David Chiu
Consider David Chiu the best poker player you haven’t heard of. He has more WSOP bracelets, four, than world class players Daniel Negreanu, Allen Cunningham, and David Sklansky. It’s safe to say Chiu is a force to be reckoned with at the poker table.
Chiu was born in China but raised in the United States. When Chiu was young he was an avid swimmer. However, because of how much he swam his ear drums became damaged from the excessive amounts of water. Chiu had lost most of his hearing, but instead of thinking of his hearing loss as a handicap, Chiu found a way to use it to his advantage.
David was introduced to poker by playing in local home games. He already owned a restaurant in Colorado, yet, whether it was to earn more money or ambition for the game, Chiu ended up getting a second job as a card dealer at the Gilpin Hotel. He couldn’t converse with the players very well because of his poor hearing, so instead he would study them with his sight. He paid attention to how players put their chips in the pot, how they held their cards, and many other physical tells he could use to his advantage when he played. Through those years, Chiu constantly worked on his game. Chiu entered in a few tournaments here and there, cashing in on a few final tables, but wasn’t raking in very much money.
His big break came in 1996 when he received his first WSOP bracelet and biggest win of his career in the $2,000 Limit Hold’em event. The win nabbed him almost $400,000. That same year Chiu was seen at the final table of the most prestigious event in poker: The WSOP Main Event. Chiu’s success continued as he won the Limit Event again in 1998 for over $200,000. David was already starting to be known as a great player, but he wasn’t done yet. In 2000, Chiu had his most impressive win yet in the $5,000 7 Card Stud event. Chiu was forth in chips when the final table of the event began. The final table was star studded with WSOP champion Scotty Nguyen, as well as bracelet winners Mel Judah and Ken Flaton. With some spectacular play, Chiu went from 4th to 1st and had gained an enormous chip lead over the field, knocking out almost everyone along the way. In only an hour and forty-five minutes after the final table had began, Chiu had won. Amazing considering that final tables normally last more than 6 hours, and sometimes as high as 14 hours.
Chiu received his fourth bracelet in 2005 in the $5,000 Omaha High/Low event for almost $350,000. His career earnings are now over 2.4 million dollars.
Common Misspellings: David Chew, David Chuw, David Chu
Learn more about David Chiu at Full Tilt Poker.
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