Casino Profile of David Roepke
His friends call him Champ. And he was the night of the $1,000
buy-in No Limit Hold Em event at the 2002 World Poker Open. David took first
place and $78,824 in prize money.
I first noticed David when I was wandering around the World
Poker Open during the Omaha Pot-Limit Tournament on Friday, January 18th. I was
looking for name players. When I found one I would stand by their table and
watch them play a few hands. Somehow I ended up watching David's play and I had
to ask myself why was I there and not watching TJ or someone else. Then it hit.
David looked more confident than most of the names I saw. He looked like a
winner. If it was a ring game, I know I wouldn't have sat down to play at
David's table.
David didn't win the Omaha event (one of three games he likes -
the other two are Pot Limit Hold Em, and of course No Limit) - he placed 22nd.
Good thing, because if he had gotten to the final table in Omaha (held at 4 p.m.
January 19th), he wouldn't have entered the $1,000 buy-in NLHE tournament that
started at noon the 19th.
I was lucky enough to talk to David the morning after his big
win and here is his story:
David started playing poker over 25 years ago in Belton Texas,
where he was a regular at Pro Davis' and Lee Johnsons' games. In the late
1970s, David would also head to Las Vegas to play in the monthly tournaments
held in the Golden Nugget's card room (it closed down some years ago). Among
others, T.J. Cloutier was a frequent player there. It wasn't long before David
picked up the nickname of "Champ."
In the late 1980s David played in Charles Bissell's big Dallas
NLHE game, made famous in T.J. Cloutier's books. It was in these games that
T.J. coined Big Slick the "Walking Back to Houston Hand," because so
many players went flat broke on the hand and even wagered their cars. Playing
against the likes of T.J., Buck Buchanan and Ken Smith, David acquired the
hard-edged experience that he uses in tournaments today.
When asked about some of the other players who influenced him,
David wanted to make sure I mentioned Doyle Brunson, who has been a loyal
friend as well as mentor. As with a lot of poker players, David was down to the
felt one time, and was re-staked by Speedy Meyers, from Killeen, Texas.
David first started playing in the main semua situs slot mpo event at the WSOP in 1980 when he won a satellite to get
there. He has played in the $10,000 buy-in at the WSOP a total of eight times.
In 1997 David made it to number eight in the Big One before being knocked out
by Stu Ungar. Stu was on a roll that year. Free of his personal demons for a
time, he was playing some of the best poker of his life.
David is also an avid golfer, often playing with Dewey Tomko
(runner up in the 2001 WSOP championship). Stu Ungar, however, was a
notoriously bad golfer - losing hundreds of thousands on the course. David
remembers when Jack Binion used to run a golf tournament for all the WSOP
participants, where the betting overshadowed the tee shots and putts. They'd
let Stu tee it up from wherever he wanted: from the ladies' tees, from 100
yards down the fairway if he wanted, from the sandtraps too.
I asked David about his play in this year's $1,000 buy-in NLHE
event at the WPO, and here are his highlights: David caught big the first hand
of the event. Sitting with an 8,8 pocket pair, he watches as the flop delivers
a third 8 for a set. The other player went broke on the hand, doubling David
up. David plays a strong tournament and finds himself in a $20,000 pot with A,K
and only 15 players left. An A,J beats him when a jack spikes the board and
instead of $35,000 (which would have got him to the final table with the 2nd
largest stack), David is left with just $15,000 (and the 7th stack size). The
final table includes Phil Hellmuth, Skip Wilson, Hung Le and Peter Vilandos.
As with any tournament, you gotta catch some cards at the end,
and David does. His biggest hand is K,K on the button against an all-in from
one of England's top players, Ian Dobson, who held an A,10. A $50,000 pot.
Later David has A,A on the button against an all in Q,10s from Gerry Craft and
picks up a decent pot. Gerry finishes 4th and we are three-handed.
David took total control of the table with just he and Hung Le
and Peter Vilandos left, as his long experience came into play. David switches
gears from aggressive to tight to aggressive again, and always seems to make
the correct move. When David comes over the top, Le or Peter reluctantly fold.
David admitted that he had a read on both opponents. At this point David has
close to $60,000 in chips, with Le in the lead with around $100,000.
He did get clipped once, when Peter went all in with A,J and
David called with J,10s (David had made the initial raise and was pot
committed). David is now third with only $30,000 in chips. Again, he plays a
perfect game, stealing at will and backing down when either of the two has a
strong hand.
David knocks out Peter Vilandos when Peter goes all in with
Q,10s and David has J,J. David is now chip leader and it is Le who must play
catch up.
The final hand finds a board of Q,9,5,7 and Le going all in on
the turn card. David watches Le intensely before calling. They both flip over
their cards: David has 4,4; Le an A,10. Another correct read by David. The
river is a blank and David takes first place prize money of $78,834 and the
coveted bracelet.
Tournament coordinator Jack McClelland said, "I've been
trying to give David a bracelet for over 20 years now."
I don't think we'll have to wait another 20 years for David to
win his next bracelet.
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