Bringing Magic To The Table

Poker players have their own style and flavor that they bring to the table. With different backgrounds, playing styles and strategies, the poker table has become a melting pot of these differences that turn into one very exciting game of cards. One poker player of particular interest is David Williams, the native of Arlington, Texas.

The once Princeton student is an apparent card game enthusiast as he played other card games prior to poker. He was enrolled in Texas Academy of Math and Science's early entrance college program. Williams also studied economics at the Southern Methodist University.

Williams was a professional Magic: The Gathering player as well as a poker player. Before he made his splash in the world of professional poker, Williams was one of the best players of the Magic card game. In the late 90s, Williams was able to go far in the Magic Pro Tour. At this time, he already pocketed over $30,000 and made it to the cut off for the Canadian leg of the 2001 World Championship. This story did not end happily, however. Williams was disqualified because his cards had visible wrinkles and folds in them, which made them easy to track down and deal when shuffled. The Accumulated Knowledge cards he used in the tournament were called as having been marked, rendering them and their owner unfit to proceed further in the tournament. This decision was made after judges tried to cut and play with the marked cards. This unceremonious booting out of the tournament saw Williams without prize. He disputed the allegation that he purposely marked the cards for the tournament but his protests were ignored as the Duelists' Convocation International slapped him with a one-year ban. It was during this ban that Williams spread his card playing attentions to poker.

With Marcel Luske as a mentor of sorts, Williams quickly became a figure to watch in the world of poker. While Luske's influence on Williams cannot be denied, Williams is a self-taught Texas Hold'Em poker player. In the 2004 World Series of Poker, Williams enjoyed success and won about $3.5 million. His win was courtesy of a buy in thanks to an online poker website. This enabled him to reach the finals, the main event of the tournament and finish after Greg Raymer. His win put him on the map as the W.S.O.P. named him the best African-American finisher in any of their event. Phil Ivey, the 10th placer of the tournament, only received the recognition the tournament before Williams and previously held this record.

The interesting thing about Williams is that he claimed that he would play both poker and Magic: The Gathering as a professional. Clearly not choosing between the two, Williams said that he played Magic: The Gathering for fun and played professional poker for money. This man apparently has a talent for card games. After all, how many players do you know choose two different kinds of card games and love both of them with such passion?