Poker Players: David Williams

Today I would like to tell you about one of the most today succeed poker players, David Williams. He is in the Top 20 of who got the biggest earning playing poker.

Williams was self taught to play no-limit Texas Hold'em tournaments. He was then mentored in poker by Marcel Lüske, with whom they both had a mutual friend in the Netherlands, Noah Boeken.

Williams's poker success was capped at the 2004 World Series of Poker. He won his buy-in through an online poker site and made it to the finals of the main event, ultimately finishing second to Greg Raymer, but still winning $3.5 million for the runner-up prize. His second-place finish is the best ever by an African American in a WSOP Main Event, besting Phil Ivey's 10th place finish a year earlier.

Four months later, he finished second at the Borgata Open World Poker Tour where he collected $573,800. David Williams became a member of Team Bodog after the 2004 World Series of Poker.

In March 2006, Williams made a second WPT final table, finishing 4th for $280,000. Two months later he made another WPT final table, again finishing 4th.

Williams also appeared on the game show King of Vegas, finishing in third place.

Williams now has his own vlog that offers an inside look at his personal and professional life. The webisodes air weekly on the internet TV channel RawVegas.tv

Even though there is more money that can be made in professional poker than in professional Magic, Williams has said he will continue to play both games, although poker will take precedence. Like many who play both, he has asserted that the two are for different purposes: he plays Magic to have fun, and poker to make money.

Williams won his first WSOP bracelet in 2006 in the $1,500 Seven-card stud event when his K♠ 3♥ 4♣ J♦ (6♠ 4♠ J♥) defeated John Hoang's 4♣ 5♠ 9♦ 3♣ (A♦ 8♠ T♠).

His mother Shirley Williams often attends poker events in which he plays, and even competed in the 2006 WSOP main event, outlasting her son in the process. She also played in the $1,000 L.I.P.S. (Ladies only) W.S.O.P. event.^[3] and she cashed in 465th place in the 2007 World Series of Poker main event.

As of 2007, his total live tournament winnings exceed $5,650,000.

David Williams Official Site.

Poker Players: Johnny Moss

Johnny Moss was a real professional poker player.

As many other poker players Johnny Moss began playing poker with the road gambling. But there is one thing that makes him different from all other players: his game was good and clean enough to avoid a poker cheating: “I knew how to do it, but I didn’t have to steal”. Also he didn’t let other poker players to fool him: “One night I’m playing poker in some small town – I don’t remember where, maybe Oklahoma – and I see they got the room set up as a peep joint with a confederate spying on player’ cards through a peep hole in the ceiling. So I pull out my gun – always carried a gun back in those days – and said, ‘Now, fellas, do I have to go and shoot a bulletin the ceiling? Or you going to send your boy down without any harm?’ Hell, they thought I was bluffing. Ended up shooting the guy in his ass.” It's not the only one story about Johnny Moss. He was not a cruel, he was fair.

In 1949 Moss was playing poker with Nick the Greek in a long poker marathon by Benny Binion, winning anywhere from two million to four million dollars. At the end of the poker championship, Nick said: "Mr. Moss, I have to let you go.". That has become one of the most famous poker quotes.

For someone who lived and gambled poker into his 90s, there are thousands of Johnny Moss stories. One of the favorites has to be the time he played a heads-up golf match with a wealthy businessman. The guy was beating Moss pretty good in the first half of the match and Moss was down over a quarter of a million dollars. The mobsters who sponsored the event were in the gallery watching them play. They were furious since they’d bet on Johnny Moss. They decided that if the businessman won, they'd kill him instead of paying him the money. Lucky for that guy, Moss came from behind, birdied the last hole, and won. As they walked off the golf course, the angered business man mentioned to Moss, "You are the luckiest man alive." Moss laughed knowing that his victory saved the man's life and responded, "No sir, you are."

The most chilling story I’ve ever heard about Johnny Moss occurred when writer Michael Konick asked him in an interview if he had ever killed a man. Moss coldly responded, "I don't know if he died."

For 1970 World Series of Poker Moss was elected the poker champion by his peers and received a silver cup as a prize. A story about that voting that has appeared in print several times has every one of the eight poker players voting for himself as the best player, and that it was only when they were asked to vote for the second best player that Moss emerged. He played poker at every World Poker Series from 1970 and Because of people like Nick the Greek, Binion and Moss, poker got it's popularity and eventually a World Series of Poker was organized. Moss won the 1970, 1971, and 1974 World Series of Poker, the 1995 Poker World Series and during his career he won 9 bracelets, that placed him fourth overall behind Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan and Phil Hellmuth. He won over 680000 dollars in tournament play during his career.

Moss was one of the charter inductees to the Poker Hall of Fame in 1979. He was sometimes called the "Grand Old Man" because of his longevity and superior play in poker.

The Texas Hold'em Poker starting hand Ace-Ten is named the Johnny Moss in his honor.