David Bach

David Bach is a professional poker player who had his first live event cash in 1997. In the first 14 years, he cashed 36 times, made 20 final tables, cashed in 17 WSOP events, and earned over $3 million. He has also been a successful player in high-stakes cash games, and used to be a professional bowler.

Born August 9, 1972 in Springfield, Missouri and now residing in Athens, Georgia, David learned the game of poker from his father, a doctor. Despite the fact that Bach earned a psychology degree from the University of Georgia, he decided to pursue poker rather than enter the profession.

David’s first tournament cash was at the 1997 WSOP when he finished 13th in the $1,500 Stud to earn $3,855. The next year, he cashed at the 1998 L.A. Poker Classic, finishing 6th in the $1,000 LHE for $2,970. It would be 5 years before David would again cash in a live event.

In 2003, David cashed twice at the Jack Binion World Poker Open Tunica, where he was runner-up in the $500 NLHE to earn $51,143.  In 2004, he cashed twice at the Ultimatebet.com Poker Classic, taking 6th for $2,478 in the $500 NLHE, and making the money in the WPT NLHE event. At the 2005 Jack Binion World Poker Open, David placed 10th for $12,956 in the $3,000 NLHE, before cashing at the WSOP twice, including finished 8th in the $1,500 PLO to collect $88,680.

David cashed 6 times in 2006. He cashed twice at the Jack Binion WSOP Circuit Event Robinsonville, twice at the Gold Strike World Poker Open, and finished 3rd in the $1,455 LHE at the L.A. Poker Classic for $217,720. At the WSOP, he finished 7th for $32,760 in the $2,000 NLHE Shootout.

In 2007, David cashed at the Gold Strike World Poker Open, and at the WSOP Circuit Grand Tunica, he made the first of his 4 final tables that year when he placed 4th in the $1,000 HORSE for $8,691. At the L.A. Poker Classic, he placed 3rd for $6,930 in the $300 Stud, and finished 6th for $257,425 in the $9,900 WPT NLHE WPT Event. At the WSOP, he was runner-up in the $1,500 PLO-8 to earn $139,725.

David made the money in 6 events in 2008, starting with cashing twice at the Aussie Millions Poker Championship where he was runner-up in the $2,000 PLHE/PLO/Omaha-8 for A$45,600.  At the WSOP, he cashed 4 times, including finishing 8th for $117,988 in the $1,500 NLHE, and taking 11th in the $50,000 HORSE for $159,840.

To start 2009, David final tabled twice at the Aussie Millions Poker Championship. He also cashed twice at the WSOP, which included scoring a major title and his first gold bracelet when he won the $50,000 HORSE World Championship for $1,276,806 and the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy. In 2010, he won the A$10,000 HORSE at the Aussie Millions Poker Championship to earn A$102,600 before cashing twice at the WSOP.

By October, David had cashed 4 times in 2011. All of his cashes were at the WSOP, where his best efforts were 3rd in the $2,500 Deuce-to-Seven 3-Draw for $77,517, runner-up in the $5,000 PLO/Omaha-8 for $245,314, and cashing 45th in the Main Event for $196,174.

Known as “The Gunslinger,” David is one of the most recognizable players in poker, often wearing a huge black cowboy hat and brightly colored psychedelic shirts.