# David Williams (card game player)
**David Williams** (born 1980 in Dallas, Texas) is an American professional card player who first rose to prominence as a top-ranked [Magic: The Gathering](https://www.edgepedia.org/magic-the-gathering) competitor and then became a poker professional, finishing runner-up to Greg "Fossilman" Raymer in the 2004 World Series of Poker Main Event for $3.5 million and winning a [World Series of Poker bracelet](https://www.edgepedia.org/world-series-of-poker-bracelet) in 2006.[1](https://www.pokerlistings.com/poker-player/david-williams) • [2](https://www.pokernews.com/poker-players/david-williams/) He has recorded more than $9.5 million in live tournament earnings.[2](https://www.pokernews.com/poker-players/david-williams/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1980, Dallas, Texas; later based in Las Vegas, Nevada[1](https://www.pokerlistings.com/poker-player/david-williams) • [3](https://www.cardplayer.com/poker-players/4200-david-williams/results/overall) |
| First card career | Magic: The Gathering; earned over $30,000 and was considered one of the best players in the world[2](https://www.pokernews.com/poker-players/david-williams/) |
| 2004 WSOP Main Event | 2nd place to Greg Raymer, $3.5 million, after qualifying through the Bodog.com poker room[1](https://www.pokerlistings.com/poker-player/david-williams) |
| WSOP bracelet | $1,500 Seven-Card Stud, July 2006, first place of 478 entries for $163,118[4](https://www.wsop.com/news/event-10-seven-card-stud-victory-at-last-david-williams-wins-his-first-wsop-gold-bracelet/) |
| WPT title | 2010 WPT Championship Event at the Bellagio, over $1.5 million[5](https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=b&n=26690) |
| Live earnings | $9,562,827 per Hendon Mob data; CardPlayer records $9,641,345 with 7 tournament wins and 191 total cashes[2](https://www.pokernews.com/poker-players/david-williams/) • [3](https://www.cardplayer.com/poker-players/4200-david-williams/results/overall) |
| WSOP record | 1 bracelet, 1 Circuit ring, 28 final tables, 151 cashes[6](https://www.wsop.com/players/333904936/david-williams/) |
## Early life and Magic: The Gathering
Williams was born in Dallas, Texas, and raised by his mother, Shirley, a flight attendant, alongside a half sister eight years his junior.[1](https://www.pokerlistings.com/poker-player/david-williams) He was accepted to Harvard, Stanford, and Princeton, chose Princeton, but left to attend [Southern Methodist University](https://www.edgepedia.org/southern-methodist-university) in Dallas, where he earned a 4.0 GPA studying economics.[1](https://www.pokerlistings.com/poker-player/david-williams) • [2](https://www.pokernews.com/poker-players/david-williams/)
His competitive card career began with Magic: The Gathering, a fantasy strategy card game with its own international tournament circuit. Williams became a top-ranked Magic player competing around the world and earned over $30,000 from the game.[1](https://www.pokerlistings.com/poker-player/david-williams) • [2](https://www.pokernews.com/poker-players/david-williams/) He has said he began playing Magic in 1993, the year it was first released, when he was 13.[7](https://www.cardplayer.com/poker-news/3643-online-poker-interview-with-david-williams) Through the fellow Magic player Noah Boeken he was introduced to Marcel Luske, who helped him learn to play poker at the highest levels.[5](https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=b&n=26690)
## 2004 World Series of Poker
In 2004, while playing at the Bodog.com poker room, Williams won a seat into the [World Series of Poker](https://www.edgepedia.org/world-series-of-poker). The unknown player reached the final table of the $10,000 Main Event and finished second to Greg "Fossilman" Raymer, winning $3.5 million; PokerListings describes it as the best WSOP finish to that point by an African-American player.[1](https://www.pokerlistings.com/poker-player/david-williams) The result came at a time when televised poker was driving the game's popularity, and Williams became a familiar figure through ESPN's poker broadcasts.[4](https://www.wsop.com/news/event-10-seven-card-stud-victory-at-last-david-williams-wins-his-first-wsop-gold-bracelet/)
The prize money changed his circumstances: he moved to Las Vegas, turned professional, and accepted endorsement deals, including serving as a spokesman for Bodog.com.[4](https://www.wsop.com/news/event-10-seven-card-stud-victory-at-last-david-williams-wins-his-first-wsop-gold-bracelet/) • [1](https://www.pokerlistings.com/poker-player/david-williams) Four months after the Main Event he placed second at the World Poker Tour Borgata Open for nearly $600,000, and later that year he took his first tournament title at the Limit Hold'em Five Diamond World Poker Classic in Las Vegas for $121,000.[1](https://www.pokerlistings.com/poker-player/david-williams)
