David "ODB" Baker

David Baker isn’t a feisty, loud, or particularly colorful player at the poker tables. He also isn’t part of the 20-something crowd. David Baker, on the other hand, is a solid, intense player who treats poker as a job and excels, and he has more than $1.7 million in earnings to prove it.

Born in Connecticut, David Baker grew up on the East Coast of the United States. He graduated with a degree in finance from Auburn University, where he was also introduced to poker. After Auburn, David pursued a career in sales, eventually relocating to Katy, Texas, just outside Houston. Occasional travels during his leisure time to casinos in New Orleans allowed him the time to play his favorite game – PLO – in the 1990s. In 2000, he learned hold ‘em so he could play in some underground card games in Houston.

As he began to play larger tournaments in 2004, he made the decision to dedicate all of his time to poker. While cash games built and sustained his bankroll, he made some deep runs and final tables in events like the Jack Binion World Poker Open in Tunica and the Bellagio Weekly Tournaments. He even cashed in the World Poker Tour PartyPoker Million IV Cruise in 2005, and made final tables in Heavenly Hold’em, Legends of Poker, and L.A. Poker Classic events in Los Angeles. His first tournament win came in the latter when he won a $2,425 LHE event for $71,040 in early 2006.

In 2006, Baker emerged as a true force on the tournament circuit. He final tabled events at the World Poker Challenge in Reno, the Five Star World Poker Classic in Las Vegas, Bellagio Weekly tournaments, and he cashed 5 times in the WSOP. He then cashed at the WPT Legends of Poker and followed that up by making his first televised WPT final table at the Festa al Lago, finishing 5th for $125,240.

Baker made his first WSOP final table in 2007 in the $1,500 LHE Shootout, finishing 7th, and bettered that in 2008 by finishing 3rd in $2,000 LHE, earning $78,624.

His best World Series to date has been 2010. He cashed in 7 events and made a pair of final tables, finishing 6th in $3,000 HORSE for $50,871 and 3rd in a massive $1,000 NLHE event for $206,813. His biggest cash, however, was in the Main Event, where he finished in 17th place, earning $396,967

Although his main priority is spending time with his wife and daughter in Texas, David continues to travel when possible for tournament poker and to make a living from the game.