Bill Chen
William “Bill” Chen is a professional in finance, a software engineer and a of poker researcher with a Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of California (Berkeley.) He discovered poker in 1993 while at UC Berkeley; back then, he combined his studies with the game of poker at the Oaks Card Club in Emeryville, California. Bill decided to occasionally support himself with his poker winnings instead of taking student aid.
Soon, Bill was intrigued by game theory, and he eventually developed an interest in poker game theory. Then, when Chen finished his dissertation, he got a job at Susquehanna International Group (SIG), a financial trading company with a strong poker culture among its employees. The managing partner of SIG encouraged Chen to work on poker theories while working on quantitative finance models; he also lets him take a few weeks off each year to play in the World Series of Poker .
Chen placed eleventh in the $1,500 Ace to Five Lowball event at the 2000 World Series of Poker. He kept playing frequently, and he had spectacular and consistent wins at the Oaks Card Club; there, he placed first in the weekly tournaments 26 times, including a run of seven wins in eleven weeks. Chen won the $1,000 No Limit Hold’em event at the 2000 Legends of Poker tournament at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles.
Bill Chen won his first two gold bracelets at the 2006 World Series of Poker. He cashed in eight events, including his two first place wins. He collected his first WSOP bracelet in the $3,000 Limit Hold’em event and then his second in the $2,500 Short Handed No Limit Hold’em event. While Bill became a player to watch in future tournaments, he still works in the statistical arbitrage department at SIG. Even though he has not turned professional, Chen became very active in the online poker community; he is part of Team PokerStars and regularly frequents the rec.gambling.poker news group. Bill Chen and Jerrod Ankenman published a poker book titled "The Mathematics of Poker", which is based on their research.
Bill Chen's live tournament winning exceed $1.9 million. At WSOP events, he has made 11 final tables and 38 money finishes.
World Series of Poker Bracelets
| Year | Tournament | Prize(US$) |
| 2006 | $2,500 Short Handed No Limit Hold'em | $442,511 |
| 2006 | $3,000 Limit Hold'em | $343,618 |
