese win the WSOP Main Event?
No. Reese never won the WSOP Main Event. WSOP records show notable Main Event finishes of 32nd in 1988, 23rd in 1989 and 26th in 1993.
⠀
When did Chip Reese die?
Chip Reese died on December 4, 2007. The WSOP announced his death that day following a brief illness. He was 56.
⠀
Why is the Chip Reese Trophy important?
The Chip Reese Memorial Trophy is associated with the WSOP Poker Players Championship, an elite mixed-game tournament descended from the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event Reese won in 2006. The trophy honors his reputation as one of poker’s outstanding all-around players.
⠀