Dave Ulliott
Encyclopedia
David A. Ulliott known by the nickname Devilfish, is an English
professional gambler
and poker
player. Formerly, Ulliott was a minor figure in the Hull underworld
, but went on to become a World Series of Poker
bracelet-winner, and a mainstay of televised poker
. At the poker table, he is known for wearing orange-tinted prescription sunglasses
, a sharp suit
(or leather jacket
) and gold knuckleduster
rings
reading "Devil" and "Fish", which he made himself.
paratrooper
turned truck driver
and his wife Joyce (née Jefferson). He grew up in a small council house
in a working class
area, where he shared a room with his sister Janet (who later died of cancer
). Ulliott was unmotivated throughout his education and left school at the age of 15, without any O-levels
, to take his first job making trophies
for G K Beaulah. After visiting the bookies
with his father and winning his first bet at 50:1, he picked winners at horse racing
with his work colleagues during hot lunch breaks. He was eventually fired
from the job for taking an afternoon off to go to the races.
At the age of 19, Ulliott was involved in a fight on the way home from the Golden Nugget Pool Hall in Kingston upon Hull. Ulliott was set upon by five men and their wives (one of whom slashed his face with a steel comb
), after protecting his younger brother. He fought back and eventually returned home. Ulliott later claimed that he was proud of the experience and the incident made him realise that he could not be beaten in a fight "inside".
Ulliott became involved in a safe-cracking
team soon after, after being advised by the rest of the team that everyone was involved in the operation, including the shops, which carried out insurance fraud
, and the police, who turned a blind eye. Together, they targeted tobacconist
s, off-license, and garages. On one occasion, when Ulliott lost over £5,000 at the bookies, he robbed that safe too, and took it home in a pram
. One of the team was eventually caught, and informed the police that Ulliott was involved. He went on the run for a week, but was eventually caught.
Ulliott was confined to a small cell in Kingston upon Hull Police Station for three weeks, and was later sent to Leeds Prison, where he was kept in isolation for 23 hours a day for the first two months of his nine-month sentence, which included his 21st birthday. Not long after his release, he was arrested again for an armed robbery
at an off-license, but was released three days later without charge
. Upon his release, he got a job at a timber yard. Later, he again became involved in the safe-cracking team, while also working as a bouncer
and gambling.
Ulliott was arrested again aged 28 for a fight outside a nightclub
, and served 18 months in Leeds and Durham Prisons. Again he spent much time in an isolation block for 23 hours a day. During this time, he met a criminal named John, with whom he planned to carry out a bank robbery
upon his release. However, on the day it was planned to happen, John was arrested by the regional crime squad, and Ulliott was advised by John's wife to go straight. Not long after Ulliott met his second wife, he did indeed go straight, and there is no evidence he has committed a crime since.
The book was launched at Poker in the Park – Europe's largest free poker festival, held in London's Leicester Square – with a book signing session and talk by Ulliott.
The book was very favourably reviewed by journalist and poker player Victoria Coren
in The Observer
Review in which she recounts her first meeting with Ulliot:
In the review, Coren declares her initial reluctance to review the book, but concludes:
The book was also reviewed at Card Player. Blonde Poker and Ulliott was even interviewed by the Financial Times
.
at the age of 16, after being introduced to Hull's Fifty-One Club casino. By the time of his second marriage, Ulliott was organising poker games in the back of his shop and dominating the home games of others to the extent that people stopped telling him where they were being held. At the end of 1990, he met Gary Whitaker, a cafe manager from Wakefield
, at Napoleon's Casino, Leeds. They travelled together to poker games six nights a week, and Whitaker placed bets for Ulliott after he was banned from all of William Hill's betting shops for successfully gambling £4,000 up to £70,000. Whitaker went on to become Ulliott's regular driver as he took part in a regular game with Dave Colclough
, John Shipley
and Lucy Rokach
, and held a 10% stake in his action.
When they first travelled to London (where the regular game at the time was lowball
), Ulliott was forced to change his style of play as he found the players harder to bluff
; he credits the experience for improving his game. On one occasion in London, Ulliott lost a £60,000 pot
to Donnacha O'Dea
when the latter hit a two-outer
against him, but made all the money back within 24 hours. On another occasion, Ulliott played in five cities in a day, winning in each to earn £35,000.
When playing in private games, Ulliott often took a gun to ensure he would be able to leave a poker game with the winnings. He fired it in the air one night to scare off some opponents who were planning to rob him of the money he had won from them.
in 1993. Over the following years, Ulliott worked on his tournament game to the extent that, during 1996, he won £100,000 in a two-week period at The Vic. His success at that time led to him and Whitaker going to Las Vegas
, Nevada
for the first time.
Ulliott took £10,000 with him on the trip, and was around even, until he entered the $500 pot limit
Omaha
event of the 1997 Four Queens Poker Classic. When the event reached the heads-up stage, numerous Vietnamese-American followers of Men Nguyen
supported him by cheering "Go on the Master" at him. In response, Whitaker cheered Ulliott on by cheering "Go on the Devilfish." The nickname was thought up by Stephen Au-Yeung early 1997, who ran a poker game that Ulliott had frequented in Birmingham
UK, who later sold him the website DevilFishPoker.com in 2005; a devilfish
(or fugu) is a poisonous fish that can kill when ingested, if not properly prepared. Ulliott reduced Nguyen's stack to one chip, and the tournament director
insisted upon still taking a one-hour scheduled break, over Nguyen's protests. Ulliott turned to Nguyen and said, "We’re taking the break, and in all fairness to you, I think you should go upstairs and think about your tactics." Ulliott went on to win, and the headlines the next day read, Devilfish devours the Master. Since the event, Ulliott has claimed that the event was only of significance for defining his nickname.
