Although he started his career as a professional poker only a few years ago, in February 2004, Arnold Spee seems to be one of the most active and appreciated professional poker players in the scene these days.
Arnold Spee (pronounced "Spay") was born in 1964 in Chicago, Illinois. When people ask him about it, Arnold Spee always says that during 2004 he kept telling his friends he could and will win a 2005 WPT event. Perhaps they had faith in him, perhaps not, but none of it really matters, since Arnold Spee indeed won a 2005 WPT event. And it wasn't a mere minor event in the WPT, it was the main No Limit Hold'em event. Indeed, on this day Arnold Spee had proved to be a real champion, both at heart and title.
It took him time to get to the top, though. As he competed in many poker tournaments starting in 2004, Arnold Spee had quite modest earnings from his winnings. The first cash winning in a live professional poker tournament for Arnold Spee was on LA Poker Classic, a WPT Season 2 event, in the No Limit Hold'em tournament. He took the 17th place, along with $3,995. Not too bad for a start, although he had a long way to go before hitting the jackpot of the poker world.
During the first year Arnold Spee passed the $10,000 cash line only in three events. The first of which was the No Limit Hold'em tournament of the Winnin' O' The Green on March 22nd, 2004, where Arnold Spee made it to the 4th place and won $21,600. The second event was two and a half months later, on June 8th, 2004, at the California State Poker Championship No Limit Hold'em tournament. There he took the 4th place once more and won $15,120. The third cash winning over $10K for Arnold Spee was five months after the California State Poker Championship, in the WPT Season 3 World Poker Finals event, when he took the 52nd place of the No Limit Hold'em main event and won $21,568. And then he hit the jackpot.
On April 1st, 2005 – and make no mistake, it was no joke then and it most certainly isn't one right now – Arnold Spee won the 1st place of the No Limit Hold'em main event in the WPT Season 3 World Poker Challenge, earning him a championship title and $633,880. Now it was clear that Arnold Spee belongs to the professional league, and ever since then he became a regular player at WPT and WSOP events, specializing in No Limit Hold'em tournaments and events.
The 1st place in the WPT Season 3 No Limit Hold'em tournament was the best one so far for Arnold Spee. Ever since then he's been trying to recreate and repeat his grand winning, but managed to do so only partially. The closest he got to winning both another tournament and title was on July 24th, 2006, when he won the 2nd place and $78,697 in the 37th Annual WSOP Shootout of Limit Hold'em.
2006 and 2007 were busy years for Arnold Spee, who participated in many tournaments and cashed in a major part of them. 2008, though, has so far been a slower year for him. But remember that anything can still change, and we may still be surprised to see what surprises Arnold Spee keeps in his sleeve.
Arnold Spee Quick Facts
Cashes: 43
Total Winnings: $1,137,814
First place finishes: 1
WSOP bracelets: 0
WPT Championship Titles: 1