David “Chip” Reese, the high-stakes poker player in Las Vegas died in his sleep on Tuesday at his home after suffering symptoms of pneumonia. He was 56.

“I knew him for 35 years, I never saw him get mad or raise his voice,” Poker great Doyle Brunson said. “He had the most even disposition of anyone I’ve ever met. He’s certainly the best poker player that ever lived.”

The immediate success at cash games and his low-key persona won him friends, even among those who wound up passing him their chips.

Reese won three World Series champion’s bracelets over the last four decades, including a $1.8 million HORSE event in 2006 that combines five poker disciplines, Reese focused on high-stakes cash games away from the limelight.

Over the years Brunson and Reese eventually became business partners, investing in everything from oil wells and mining to TV stations and racehorses and becoming sports betting consultants.

“Many consider Chip the greatest cash-game player who ever lived,” said Jeffery Pollack, World Series of Poker Commissioner. “His victory in the inaugural $50,000 buy-in HORSE championship … made him a part of WSOP lore forever.”

Reese is survived by his son, daughter and a stepdaughter, Brunson said. He was recently divorced from his wife.