The Nickname

Dave Ulliot is better known by his nickname, the appropriately fearsome sounding “Devilfish” - a name made famous during his first WSOP tournament. When Ulliot was playing heads-up in the final of the 1997 WSOP Pot Limit Hold’em tournament against Men “The Master” Nguyen a member of the watching crowd yelled “Come on The Master.” Stephen Au-Yeung, a friend and supporter of Ulliot’s responded with the cry “Come on the Devilfish” and a legend was born.

The Devil Fish, or ‘Tako’, is a poisonous fish that can kill when ingested unless properly prepared. Dave Ulliot on the other hand is a dangerous and aggressive poker player who can destroy a poker table if his opponents are not on top of their form. Ulliot went on to beat Men Nguyen to the title and the following day’s headlines read “Devilfish devours The Master”. And just in case anyone forgets Ulliot wears a huge two-finger gold ring on each of his hands spelling out “Devil” and “Fish”.

The Early Years

Dave Ulliot was born on January 4th, 1954 in Hull in England. The son of a truck driver, Ulliot began playing cards as a kid and by age 16 was already playing poker for money.

Initially Ulliot was a cash game player, and a prodigious one at that. Starting with three-card brag Ulliot demolished the competition in his native Hull while he kept down a job as a jeweller and pawnbroker.

But it wasn’t long before Ulliot had become too good for Hull’s card scene, both in brag and in poker and he began to look further a field for games. Travelling around the country Ulliot’s success continued unabated, and the familiar problem returned to haunt him: no=one wanted to play him.

Eventually in 1996 Ulliot decided enough was enough – he was going to have to start playing in the US if he was going to keep playing at all.

The WSOP

Ulliot’s success upon moving to America was almost immediate. As detailed above, Ulliot won virtually the first WSOP event he entered, the prestigious $2000 Pot Limit Hold’em event, pocketing $180,310 in the process. That same year Ulliot finished in the money in two other events, adding a further $8710 to his prize fund.

Ulliot has not managed to repeat his 1997 triumph in eight years of trying but he has come mighty close on numerous occasions, with no fewer than 4 second placed finishes.

And Ulliot’s form at the championship shows no sigh of slowing down, with a third place finish in last year’s (2005) $1500 No Limit Hold’em event earning him his biggest WSOP payday to date with a $232,205 prize.

Overall Ulliot has finished in the money 16 times at the WSOP, amassing impressive total winnings of $1,011,380.

Beyond the WSOP

Ulliot shot to fame in the UK when he won the first Late Night Poker tournament. It was the first time poker had been televised in the UK, and was also the first show anywhere in the world to feature under-the-table cameras allowing viewers to see the player’s hole cards.

The tournament and the television show were a huge success, and although the first prize of £50,000 was small in comparison to some of Ulliot’s tournament wins the value of the win in terms of his notoriety cannot be exaggerated. He went on to make the final table again the following year, cementing his celebrity status, but was unable to claim a second win.

Ulliot’s biggest ever win came in the Jack Binion World Poker Open in season 1 of the World Poker Tour. Televised for all to see Ulliot came to the final table with a chip lead he never relinquished, finally vanquishing Phil Ivey in the heads-up stage to take the title. The first prize was a substantial $589,990.

Ulliot claims to have won and lost vast sums of money in the cash games he plays, telling the Sun Online that he has won over half-a-million dollars in a single night in a cash game, but that he has also lost a pot worth $370,000.

Ulliot’s latest turn on televison was as captain of the British team in the 888.com Poker Nations Cup; he played the final heads-up battle as Britain won the title.

Modest and Reserved

…are words you will never hear used to describe the Devilfish. Dave Ulliot is as passionate a self-promoter as he is aggressive a poker player and has a reputation for being extraordinarily arrogant.

The ostentatious gold that drips from every bit of visible flesh on his body gives just a hint of what Dave Ulliot is about. The man is a performer, or a show boater (depending on your perspective); never short of a sound bite and always on the look out for a way to grab the attention.

But Ulliot’s arrogance is without doubt part of what makes him a great poker player. Poker is a game without room for self-doubt and Ulliot is not the only poker player for whom modesty is a foreign concept. And while not all players take things to the level Devilfish does, at least you can’t call him boring.