Prior to earning the nickname, Ulliott had been referred to as Dave the Clock because he used a grandfather clock as a buy-in to a local game where he knew a furniture dealer was playing.
(WSOP) with $200,000, but lost it all on cash games and tournament buy-ins. He borrowed over $70,000 more, but lost this too, burning some bridges in the process. He scraped together a buy-in for the $2,000 pot limit Texas hold 'em
event, where he reached heads-up against fellow Englishman Chris Truby. In the final hand, Ulliott got all of his money in the pot with an open-ended straight draw and flush draw
against Truby's top set. Ulliott won with a straight on the river to claim $180,310 and his only WSOP bracelet to date. Whitaker jumped over the barricade to join in the celebrations. The press release the next day claimed he was lucky to draw out on Truby, but mathematically, Ulliott was a 54.5% favourite to win when the money went into the pot. After winning his bracelet, he had the nickname "Devilfish" engraved on it.
Following the tournament he went through a highly successful period playing in cash games, winning between $10,000 and 20,000 each day for a two-week stretch. During one session, on the advice of his friend Mansour Matloubi
, he played Lyle Berman
heads-up pot limit Omaha and beat him out of $168,000. By the end of the trip, Ulliott had $742,000 in cash, that he carried around with Whitaker in bags from duty free. When returning to their casino in Leeds, Ulliott and Whitaker were met with large amounts of applause from their regular opponents.
of the Late Night Poker
television series, the first poker show to use hole cam
technology. He won his qualifying heat against a field that included Charalambos "Bambos" Xanthos
and future Hendon Mobster Ross Boatman
to advance to the Grand Final. Ulliott dominated the final from the first hand (where his flush beat Surinder Sunar
's straight). During the event, he made four of a kind against Joe Beevers
, eliminated Liam Flood
and slow-played three aces against Dave Welch
, prompting commentator Nic Szeremeta
to say, "I've never seen a hand played so well." Ulliott went on to win the heads-up confrontation against Peter Evans
, and the £40,000 first prize.
Ulliott's win was watched by over 1,500,000 people (a huge figure for the channel and timeslot of the broadcast) and his character at the table was part of the reason for the renewal of the series, which went on to run for five more series, with Ulliott appearing in them all. Ulliott also made the final table in the second series
.
(WPT) first season
Jack Binion
World Poker Open
. Ulliott outlasted a field of 160 players, entering the final table with a 2:1 chip lead over his nearest rival, and taking first place and $589,175 after eliminating Phil Ivey
. Ulliott eliminated four of his five opponents at the final table, in a performance that commentator Mike Sexton
has referred to as "still the most dominating performance in WPT history." In the second season, Ulliott was also invited to the WPT Bad Boys of Poker Invitational, and finished on the television bubble of the Aruba Poker Classic.
In December 2007, Ulliott came in 3rd place in the sixth season
of the WPT Doyle Brunson
Classic Championship Event earning $674,500
and 2000 WSOP
, and second at two more events at the 2001 WSOP
. In two of these events, he was eliminated whilst holding aces.
Ulliott represented his country in the Poker Nations Cup
, the PartyPoker.com Football & Poker Legends Cup
and the Intercontinental Poker Championship
as well as the inaugural British Poker Open
which had a strong American field in contention.
At the PartyPoker Premier League, he embarked on a rivalry with Phil Hellmuth, including one six-man game where Ulliott called Hellmuth's all-in bluff with against Hellmuth's , making him a better than 60% favourite. Hellmuth flopped the nut
straight. Later in the same game, Hellmuth's pocket nines beat Ulliott's aces.
As of 2010, Ulliott's total live tournament winnings exceed $5,800,000, making him the highest-earning British poker player according to available records. His 32 cashes at the WSOP account for $1,697,948 of those winnings.
and laid down a four of a kind
. Ulliott was also considered the best five-card stud
player in Northern England
. However, Ulliott has indicated that his real preference is for four card Omaha
.
In the UK, Ulliott is such a household name that he has been name-dropped in EastEnders
, and in the inaugural edition of PokerPlayer magazine, Ulliott was not only on the front cover, but also voted #9 on their (worldwide) Top 10 Poker Legends List.
Ulliott is associated with the online poker
site Devilfish Poker. After being eliminated in third place for $120,000 in the Full Tilt Poker
invitational event at the 2005 Monte Carlo Millions
, Ulliott stood up, flashing a "www.devilfishpoker.com" sign that was strapped to his back inside his jacket. The event was being broadcast live on Fox Sports Net
(FSN), who has a policy against advertising .com
websites, and Ulliott was banned from appearing in any forthcoming FSN productions. Ulliott later responded that he only paid the entry money so he could advertise his site; it was originally agreed that he would be able to promote the site, so he decided to advertise his site through the publicity stunt
regardless. Despite supporting online poker sites, Ulliott has indicated that many online players do not know what they are doing when playing, which makes them harder to play against.
