Men Nguyen Poker Pro Few professional players have had a life like Men ‘The Master’ Nguyen. He was born in 1954 in Vietnam. When he was 13 he dropped out of school to become a bus driver to help support his family. In 1978, he was one of 87 ‘boat people’ who took a boat and fled the Communist government of Vietnam. For five days they floated in the ocean, living off rice and small amounts of freshwater. The boat took them to a refuge camp in Pulau Besar in the South Pacific. Sixth months later he was relocated to Los Angeles where he received his political asylum.

Men Nguyen - Machinist

Men Nguyen worked as a machinist for awhile, earning $12 an hour. Unsatisfied with his life, he went on a junket to Las Vegas with a friend. Instead of playing the machines, Nguyen ended up in the poker room where players competed, not against the machines, but against other people. Nguyen thought poker resembled a Vietnamese card game called xiphe and decided to try it. He lost that first game, and many more after it, but was hooked.

Men Nguyen - Vegas Tournaments

Men Nguyen started to junket to Vegas every single weekend. He lost so much money during that time that people started calling him ‘Money Machine’. But the more he played Nguyen eventually got better. He analyzed the game and how specific hands could have been played better. Soon he began winning pots.

Men Nguyen won his first tournament in 1987, earning over $23,000. Months later he won a No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em tournament at Caesar’s Palace, wining $44,000, and beating out Johnny Chan. With the winnings from those games, Nguyen bought a drycleaning business and a furniture store. He ran them for a few years but sold them in 1990 because they were not making as much money as gambling. After the businesses sold, he became a full-time gambler.

Men Nguyen - World Series of Poker Bracelet Winner

Men Nguyen holds six gold World Series of Poker Bracelets. His first win was in 1992 at the $1500 Seven-Card Stud event where he earned $120,600. In 1995 he won his second bracelet at Seven-Card Stud Split and took home $96,000. His third bracelet came later that year at $2500 Limit Hold ‘Em. Then in 1996, he won $100,00 at $2500 Omaha 8or Better and got his fourth bracelet. His fifth bracelet was in 2003 at the $5,000 Seven-Card Stud. He earned $178,560 at that event. His sixth bracelet was in 2003 where he won $43,520 at the $1500 Ace to Five Triple Draw Lowball event.

Throughout his career, Men Nguyen has earned cash at over 120 finished and has won more than 75 tournaments. Throughout his career, he has won over $4 million is prize money, not including his earnings from cash games. His other accomplishments include taking first place at the Omaha Hi Lo event and the Pot Limit Hold’Em event at the World Poker Challenge. He also took first in the mixed games at the Legend of Poker. His final table finishes are too numerous to count. He also won Card Player Magazine’s Player of the Year Award in 1997, 2001, 2003, and 2005. In 2001, Card Player magazine also listed him as number one of the top five most-winning poker players of all time.

Men Nguyen - Vietnamese Role Model

Men Nguyen has become a role model for many Vietnamese. He tutors players from the Vietnamese community and always has a retinue of followers wherever he goes. While many professionals in the gambling world guard their secrets as if they were the crown jewels, Nguyen’s group shares advice and strategy. Nguyen has been accused of training more poker champions than anyone else in the field. He sits and discusses poker like a teacher in a classroom. He teaches them to play as he does, leaving no secret untold. Men Nguyen shows them techniques of how to play aggressively towards conservative opponents and how to play passively against aggressive opponents. Many gamblers view poker as a game of chance where luck plays the biggest role. Nguyen and his followers view poker differently. To them, each situation has a correct move and countermove.

To the Vietnamese, Men Nguyen is idolized. They stand and cheer when he enters a room. During their teaching sessions, there is silence when he speaks as his pupils hang on every word. His followers are more like family and he helps finance them. His teaching and bankroll has earned him respect and loyalty that few other players experience.

Men Nguyen Softplaying Controversy

This tutelage has also brought with it some controversy. It led to accusations of ‘softplaying’, which is a form of cheating. There are stories of pupils of Nguyen’s who steal chips and give them to their fellow players so as to increase their chip stacks. Other accusations charge that when Nguyen faced one of his students, they dumped and let him win. While these accusations have never been proven, they continue to follow the Master. Men Nguyen blatantly denies the accusations. For him, a practicing Buddhist, cheating is against his religion. To do a wrong earns bad karma and the deed will eventually come back to haunt you. Also, Nguyen claims that one of the standards he enforces on his students is honesty.

Men Nguyen Personal Life

Men Nguyen lives economically, despite the success of his career. A financial bust at the tables in 1994 left a lasting impression on him. He lost $100,000 in one night and had to rely on credit cards for his living expenses. But in less than a year, he won $300,000 and was back in the money. Yet the lesson had been learned.

Men Nguyen still visits Vietnam once a year. With his earnings throughout the years, he has donated to charities in Vietnam and helped, along with contributions from other gamblers, to build a kindergarten there. But as much as Nguyen loves Vietnam, he also loves America. America is what made him into the person he is today. He has stated that without America, he would probably be dead. Yet despite all he had to overcome, he endured. As of 2008, his total earnings have been estimated at $8,600,000. He is truly the ‘Master’.