David "El Blondie" Colclough

David "El Blondie" Colclough was born March 4, 1964 in Carmarthen, Wales to a Welsh Mother and an English father. He played a lot of poker as a child during family weekends in Stoke-on-Trent.

While working in the IT industry he found employment in the Post Office, the National Health Service, the Inland Revenue and Fujitsu. He finally gave up his IT career when he saw that the demanding hours were getting in the way of playing poker.

Colclough is known as a highly aggressive player, but is best known as an Omaha expert, enjoying top rank in Europe and second overall. David had a final table appearance on the World Poker Tour (WPT), in an event also featuring Chip Reese and Sam Farha in which he took home $103,507.

2003 was a good year for David Colclough. In addition to being voted European Poker Player of the Year, he won £54,000 ($91,993) in the £1,000 No-Limit Hold'em event at Midland Masters, Walsall in November. He also placed first in quite a few events, including the €2,000 Omaha Cup Summer Tournament, held in Paris, which earned him €66,000 ($75,920). There was also the €400 Pot Limit Omaha event at the Irish in Dublin, in which he won €21,740 ($23,723).

2005 was a pretty good year as well for Coclough. In May 2005, David reached the semi-finals of the €2,000 World Heads-Up Championship and earned €20,000.

Fun Facts:

• In 2005 inducted into the European Poker Players Hall of Fame at the age of 41, making him the youngest inductee of all time.
• Is poker ambassador for Dusk Till Dawn, Europe's largest poker club in Nottingham, U.K.
• In high school Colclough was warned and ended up serving detention twice for playing poker in the common room.
• Advice columnist for Bet365Poker.com