William Reynolds  

A leather jacket and curly hair make William Reynolds stand out at any poker table, but competitors aware of his poker success know his name. In only a few short years, he has accumulated more than $1.4 million in live earnings and strives for more.

Born and raised in Sioux City, Iowa, William Reynolds focused on school during his early years, graduating from North Sioux City High School in 2007. It was at the age of 16 that he and friends began playing poker, mostly for $5 stakes in weekend games.

That poker interested led to a $50 online poker website deposit at the age of 18, and he quickly began to rapidly build a bankroll, starting at the $0.25/$0.50 tables and moving up to $10/$20. Though he did begin college and attend classes for four months, more attention was being paid to poker, and he made the decision to take a few months off from school, which ultimately turned into a year, and he has yet to return.

During that time, Reynolds decided to try live poker, though he was not old enough to play in most casinos or cardrooms in the United States. An exception, however, was Verona, New York, and he went to play the Empire State Hold’em Championships there, cashing in a small NLHE event for a minimal profit.

Meanwhile, his online scores were adding up. Though he mainly played cash games online, he did win a big event in 2007 for $205,000, then made some big final tables in 2008 and finished fourth in a 2009 Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) event on PokerStars for $87,000. The ever-growing six-figure bankroll allowed him to play more events overseas before he turned 21.

Reynolds traveled to Italy to play the European Poker Tour events at San Remo, and he made his first final table there, finishing fourth in the €5,000 NLHE Main Event for €377,000. And later in 2009, he cashed in the Latin American Poker Tour Main Event in Playa Conchal.

His biggest score came in January of 2010 at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in the Bahamas. He played the $25,000 NLHE High Roller event and finished first, taking home $576,240 and a trophy for his victory at the age of 21. He went on to make the final table of the World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event in Hammond, Indiana, later that year, finishing third for $110,567.

Though 2011 is only half over, Reynolds started another solid year. With two cashes in the Bahamas, he then trekked to Lawrenceburg, Indiana, for the World Poker Tour Hollywood Poker Open, and he made the final table of the $10,000 NLHE Main Event. He finished third there for $110,788, and a month later, he cashed in the EPT Grand Final Main Event in Madrid.

Since then, Reynolds has appeared on the television and internet cash game poker show called the PokerStars.net Big Game, showing that he can play with some of the best in the game and that he truly loves the game.

All the while, he is supported by his family. His mother and stepfather, Lisa and George Davidson, cheer for Reynolds from their home in Iowa. And William’s siblings have also been his biggest fans. Though they were first skeptical of his decision to quit college, they see him living his dream and support his career.