David Williams (card player)
Encyclopedia
David Anthony Williams (born June 9, 1980) is a professional poker
player and popular Magic: The Gathering
player.
before switching to study economics at Southern Methodist University
. Williams currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada
.
. 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. Four months later, he finished second at the Borgata Open World Poker Tour
where he collected $573,800.
Williams won his sole WSOP bracelet
in 2006
in the $1,500 Seven-card stud
event when his defeated John Hoang's . 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.
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. In 2010, he won the WPT World Championship, defeating Eric Baldwin
heads-up and winning over $1.5 million.
. Williams parted ways with Bodog after the 2010 WPT World Championship. In June 2010, Williams joined Team PokerStars
as a sponsored pro.
In 2009, Williams, playing under the screen name "RugDoctor", defeated Alexander "joiso" Kostritsyn to capture Event #42 ($2,100 8-Game) of the World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP).
King of Vegas
, finishing in third place. He now has his own blog
that offers an inside look at his personal and professional life. The webisodes air on the internet
TV channel RawVegas.tv
.
. However, he was disqualified without prize for marked cards
because three of his four Accumulated Knowledge cards were bent more than the other cards in his deck, making them easier to cut to when Williams cut his own deck after his opponent shuffled it. The tournament's judging staff determined that the bending was not accidental and that Williams had cheated based on two criteria:
Williams admitted that the cards were marked but disputed the determination that he cheated by marking them intentionally. Williams was suspended by the DCI
from sanctioned Magic: The Gathering tournaments for one year. During this suspension, Williams started to focus more on Texas hold 'em
, especially on the Internet. He made a successful comeback after his suspension was finished, and won money at several more Magic events, though his focus was mainly on poker.
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.
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
player and popular Magic: The Gathering
Magic: The Gathering
Magic: The Gathering , also known as Magic, is the first collectible trading card game created by mathematics professor Richard Garfield and introduced in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast. Magic continues to thrive, with approximately twelve million players as of 2011...
player.
Personal life
Williams was born in Arlington, Texas. He briefly attended Princeton UniversityPrinceton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
before switching to study economics at Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
. Williams currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
.
Poker
Williams's poker success was capped at the 2004 World Series of Poker2004 World Series of Poker
The 2004 World Series of Poker was held at Binion's Horseshoe after Harrah's Entertainment purchased the casino and the rights to the tournament in January...
. 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
Greg Raymer
Gregory Raymer nicknamed "Fossilman," is a professional poker player. He is best known for winning the 2004 World Series of Poker Main Event.-Early life:...
, but still winning $3.5 million for the runner-up prize. Four months later, he finished second at the Borgata Open World Poker Tour
World Poker Tour
The World Poker Tour is a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting the final table of each tournament. It was started in the United States by attorney/television producer Steven Lipscomb, who served as CEO of WPT Enterprises , the firm that...
where he collected $573,800.
Tournaments
As of 2010, his total live tournament winnings exceed $7,900,000. $4,317,983 of his live winnings have come at the WSOP, and most of the rest has come from the WPT.World Series of Poker
Williams won his sole WSOP bracelet
World Series of Poker bracelet
The World Series of Poker bracelet is considered the most coveted non-monetary prize a poker player can win. Since 1976, a bracelet has been awarded to the winner of every event at the annual WSOP. Even if the victory occurred before 1976, WSOP championships are now counted as "bracelets". ...
in 2006
2006 World Series of Poker
The 2006 World Series of Poker began on June 25, 2006 with "satellite" events, with regular play commencing on June 26 with the annual Casino Employee event, and the Tournament of Champions held on June 28 and 29...
in the $1,500 Seven-card stud
Seven-card stud
Seven-card stud is a variant of stud poker. Until the recent increase in popularity of Texas hold 'em, seven-card stud was the most popular poker variant in home games across the United States, and in casinos in the eastern part of the country. Two to eight players is common, though eight may...
event when his defeated John Hoang's . His mother Shirley Williams often attends poker events in which he plays, and even competed in the 2006 WSOP main event, outlasting her son in the process.
| Year | Tournament | Prize (US$) |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 2006 World Series of Poker The 2006 World Series of Poker began on June 25, 2006 with "satellite" events, with regular play commencing on June 26 with the annual Casino Employee event, and the Tournament of Champions held on June 28 and 29... |
$1,500 Seven Card Stud | $163,118 |
World Poker Tour
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. In 2010, he won the WPT World Championship, defeating Eric Baldwin
Eric Baldwin
Eric Baldwin is a professional poker player from Henderson, Nevada who won the 2009 World Series of Poker $1,500 No Limit Hold'em event earning $521,991 and was the runner-up in the World Poker Tour $25,000 No Limit Hold'em WPT Championship Event, earning $1,034,715 and is the 2009 Winner of the...