Ulliott became the subject of some controversy when proclaiming that female poker players will never be as good as male players. He cited Lucy Rokach
as a rare example of a strong female player, but indicated that female players would never be aggressive
enough to compete with their male counterparts.
Ulliot claims that his gambling wins have led to him being banned by all the British bookmakers. He also claims that Joe Beevers
placed bets on his behalf for a period of time, during which time he managed to back all six winners at Ascot one year, including one at 14/1 and one at 20/1.
Recently, Ulliott has attempted to change his image, as he no longer has his slicked-back hair, nor wears sunglasses at the poker table. This was a result of attending a party in Las Vegas, where he felt everyone looked the same as him.
, Diana, with whom he had a son named David. He went on to marry Susan, with whom he had two children named Darren Paul and Kerry. Later he met Amanda (Mandy) Ashby, a laboratory
worker for British Cocoa Mills, who became his second wife. They are currently going through a divorce. He has seven children.
He resides in Kingston upon Hull, not far from where he grew up.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
professional gambler
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
and poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
player. Formerly, Ulliott was a minor figure in the Hull underworld
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
, but went on to become a World Series of Poker
World Series of Poker
The World Series of Poker is a world-renowned series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2005, sponsored by Harrah's Entertainment...
bracelet-winner, and a mainstay of televised poker
Poker on television
Poker television programs had been extremely popular, especially in North America and Europe, following the poker boom. However, viewership has been declining dramatically in recent years...
. At the poker table, he is known for wearing orange-tinted prescription sunglasses
Sunglasses
Sunglasses or sun glasses are a form of protective eyewear designed primarily to prevent bright sunlight and high-energy visible light from damaging or discomforting the eyes. They can sometimes also function as a visual aid, as variously termed spectacles or glasses exist, featuring lenses that...
, a sharp suit
Suit (clothing)
In clothing, a suit is a set of garments made from the same cloth, consisting of at least a jacket and trousers. Lounge suits are the most common style of Western suit, originating in the United Kingdom as country wear...
(or leather jacket
Leather jacket
A leather jacket is a type of clothing—a jacket-length coat—usually worn on top of other apparel, and made from the tanned hide of various animals. The leather material is typically dyed black, or various shades of brown, but a wide range of colors is possible...
) and gold knuckleduster
Brass knuckles
Brass knuckles, also sometimes called knuckles, knucks, brass knucks, or knuckledusters, are weapons used in hand-to-hand combat. Brass knuckles are pieces of metal, usually steel despite their name, shaped to fit around the knuckles...
rings
Ring (finger)
A finger ring is a circular band worn as a type of ornamental jewelry around a finger; it is the most common current meaning of the word ring. Other types of metal bands worn as ornaments are also called rings, such as arm rings and neck rings....
reading "Devil" and "Fish", which he made himself.
Early years and criminal activities
Ulliott was born the son of Stanley Ulliott, a World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
paratrooper
Paratrooper
Paratroopers are soldiers trained in parachuting and generally operate as part of an airborne force.Paratroopers are used for tactical advantage as they can be inserted into the battlefield from the air, thereby allowing them to be positioned in areas not accessible by land...
turned truck driver
Truck driver
A truck driver , is a person who earns a living as the driver of a truck, usually a semi truck, box truck, or dump truck.Truck drivers provide an essential service to...
and his wife Joyce (née Jefferson). He grew up in a small council house
Council house
A council house, otherwise known as a local authority house, is a form of public or social housing. The term is used primarily in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Council houses were built and operated by local councils to supply uncrowded, well-built homes on secure tenancies at...
in a working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
area, where he shared a room with his sister Janet (who later died of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
). Ulliott was unmotivated throughout his education and left school at the age of 15, without any O-levels
General Certificate of Education
The General Certificate of Education or GCE is an academic qualification that examination boards in the United Kingdom and a few of the Commonwealth countries, notably Sri Lanka, confer to students. The GCE traditionally comprised two levels: the Ordinary Level and the Advanced Level...
, to take his first job making trophies
Trophy
A trophy is a reward for a specific achievement, and serves as recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are most often awarded for sporting events, from youth sports to professional level athletics...
for G K Beaulah. After visiting the bookies
Bookmaker
A bookmaker, or bookie, is an organization or a person that takes bets on sporting and other events at agreed upon odds.- Range of events :...
with his father and winning his first bet at 50:1, he picked winners at horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
with his work colleagues during hot lunch breaks. He was eventually fired
Termination of employment
-Involuntary termination:Involuntary termination is the employee's departure at the hands of the employer. There are two basic types of involuntary termination, known often as being "fired" and "laid off." To be fired, as opposed to being laid off, is generally thought of to be the employee's...
from the job for taking an afternoon off to go to the races.
At the age of 19, Ulliott was involved in a fight on the way home from the Golden Nugget Pool Hall in Kingston upon Hull. Ulliott was set upon by five men and their wives (one of whom slashed his face with a steel comb
Comb
A comb is a toothed device used in hair care for straightening and cleaning hair or other fibres. Combs are among the oldest tools found by archaeologists...
), after protecting his younger brother. He fought back and eventually returned home. Ulliott later claimed that he was proud of the experience and the incident made him realise that he could not be beaten in a fight "inside".
