34 Facts About Dave Ulliott

David A "Devilfish" Ulliott was an English professional gambler and poker player, known for his connections to Hull's organised crime scene.

Dave Ulliott left school at 15 years old and was introduced to gambling at an early age, frequently visiting bookmakers with his father and placing bets on horse racing with his colleagues.

Dave Ulliott became part of a safe-cracking team after being told that all parties involved, including shop owners and local authorities, were complicit in the operation.

Dave Ulliott evaded capture for one week before being arrested.

Shortly after his release, Dave Ulliott was again arrested in connection with an armed robbery at an off-license, though he was released three days later without charge.

At the age of 28, Dave Ulliott was arrested after a fight outside a nightclub and was sentenced to 18 months in prison, serving time in both Leeds and Durham facilities.

Dave Ulliott was introduced to gambling by his parents, who played poker with him during his childhood.

When Dave Ulliott first travelled to London, he found the competition much tougher, forcing him to adjust his playing style.

Dave Ulliott credited this experience with greatly improving his poker skills.

In private poker games, Dave Ulliott sometimes brought a gun to ensure he could leave with his winnings, even firing it into the air on one occasion to scare off opponents who planned to rob him.

Dave Ulliott first gained recognition in poker tournaments in 1993, gradually honing his skills in tournament play.

The nickname had been suggested earlier that year by Stephen Au-Yeung, who hosted a poker game Dave Ulliott attended in Birmingham.

Dave Ulliott arrived at the 1997 World Series of Poker with $200,000, but lost it all in cash games and tournament buy-ins.

Dave Ulliott borrowed over $70,000 more, but lost that as well, damaging several relationships along the way.

Dave Ulliott completed his straight on the river, securing the victory and earning $180,310, along with his first and only WSOP bracelet.

In 1999, Dave Ulliott was one of 40 players to appear in the first series of the Late Night Poker television series, the first poker show to use hole cam technology.

Dave Ulliott won his qualifying heat against a field that included Charalambos "Bambos" Xanthos and future Hendon Mobster Ross Boatman to advance to the Grand Final.

Dave Ulliott's victory was watched by over 1,500,000 people 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 Dave Ulliott appearing in them all.

In January 2003, Dave Ulliott won his biggest tournament cash prize in the World Poker Tour first season Jack Binion World Poker Open.

Dave 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.

In December 2007, Dave Ulliott came in 3rd place in the sixth season of the WPT Doyle Brunson Classic Championship Event earning $674,500.

Dave Ulliott came close to winning a second WSOP bracelet on numerous occasions, finishing second in events at the 1998 WSOP and 2000 WSOP, and second at two more events at the 2001 WSOP.

Dave Ulliott represented his country in the Poker Nations Cup, the PartyPoker.

Dave Ulliott had two children with his first wife Susan; four children with Amanda Ashby; one child with his common-law wife Diana and one child with his third wife.

Dave Ulliott lived in Kingston upon Hull, close to his childhood home.

Dave Ulliott was diagnosed with colon cancer in February 2015, and died of the disease on 6 April 2015 at the age of 61.

Dave Ulliott was considered the best five-card stud player in Northern England.

However, Dave Ulliott indicated that his real preference was for four card Omaha.

Dave Ulliott appeared on the front cover of the inaugural edition of PokerPlayer magazine, and was voted No 9 on their Top 10 Poker Legends List.

Dave Ulliott was associated with the online poker site Devilfish Poker.

Dave 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.

Dave Ulliott became the subject of some controversy when he claimed that female poker players would never be as good as male players.

Dave Ulliott cited Lucy Rokach as a rare example of a strong female player, but still maintained that female players would never be aggressive enough to compete with their male counterparts.

Dave Ulliott claimed that his gambling wins led to him being banned by all the British bookmakers.