Born in 1960 in China, David Chiu is not exactly the most recognizable professional poker player on television or in the casinos when surrounded by poker fans. But he definitely has been able to prove to the world that he can play poker and he can show them the four World Series of Poker bracelets he’s won while doing it. He has lived most of his life in the United States and he is known as an aggressive and difficult to defeat poker player.
Chiu got into playing poker after workings first as a Colorado restaurant owner and then part-time card dealer at a Colorado casino. He took in everything he could about the game as he watched other play and within a few years of starting his dealer job, he turned in his shuffler for a stack of player’s chips.
His first real win was at tournament in the New Orleans Casino in Las Vegas. Chiu found himself with a brand new Lincoln Town Car and $214,542 richer. It was just the encouragement he needed to enter the World Series of Poker. In 1996 he won first prize in the $2,000 Limit Hold’Em Event, earning himself his first major win and a WSOP bracelet. Bracelet number two was won in the 1998 series at the $3,000 Limit Hold’Em event, number three in 2000 at the $5,000 Seven Card Stud event, and number four at the 2005 $5,000 Omaha Hi-Lo event.
Since then he appeared as a regular on the ‘World Poker Tour’ on the Travel Channel and has also become a poker tournament specialist as he does not play cash games. He uses his ‘detective skills’ to outsmart his tournament opponents by studying and focusing on their behaviour and reactions during the game. Chiu himself is a very quiet and unassuming player, making him extremely difficult to read at the table.
As of 2008, his total live tournament winnings exceed $5,900,000 and his wins include the following tournaments from the last two years:
Bellagio Cup IV / WPT Season 7 Event #8 - WPT No Limit Hold’Em Championship 59th $19,390 Jul 17, 2008
39th World Series of Poker 2008 Event #37 - WSOP Omaha Hi/Lo World Championship 8 or Better 8th $71,793 Jun 19, 2008
39th World Series of Poker 2008 Event #16 - WSOP Omaha Hi/Lo 8 or Better 53rd $4,026 Jun 8, 2008
Five Star World Classic Poker Classic / WPT World Championship-Season 6 Event #15 - WPT No Limit Hold’Em Championship 1st $3,389,140 Apr 26, 2008
Legends of Poker / WPT Event Season 6 WPT No Limit Hold’Em Championship 35th $20,575 Aug 30, 2007
Bellagio Cup III WPT No Limit Hold’Em Championship Bellagio Cup 14th $51,640 Jul 15, 2007
38th Annual World Series of Poker Event #50 - WSOP Pot Limit Omaha World Championship 10th $33,493 Jul 1, 2007
38th Annual World Series of Poker Event #47 - WSOP No Limit Hold’Em 61st $10,571 Jun 29, 2007
38th Annual World Series of Poker Event #32 - WSOP 7 Card Stud 12th $5,621 Jun 19, 2007
38th Annual World Series of Poker Event #16 - WSOP H.O.R.S.E 23rd $7,974 Jun 9, 2007
38th Annual World Series of Poker Event #10 - WSOP No Limit Hold’Em 101st $3,901 Jun 6, 2007