Ulliott became involved in a safe-cracking
Safe-cracking
Safe-cracking is the process of opening a safe without either the combination or key. It may also refer to a computer hacker's attempts to break into a secured computer system, in which case it may be shortened to "cracking" or black hat hacking....
team soon after, after being advised by the rest of the team that everyone was involved in the operation, including the shops, which carried out insurance fraud
False insurance claims
Insurance fraud or false insurance claims are insurance claims filed with the intent to defraud an insurance provider.-Health insurance fraud:...
, and the police, who turned a blind eye. Together, they targeted tobacconist
Tobacconist
A tobacconist is an expert dealer in tobacco in various forms and the related accoutrements .Such accoutrements include pipes, lighters, matches, pipe cleaners, pipe tampers, ashtrays, humidification devices, hygrometers, humidors, cigar cutters, and more. Books and magazines, especially ones...
s, off-license, and garages. On one occasion, when Ulliott lost over £5,000 at the bookies, he robbed that safe too, and took it home in a pram
Baby transport
Baby transport consists of devices for transporting and carrying infants. A "child carrier" or "baby carrier" is a device used to carry an infant or small child on the body of an adult...
. One of the team was eventually caught, and informed the police that Ulliott was involved. He went on the run for a week, but was eventually caught.
Ulliott was confined to a small cell in Kingston upon Hull Police Station for three weeks, and was later sent to Leeds Prison, where he was kept in isolation for 23 hours a day for the first two months of his nine-month sentence, which included his 21st birthday. Not long after his release, he was arrested again for an armed robbery
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
at an off-license, but was released three days later without charge
Indictment
An indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...
. Upon his release, he got a job at a timber yard. Later, he again became involved in the safe-cracking team, while also working as a bouncer
Bouncer (doorman)
A bouncer is an informal term for a type of security guard employed at venues such as bars, nightclubs or concerts to provide security, check legal age, and refuse entry to a venue based on criteria such as intoxication, aggressive behavior, or attractiveness...
and gambling.
Ulliott was arrested again aged 28 for a fight outside a nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
, and served 18 months in Leeds and Durham Prisons. Again he spent much time in an isolation block for 23 hours a day. During this time, he met a criminal named John, with whom he planned to carry out a bank robbery
Bank robbery
Bank robbery is the crime of stealing from a bank during opening hours. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting Program, robbery is "the taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of...
upon his release. However, on the day it was planned to happen, John was arrested by the regional crime squad, and Ulliott was advised by John's wife to go straight. Not long after Ulliott met his second wife, he did indeed go straight, and there is no evidence he has committed a crime since.
Autobiography
In the spring of 2010, Penguin Books announced the publication of Ulliott's autobiography, DEVILFISH: The Life & Times of a Poker Legend, in September, 2010.The book was launched at Poker in the Park – Europe's largest free poker festival, held in London's Leicester Square – with a book signing session and talk by Ulliott.
The book was very favourably reviewed by journalist and poker player Victoria Coren
Victoria Coren
Victoria Elizabeth Coren is a British writer, presenter and champion poker player. Coren writes weekly columns for The Observer and The Guardian newspapers and hosts the BBC Four television quiz show Only Connect....
in The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
Review in which she recounts her first meeting with Ulliot:
- 'In the winter of 1999, on the sixth floor of a Cardiff hotel, I walked into a lift to find it already occupied by an elderly couple and a tall, sinister-looking fellow in a black leather trench coat and red sunglasses. "The Devilfish!" I breathed. "Can I hold your bracelet?" Without a word, the shady gentleman slipped a heavy gold bracelet off his wrist and jingled it into my hand. The elderly couple must have thought we were both insane.'
In the review, Coren declares her initial reluctance to review the book, but concludes:
- 'I was nervous to review it, in case it was bad. Dave Ulliot is a friend of mine. And he has a gun. But I needn't have worried. The book is, like the man, fast, funny, scary, smart, cocky, colourful, and I adore them both.'
The book was also reviewed at Card Player. Blonde Poker and Ulliott was even interviewed by the Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
.
The beginning
Ulliott began playing poker with his parents as a young child and later learned three card bragThree card brag
Three card brag is a 16th century British card game, and the British national representative of the vying or "bluffing" family of gambling games...
at the age of 16, after being introduced to Hull's Fifty-One Club casino. By the time of his second marriage, Ulliott was organising poker games in the back of his shop and dominating the home games of others to the extent that people stopped telling him where they were being held. At the end of 1990, he met Gary Whitaker, a cafe manager from Wakefield
Wakefield
Wakefield is the main settlement and administrative centre of the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England. Located by the River Calder on the eastern edge of the Pennines, the urban area is and had a population of 76,886 in 2001....
, at Napoleon's Casino, Leeds. They travelled together to poker games six nights a week, and Whitaker placed bets for Ulliott after he was banned from all of William Hill's betting shops for successfully gambling £4,000 up to £70,000. Whitaker went on to become Ulliott's regular driver as he took part in a regular game with Dave Colclough
Dave Colclough
David E. Colclough is a Welsh professional poker player, now living in Thailand.-Before poker:Prior to becoming a poker professional, Colclough worked as a computer programmer. Amongst the companies he worked for were the Post Office and the National Health Service...
, John Shipley
John Shipley
John Shipley is an English professional poker player from Solihull, West Midlands.Amongst his money finishes at the World Series of Poker are a 7th place finish in the 2002 $10,000 no limit hold'em main event, where he earned $125,000...
and Lucy Rokach
Lucy Rokach
Lucienne "Lucy" Rokach is an English professional poker player from Stoke-on-Trent. She was born in Cairo, Egypt and is now regarded as one of the top female players in Europe...
