Doubling Up Cash Opportunities

If there is one thing that poker players know, it is taking risks and seizing opportunities. On the table, you can clearly see how individual poker players use to their advantage the risks and opportunities. They try to seize opportunities as soon as they see them since it is not too often that openings come up in a game David Williams, a professional poker player displays this same tenacity for seizing opportunities and playing one's strengths.

While he already made his splash in the World Series of Poker tournament, Williams is also a professional player of Magic: The Gathering. In fact, the latter was his first break in professional card game playing. When he hit it high in the late 90s during Magic's World Championships in Canada, it seemed like a dream come true. All this came to a screeching halt when a panel decided that Williams used marked cards in the tournament and booted him out of the game without a prize.

From here, Williams found another card game that he seemed to enjoy playing: poker. For a self-taught Texas Hold'Em poker player, it is amazing how Williams came so far already. Mentored by Marcel Lüske, Williams set the record in W.S.O.P by reaching second place, the furthest an African-American has reached in the history of the tournament. This remarkable achievement happened in 2004 where he finished behind Greg Raymer. Thanks to a buy in from an online poker site, Williams finished the tour with $3.5 million.

Another interesting thing about Williams is that his mother, Shirley once participated in a W.S.O.P event where she outlasted her son. Though a regular fixture during poker matches, Shirley Williams was more of an audience than a participant. Then, in 2006, she took part of the W.S.O.P tournament where, as was already mentioned, she stayed in the tournament longer than her son did. David Williams' mother has also joined The W.S.O.P. Ladies Tournament in 2007 where she cashed in the 465th place.

David Williams has one W.S.O.P bracelet and has a total of more than $6 million winnings. Of this total, a little over $4 million came from joining W.S.O.P events and tournaments. While he already enjoys a good standing in the world of poker, Williams claimed that he would not stop playing Magic: The Gathering. In fact, he said that he would play both card games since his participation in each is based on different reasons. Williams said that Magic: The Gathering was his card game for fun and leisure. On the other hand, he said that poker was the card game he played for money.

With a talented player like Williams, the world of poker has become more interesting. After all, not a lot of poker players can claim that they also participate in a card game that is very different from poker. While Williams may not be a poker tournament titleholder, it still does not change the fact that he is one of the players to watch in the series.