A tribute to the Devilfish
Barry Carter pays his respects to the most influential player in British, and maybe European, poker - Dave Ulliott, who sadly passed away this week.
I was surprised at just how sad I was at the passing of Dave ‘The Devilfish’ Ulliott. I’d met him many times, interviewed him a few and even had a night of drinks with him before. However, that is true of many people I have met in poker who are sadly no longer with us.
I think one of the reasons his passing was particularly shocking to myself and the poker community, was because his persona was ‘larger than life’. The TV character we knew as ‘The Devilfish’ had a real aura of invincibility. He was very much like an unbeatable ‘Bond Villain’ or WWE character. He was both a devastating foe at the tables, and equally as dominant a presence away from them.
The other thing that really stood out for me was the enormous outpouring of support on forums and social media, both when his illness was revealed and after he passed away. I don’t think I have ever seen so much public support for a poker player. It looked like he touched the lives of so many people, both in person and on a larger scale by introducing them to the game of poker.
The first British poker celebrity
He may also be the first great ‘TV Pro’ of the modern era. He was the first ever champion of Late Night Poker, the show that revolutionised TV poker by popularising the hole card camera. For so many people who play the game today, the Devilfish was their introduction to poker.
It helped, of course, that he had such a marketable image. ‘Devilfish’ is a pretty cool nickname after all, and his personality was everything you would expect from our preconceived images of poker being played in the movies. Dave clearly knew the potential of televised poker, which is why he was one of the first to really embrace the format by becoming a character in the story of poker.
He was also a born entertainer. He was never without a funny one-liner in interviews or at the table, and loved to sing and play instruments. I’ve seen Dave many times in the last decade working in poker, and I probably have seen him with a guitar in his hand as much as I have seen him with chips in them.
Poker will never be the same again
One of the funniest things I ever saw him do was actually exactly eight years ago, at the Irish Open. He folded a hand and told the young guy who won the pot that he put him on Queens. The guy suggested maybe he, in fact, just bluffed the great man. Dave said "wanna bet?" and then pulled out the biggest wad of cash I have ever seen, slammed it on the table and said "I bet that much money you had Queens"’ – the young man quietly gave his hand back to the dealer and said no more about it. I guessed the stack of cash to be around €30,000 in €50 notes, and the wad was so big he could no longer fit it back into his pocket.
America has Phil Hellmuth, Britain, and to a smaller extent, Europe, had the Devilfish. Whether he realised it or not, he may be one of the most influential players the European game has ever produced. I’m afraid I didn’t realise myself just how pivotal he has been for poker on this side of the pond until it was too late.
There have been calls to get Dave Ulliott inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame this year, I think that would be a no-brainer now. Again, it is only now that he has passed away that I realise he should have been inducted way before circumstances forced it into our consideration.
I can’t speak for all of Europe, but the Devilfish was poker for Britain. He has left a void that will never be filled and poker is a more boring place without him. More importantly, it is clear to see from the public response to his passing, that the world has lost a great family member and friend too.