, and held a 10% stake in his action.
When they first travelled to London (where the regular game at the time was lowball
Lowball (poker)
Some forms of poker, often called lowball, sometimes called low poker, reward poor poker hands . There are four common variations on this idea, differing in whether aces are treated as high cards or low cards, and whether or not straights and flushes are used. The methods are:* Ace-to-five low:...
), Ulliott was forced to change his style of play as he found the players harder to bluff
Bluff (poker)
In the card game of poker, a bluff is a bet or raise made with a hand which is not thought to be the best hand. To bluff is to make such a bet. The objective of a bluff is to induce a fold by at least one opponent who holds a better hand. The size and frequency of a bluff determines its...
; he credits the experience for improving his game. On one occasion in London, Ulliott lost a £60,000 pot
Pot (poker)
The pot in poker refers to the sum of money that players wager during a single hand or game, according to the betting rules of the variant being played...
to Donnacha O'Dea
Donnacha O'Dea
Donnacha "The Don" O'Dea is an Irish professional poker player. In his youth he was a swimmer, and represented Ireland in the 1968 Olympics. He was also the first Irish swimmer to swim 100m in less than one minute...
when the latter hit a two-outer
Out (poker)
In a poker game with more than one betting round, an out is any unseen card that, if drawn, will improve a player's hand to one that is likely to win. Knowing the number of outs a player has is an important part of poker strategy. For example in draw poker, a hand with four diamonds has nine outs...
against him, but made all the money back within 24 hours. On another occasion, Ulliott played in five cities in a day, winning in each to earn £35,000.
When playing in private games, Ulliott often took a gun to ensure he would be able to leave a poker game with the winnings. He fired it in the air one night to scare off some opponents who were planning to rob him of the money he had won from them.
The origin of the Devilfish
Ulliott first won money in a noted poker tournamentPoker tournament
A poker tournament is a tournament where players compete by playing poker. It can feature as few as two players playing on a single table , and as many as tens of thousands of players playing on thousands of tables...
in 1993. Over the following years, Ulliott worked on his tournament game to the extent that, during 1996, he won £100,000 in a two-week period at The Vic. His success at that time led to him and Whitaker going to Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
for the first time.
Ulliott took £10,000 with him on the trip, and was around even, until he entered the $500 pot limit
Betting (poker)
In the game of poker, the play largely centers on the act of betting, and as such, a protocol has been developed to speed up play, lessen confusion, and increase security while playing...
Omaha
Omaha hold 'em
Omaha hold 'em is a community card poker game similar to Texas hold 'em, where each player is dealt four cards and must make his best hand using exactly two of them, plus exactly three of the five community cards...
event of the 1997 Four Queens Poker Classic. When the event reached the heads-up stage, numerous Vietnamese-American followers of Men Nguyen
Men Nguyen
Men "The Master" Nguyễn is a Vietnamese-American professional poker player.-Early years:In 1967, he dropped out of school at age 13 and became a bus driver to help support his family. In early 1978, a staunch anti-Communist, he escaped from the Communist regime of Vietnam by boat and sailed with...
supported him by cheering "Go on the Master" at him. In response, Whitaker cheered Ulliott on by cheering "Go on the Devilfish." The nickname was thought up by Stephen Au-Yeung early 1997, who ran a poker game that Ulliott had frequented in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
UK, who later sold him the website DevilFishPoker.com in 2005; a devilfish
Fugu
is the Japanese word for pufferfish and the dish prepared from it, normally species of genus Takifugu, Lagocephalus, or Sphoeroides, or porcupinefish of the genus Diodon. Fugu can be lethally poisonous due to its tetrodotoxin; therefore, it must be carefully prepared to remove toxic parts and to...
(or fugu) is a poisonous fish that can kill when ingested, if not properly prepared. Ulliott reduced Nguyen's stack to one chip, and the tournament director
Tournament director (poker)
In the game of poker, the tournament director is the individual charged with running the poker tournament. The job encompasses many roles, the most public of which is typically announcing the phrase "shuffle up and deal!" at the beginning of the day...
insisted upon still taking a one-hour scheduled break, over Nguyen's protests. Ulliott turned to Nguyen and said, "We’re taking the break, and in all fairness to you, I think you should go upstairs and think about your tactics." Ulliott went on to win, and the headlines the next day read, Devilfish devours the Master. Since the event, Ulliott has claimed that the event was only of significance for defining his nickname.
Prior to earning the nickname, Ulliott had been referred to as Dave the Clock because he used a grandfather clock as a buy-in to a local game where he knew a furniture dealer was playing.
1997 World Series of Poker
Ulliott arrived at the 1997 World Series of Poker1997 World Series of Poker
The 1997 World Series of Poker was held at Binion's Horseshoe. Most notably, it was the only WSOP where the final table of the main event took place outdoors, at the Fremont Street Experience, just outside of Binions...