## WSOP bracelet and major titles
**2006 bracelet.** On July 7, 2006, Williams won his first WSOP gold bracelet in the $1,500 buy-in Seven-Card Stud championship, topping a field of 478 entries for $163,118.[4](https://www.wsop.com/news/event-10-seven-card-stud-victory-at-last-david-williams-wins-his-first-wsop-gold-bracelet/) The final table included the ten-time bracelet winner [Johnny Chan](https://www.edgepedia.org/johnny-chan), the three-time winner "Miami" John Cernuto, and the 2002 bracelet winner Jack Duncan, and Williams arrived as chip leader.[4](https://www.wsop.com/news/event-10-seven-card-stud-victory-at-last-david-williams-wins-his-first-wsop-gold-bracelet/) He credited experience from regular mixed-game sessions with players such as Chau Giang, David Singer, and Mike Wattel, plus advice from the sports handicapper Alan Boston.[4](https://www.wsop.com/news/event-10-seven-card-stud-victory-at-last-david-williams-wins-his-first-wsop-gold-bracelet/) Later in the same series he finished second in the No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball event for $256,000.[1](https://www.pokerlistings.com/poker-player/david-williams)
**2010 WPT Championship.** Williams won the 2010 World Poker Tour Championship Event at the Bellagio for more than $1.5 million, a result his Hendon Mob biography calls hard to top.[5](https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=b&n=26690) He also won a WSOP Circuit ring, giving him one bracelet and one ring alongside 28 WSOP final tables and 151 WSOP cashes.[6](https://www.wsop.com/players/333904936/david-williams/)
## Later career and earnings
Williams has remained an active tournament professional across the full range of games. Recent results include 26th in the $10,000 Big O Championship at the 2025 WSOP for $24,635, 50th in the $3,000 T.O.R.S.E. event for $6,312, 85th in the $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 6-Handed event for $6,434, and 17th in the $3,000 Nine Game Mix at the 2026 WSOP for $10,760.[3](https://www.cardplayer.com/poker-players/4200-david-williams/results/overall) His career totals differ slightly by tracker: Hendon Mob data reports $9,562,827 in live earnings, CardPlayer records $9,641,345 including online events with confirmed real-name results, and the WSOP.com player profile lists $9,024,912.[2](https://www.pokernews.com/poker-players/david-williams/) • [3](https://www.cardplayer.com/poker-players/4200-david-williams/results/overall) • [6](https://www.wsop.com/players/333904936/david-williams/) On PokerNews, which carries Hendon Mob data, he ranks 96th among United States players on the all-time money list.[2](https://www.pokernews.com/poker-players/david-williams/)
## Outside poker
Williams appeared as a finalist on the American cooking competition [MasterChef](https://www.edgepedia.org/masterchef), adding a television competition record to his card-game career; The Action Network notes he mastered both Magic: The Gathering and [Gordon Ramsay](https://www.edgepedia.org/gordon-ramsay)'s MasterChef outside the card room.[8](https://www.actionnetwork.com/poker/david-williams-poker-masterchef) Earlier in his career he was featured in the poker video game *Stacked* alongside [Daniel Negreanu](https://www.edgepedia.org/daniel-negreanu), Evelyn Ng, and Erick Lindgren.[1](https://www.pokerlistings.com/poker-player/david-williams)
## Other players of the same name
The Hendon Mob database also lists an English player named David Williams from [Sutton Coldfield](https://www.edgepedia.org/sutton-coldfield), England, with $26,037 in recorded live earnings and a best cash of $21,505 from a second-place finish in the Dusk Till Dawn Spring Cup in [Nottingham](https://www.edgepedia.org/nottingham); this is a different person from the American professional profiled here.[9](https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?n=1509355)
## References
1. [David Williams, PokerListings player profile](https://www.pokerlistings.com/poker-player/david-williams)
2. [David Williams, PokerNews player profile](https://www.pokernews.com/poker-players/david-williams/)
3. [David Williams Poker Results, CardPlayer](https://www.cardplayer.com/poker-players/4200-david-williams/results/overall)
4. [WSOP Event #10: Seven-Card Stud: Victory at Last! David Williams Wins his First WSOP Gold Bracelet, WSOP.com](https://www.wsop.com/news/event-10-seven-card-stud-victory-at-last-david-williams-wins-his-first-wsop-gold-bracelet/)
5. [David Williams' Biography, Hendon Mob Poker Database](https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=b&n=26690)
6. [David Williams Player Profile, WSOP.com](https://www.wsop.com/players/333904936/david-williams/)
7. [Online Poker: Interview With David Williams, CardPlayer](https://www.cardplayer.com/poker-news/3643-online-poker-interview-with-david-williams)
8. [Professional Poker Player David Williams on His Career, Being A MasterChef Finalist, More, The Action Network](https://www.actionnetwork.com/poker/david-williams-poker-masterchef)
9. [David Williams: Hendon Mob Poker Database (England)](https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?n=1509355)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Board, card, and puzzle games › Card games › Poker and gambling › Poker players and tournaments › Poker players (biographies)*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license