heads-up and winning over $1.5 million.
| Year | Tournament | Prize (US$) |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 World Poker Tour season 8 results - WPT Venice:* Casino: Casino Di Venezia, Venice, Italy* Buy-in: $5,302 + $530* 5-Day Event: May 6, 2009 to May 10, 2009* Number of Entries: 397* Total Prize Pool: $2,035,237* Number of Payouts: 45... |
$25,000 WPT World Championship | $1,530,537 |
Online Poker
Following the 2004 World Series of Poker, David Williams became a member of Team BodogBodog
Bodog is an online entertainment brand launched in 1994 by Calvin Ayre.Originally the company traded at but the brand was later divested and intellectual property rights were assigned to and consolidated in BodogBrand.com...
. Williams parted ways with Bodog after the 2010 WPT World Championship. In June 2010, Williams joined Team PokerStars
PokerStars
PokerStars is the largest online poker cardroom in the world. PokerStars' satellite tournaments produced the 2003 World Series of Poker champion, Chris Moneymaker. 1983 champion Tom McEvoy, 2005 champion Joe Hachem, 2009 champion Joe Cada and 2010 champion Jonathan Duhamel and others also represent...
as a sponsored pro.
World Championship of Online Poker
In 2009, Williams, playing under the screen name "RugDoctor", defeated Alexander "joiso" Kostritsyn to capture Event #42 ($2,100 8-Game) of the World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP).
| Year | Event | Tournament | Prize (US$) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Event 42 | $2,100 8-Game | $107,800 |
Other poker activities
Williams also appeared on the game showGame show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
King of Vegas
King of Vegas
King of Vegas was a gambling series that first aired on Spike TV in the United States on January 17, 2006. It was hosted by boxing commentator Max Kellerman and co-hosted by handicapper Wayne Allyn Root, who gave color commentary and his odds-on favorites for each game...
, finishing in third place. He now has his own blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
that offers an inside look at his personal and professional life. The webisodes air on the internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
TV channel RawVegas.tv
RawVegas.tv
RawVegas.tv was first launched on January 19, 2007 and is the first venture for Raw Networks LLC, a Las Vegas-based Internet television studio that creates and produces short form video content exclusively for the Internet...
.
Magic: The Gathering
Williams is an accomplished Magic player. His initial foray into Magic's Pro Tour came in the late 1990s. He made the Top 8 of eight Grand Prix events in cities such as San Diego, Cannes, Moscow and Cleveland with Team Event wins in Yokohama and Taipei in 2001. He also made the top 8 of the first Pro Tour in Japan, finishing 7th at PT Tokyo 2001. He had already won over $30,000 playing Magic when he made the Top 8 of the 2001 World Championships in TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. However, he was disqualified without prize for marked cards
Card marking
Card marking is the process of altering playing cards such that the suit, rank or both are only apparent to the person marking the cards , usually for the purpose of cheating at cards by card sharps. To be effective, the distinguishing mark or marks must be done on the obverse side, which are...
because three of his four Accumulated Knowledge cards were bent more than the other cards in his deck, making them easier to cut to when Williams cut his own deck after his opponent shuffled it. The tournament's judging staff determined that the bending was not accidental and that Williams had cheated based on two criteria:
- Each time Williams cut his deck as part of pregame shuffling procedure, a copy of Accumulated Knowledge was on top.
- The judges were able to consistently cut his deck to a copy of Accumulated Knowledge.
Williams admitted that the cards were marked but disputed the determination that he cheated by marking them intentionally. Williams was suspended by the DCI
Duelists' Convocation International
The DCI is the official sanctioning body for competitive play in Magic: The Gathering and various other games produced by Wizards of the Coast and its subsidiaries, such as Avalon Hill. The DCI provides game rules, tournament operating procedures, and other materials to private tournament...
from sanctioned Magic: The Gathering tournaments for one year. During this suspension, Williams started to focus more on Texas hold 'em
Texas hold 'em
Texas Hold 'em is a variation of the standard card game of poker. The game consists of two cards being dealt face down to each player and then five community cards being placed face-up by the dealer—a series of three then two additional single cards , with...
, especially on the Internet. He made a successful comeback after his suspension was finished, and won money at several more Magic events, though his focus was mainly on poker.
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.