(WSOP) with $200,000, but lost it all on cash games and tournament buy-ins. He borrowed over $70,000 more, but lost this too, burning some bridges in the process. He scraped together a buy-in for the $2,000 pot limit Texas hold 'em
Texas hold 'em
Texas Hold 'em is a variation of the standard card game of poker. The game consists of two cards being dealt face down to each player and then five community cards being placed face-up by the dealer—a series of three then two additional single cards , with...
event, where he reached heads-up against fellow Englishman Chris Truby. In the final hand, Ulliott got all of his money in the pot with an open-ended straight draw and flush draw
Draw (poker)
A poker player is drawing if they have a hand that is incomplete and needs further cards to become valuable. The hand itself is called a draw or drawing hand. For example, in seven-card stud, if four of a player's first five cards are all spades, but the hand is otherwise weak, they are drawing to...
against Truby's top set. Ulliott won with a straight on the river to claim $180,310 and his only WSOP bracelet to date. Whitaker jumped over the barricade to join in the celebrations. The press release the next day claimed he was lucky to draw out on Truby, but mathematically, Ulliott was a 54.5% favourite to win when the money went into the pot. After winning his bracelet, he had the nickname "Devilfish" engraved on it.
Following the tournament he went through a highly successful period playing in cash games, winning between $10,000 and 20,000 each day for a two-week stretch. During one session, on the advice of his friend Mansour Matloubi
Mansour Matloubi
Mansour Matloubi is an Iranian-British professional poker player.Matloubi won the 1990 Main Event, making him the first non-American to do so. He also made the final table of the 1993 Main Event, finishing in fourth place. He was eliminated by the event winner, Jim Bechtel.As of 2011, his total...
, he played Lyle Berman
Lyle Berman
Lyle Arnold Berman is a professional poker player and business executive.-Business:Berman grew up in Minnesota and attended the University of Minnesota where he graduated in 1964 with a degree in business administration. He then went to work for his father's leather business, Berman Buckskin. ...
heads-up pot limit Omaha and beat him out of $168,000. By the end of the trip, Ulliott had $742,000 in cash, that he carried around with Whitaker in bags from duty free. When returning to their casino in Leeds, Ulliott and Whitaker were met with large amounts of applause from their regular opponents.
Late Night Poker
In 1999, Ulliott was one of 40 players to appear in the first seriesLate Night Poker series 1 results
Below are the results of series 1 of the Late Night Poker television series.-Prize money:# £40,000# £7,000# £3,000# £1,500# £1,500# £1,500# £1,500# £1,500# £1,500# £1,000...
of the Late Night Poker
Late Night Poker
Late Night Poker is the pioneering television show that helped pave the way for the explosion of interest in poker in the 2000's. With it's ground breaking use of "under the table" cameras that enabled the viewer to see each player's cards, the show became a cult hit on Channel 4 UK when it first...
television series, the first poker show to use hole cam
Hole cam
In poker, a hole cam is a camera that displays a player's face-down cards to television viewers.The hole cam became popular in 1999 when the Late Night Poker program first began using it in televised tournaments shown on British Channel 4...
technology. He won his qualifying heat against a field that included Charalambos "Bambos" Xanthos
Charalambos Xanthos
Charalambos "Bambos" Xanthos is a Greek Cypriot hotel and restaurant owner based in London, England. Following on from being a backgammon player, he became a semi-professional poker player in 1993.Xanthos learnt poker from his father in 1960....
and future Hendon Mobster Ross Boatman
Ross Boatman
Ross Boatman is an English RADA-trained actor, professional poker player and a member of the poker-playing foursome known as The Hendon Mob.-Acting:...
to advance to the Grand Final. Ulliott dominated the final from the first hand (where his flush beat Surinder Sunar
Surinder Sunar
Surinder Sunar is a British professional poker player based in Wolverhampton, who gained fame as a three-time finalist in the Late Night Poker television series....
's straight). During the event, he made four of a kind against Joe Beevers
Joe Beevers
Joseph "Joe" Charles Beevers is an English professional poker player and a member of The Hendon Mob....
, eliminated Liam Flood
Liam Flood
Liam Flood is an Irish bookmaker and professional poker player who is a former European poker champion.-Poker career:Flood began playing poker tournaments in the 1980s in Ireland. He won the Irish Poker Open in 1990 and 1996, becoming one of only four players to have won that tournament multiple...
and slow-played three aces against Dave Welch
Dave Welch
Dave Welch is an English poker player based in St. Albans, who made several appearances on the Late Night Poker television series, including the season 1 grand final and the season 6 semi-final....
, prompting commentator Nic Szeremeta
Nic Szeremeta
Nic Szeremeta is a poker player of mixed English/Polish descent, noted as a former editor of Poker Monthly magazine, and creator of the popular Late Night Poker television series -Early Life:Nic's father, who used to play draw poker himself, was a rear gunner who went missing during World War II.He...
to say, "I've never seen a hand played so well." Ulliott went on to win the heads-up confrontation against Peter Evans
Peter Evans (poker player)
Peter Evans is an English retired scrap metal dealer and a poker player, who came to the limelight when finishing as runner-up in the first series of Late Night Poker. He currently lives in Birmingham, England....
, and the £40,000 first prize.
Ulliott's win was watched by over 1,500,000 people (a huge figure for the channel and timeslot of the broadcast) and his character at the table was part of the reason for the renewal of the series, which went on to run for five more series, with Ulliott appearing in them all. Ulliott also made the final table in the second series
Late Night Poker series 2 results
Below are the results of series 2 of the Late Night Poker television series.-Prize money:# £40,000# £13,000# £6,000# £4,000# £3,000# £3,000# £2,500# £2,000...
.
World Poker Tour
In January 2003, Ulliott won his biggest tournament cash prize in the World Poker TourWorld Poker Tour
The World Poker Tour is a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting the final table of each tournament. It was started in the United States by attorney/television producer Steven Lipscomb, who served as CEO of WPT Enterprises , the firm that...
(WPT) first season
World Poker Tour season 1 results
- Five Diamond World Poker Classic:* Casino: Bellagio, Las Vegas * Buy-in: $10,000* 5-Day Event: May 27, 2002 to June 1, 2002* Number of Entries: 146* Total Prize Pool: $1,416,200* Number of Payouts: 18...
Jack Binion
Jack Binion
Jack Binion is an American casino operator. Jack is the son of casino magnate Benny Binion and worked for his father at Binion's Horseshoe, a casino and hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.- Biography :...
World Poker Open
World Poker Open
The World Poker Open was one of the annual events on the World Poker Tour....
. Ulliott outlasted a field of 160 players, entering the final table with a 2:1 chip lead over his nearest rival, and taking first place and $589,175 after eliminating Phil Ivey
Phil Ivey
Phillip Dennis "Phil" Ivey Jr. is an American professional poker player who has won eight World Series of Poker bracelets, one World Poker Tour title and appeared at nine World Poker Tour final tables...
. Ulliott eliminated four of his five opponents at the final table, in a performance that commentator Mike Sexton
Mike Sexton
Michael Richard Sexton is an American professional poker player and commentator. He is a member of the Poker Hall of Fame.-Early years:...
has referred to as "still the most dominating performance in WPT history." In the second season, Ulliott was also invited to the WPT Bad Boys of Poker Invitational, and finished on the television bubble of the Aruba Poker Classic.
In December 2007, Ulliott came in 3rd place in the sixth season
World Poker Tour season 6 results
Below are the results of season six of the World Poker Tour .Towards the end of season 6 the World Poker Tour announced that they would award a Tiffany designed titanium and diamond championship bracelet for all previous 96 players....
of the WPT Doyle Brunson
Doyle Brunson
Doyle F. Brunson is an American professional poker player who has played professionally for over 50 years. He is the first two-time World Series of Poker main event champion to win consecutively, a Poker Hall of Fame inductee, and the author of several books on poker.Brunson is the first player to...
Classic Championship Event earning $674,500
Other events
Ulliott has come close to winning a second WSOP bracelet on numerous occasions, finishing second in events at the 1998 WSOP1998 World Series of Poker
-Preliminary events:-Final table:-Other High Finishes:NB: This list is restricted to top 30 finishers with an existing Wikipedia entry.-External Links:*...
and 2000 WSOP
2000 World Series of Poker
-Preliminary events:-Main Event:There were 512 entrants to the main event. Each paid $10,000 to enter the tournament.Ferguson had a 10 to 1 chip lead when starting his heads-up vs Cloutier. After a see-saw battle, Ferguson decided to call Cloutier's AQ all-in with his own A9...
, and second at two more events at the 2001 WSOP
2001 World Series of Poker
-Preliminary events:-Main Event:There were 613 entrants to the main event. Each paid $10,000 to enter what was the largest poker tournament ever played in a non-online casino at the time.-Final table:-Other High Finishes:...
. In two of these events, he was eliminated whilst holding aces.
Ulliott represented his country in the Poker Nations Cup
Poker Nations Cup
The Poker Nations Cup is an international poker tournament, televised on Channel 4 from March 2006 onwards.The series is commentated by Jesse May and Barny Boatman. Padraig Parkinson covered for Boatman in preliminary match 2....
, the PartyPoker.com Football & Poker Legends Cup
PartyPoker.com Football & Poker Legends Cup
The PartyPoker.com Football & Poker Legends Cup is a televised poker tournament, airing in the United Kingdom on Five from April 2006 onwards, in the lead-up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup.- Format :...
and the Intercontinental Poker Championship
Intercontinental Poker Championship
The Intercontinental Poker Championship is a poker tournament featuring professional poker players representing various nations. 21 players competed in the inaugural event, which was taped at Palms Hotel and Casino April 14-16, 2006, and aired on CBS for seven weeks beginning June 17, 2006...
as well as the inaugural British Poker Open
The Poker Channel
The Poker Channel is a dedicated gaming TV network and broadcasts to over 30 million TV homes in 30 countries.The Channel is typically carried in the basic packages of cable and satellite operators in Europe and classified as a sport or entertainment channel in electronic programme guides...
which had a strong American field in contention.
At the PartyPoker Premier League, he embarked on a rivalry with Phil Hellmuth, including one six-man game where Ulliott called Hellmuth's all-in bluff with against Hellmuth's , making him a better than 60% favourite. Hellmuth flopped the nut
Nut hand
In poker, the nut hand, is the strongest possible hand in a given situation. The second-nut hand or third-nut hand may refer to the second and third best possible hands...
straight. Later in the same game, Hellmuth's pocket nines beat Ulliott's aces.
As of 2010, Ulliott's total live tournament winnings exceed $5,800,000, making him the highest-earning British poker player according to available records. His 32 cashes at the WSOP account for $1,697,948 of those winnings.
Public image and reputation
Despite the dominance of Texas hold 'em throughout televised poker, Ulliott has a reputation as a very strong pot limit Omaha player, with over 40 finishes in the money in tournaments of that type. Once, in an Omaha cash game at The Vic in 1997, he successfully read that Jon Shoreman had a straight flushStraight Flush
Straight Flush was the name of a B-29 Superfortress participating in the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945....
and laid down a four of a kind
Four of a Kind
Four of a Kind is the debut feature film for director Fiona Cochrane. It was completed in 2008 and released in 2009.It is based on the stage play Disclosure by Helen Collins as presented at La Mama Theatre during the 2006 Melbourne Fringe Festival. It was shot on location in Melbourne,...
. Ulliott was also considered the best five-card stud
Five-card stud
Five-card stud is the earliest form of the card game stud poker, originating during the American Civil War, but is less commonly played today than many other more popular poker games. It is still a popular game in parts of the world, especially in Finland where a specific variant of five-card stud...
player in Northern England
Northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North or the North Country, is a cultural region of England. It is not an official government region, but rather an informal amalgamation of counties. The southern extent of the region is roughly the River Trent, while the North is bordered...
. However, Ulliott has indicated that his real preference is for four card Omaha
Four card poker
Four card poker is a relatively new casino card game similar to three card poker, invented by Roger Snow and owned by ShuffleMaster.-Description of play:...
.
In the UK, Ulliott is such a household name that he has been name-dropped in EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
, and in the inaugural edition of PokerPlayer magazine, Ulliott was not only on the front cover, but also voted #9 on their (worldwide) Top 10 Poker Legends List.
Online poker
Online poker is the game of poker played over the Internet. It has been partly responsible for a dramatic increase in the number of poker players worldwide...
site Devilfish Poker. After being eliminated in third place for $120,000 in the Full Tilt Poker
Full Tilt Poker
Full Tilt Poker is an online poker card room that opened in June 2004 with the involvement of poker professionals Howard Lederer, Phil Ivey, Andy Bloch, Mike Matusow, Jennifer Harman and Chris Ferguson...
invitational event at the 2005 Monte Carlo Millions
Monte Carlo Millions
The Monte Carlo Millions was the first ever poker tournament to be staged in the city-state of Monaco. The inaugural event was completed on 12 November 2004. Apparently birthed out of the preceding explosion of Texas Hold 'em popularity, it was conceived of and sponsored by Prima Poker. The field...
, Ulliott stood up, flashing a "www.devilfishpoker.com" sign that was strapped to his back inside his jacket. The event was being broadcast live on Fox Sports Net
Fox Sports Net
The Fox Sports Regional Networks, or simply Fox Sports Net , are a collection of cable TV regional sports networks in the United States owned and operated by News Corporation.- Beginnings :...
(FSN), who has a policy against advertising .com
.com
The domain name com is a generic top-level domain in the Domain Name System of the Internet. Its name is derived from commercial, indicating its original intended purpose for domains registered by commercial organizations...
websites, and Ulliott was banned from appearing in any forthcoming FSN productions. Ulliott later responded that he only paid the entry money so he could advertise his site; it was originally agreed that he would be able to promote the site, so he decided to advertise his site through the publicity stunt
Publicity stunt
A publicity stunt is a planned event designed to attract the public's attention to the event's organizers or their cause. Publicity stunts can be professionally organized or set up by amateurs...
regardless. Despite supporting online poker sites, Ulliott has indicated that many online players do not know what they are doing when playing, which makes them harder to play against.
Ulliott became the subject of some controversy when proclaiming that female poker players will never be as good as male players. He cited Lucy Rokach
Lucy Rokach
Lucienne "Lucy" Rokach is an English professional poker player from Stoke-on-Trent. She was born in Cairo, Egypt and is now regarded as one of the top female players in Europe...
as a rare example of a strong female player, but indicated that female players would never be aggressive
Aggression (poker)
In the game of poker, opens and raises are considered aggressive plays, while calls and checks are considered passive . It is said that "aggression has its own value", meaning that often aggressive plays can make money with weak hands because of bluff value...
enough to compete with their male counterparts.
Ulliot claims that his gambling wins have led to him being banned by all the British bookmakers. He also claims that Joe Beevers
Joe Beevers
Joseph "Joe" Charles Beevers is an English professional poker player and a member of The Hendon Mob....
placed bets on his behalf for a period of time, during which time he managed to back all six winners at Ascot one year, including one at 14/1 and one at 20/1.
Recently, Ulliott has attempted to change his image, as he no longer has his slicked-back hair, nor wears sunglasses at the poker table. This was a result of attending a party in Las Vegas, where he felt everyone looked the same as him.
Outside of playing poker
During his time working at G K Beaulah's, Ulliott had a common-law wifeCommon-law marriage
Common-law marriage, sometimes called sui juris marriage, informal marriage or marriage by habit and repute, is a form of interpersonal status that is legally recognized in limited jurisdictions as a marriage even though no legally recognized marriage ceremony is performed or civil marriage...
, Diana, with whom he had a son named David. He went on to marry Susan, with whom he had two children named Darren Paul and Kerry. Later he met Amanda (Mandy) Ashby, a laboratory
Laboratory
A laboratory is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. The title of laboratory is also used for certain other facilities where the processes or equipment used are similar to those in scientific laboratories...
worker for British Cocoa Mills, who became his second wife. They are currently going through a divorce. He has seven children.
He resides in Kingston upon Hull, not far from where he grew up.