Thang Duc Nguyen was born in Ho Chi Mihn city in Vietnam, where he lived until he moved with his family to Hamburg, Germany. Thang Duc Nguyen, 44, married and a father to 12 year old twins, had started playing professional poker mainly as a hobby, on his spare time – when he wasn't with his family or working as a chef.
Although not such a familiar face in the poker scene, Thang Duc Nguyen is definitely far from being a rookie, a thing which is proven every time he does take part in this tournament or another.
His first cash winning in a live tournament was only in October 2002, when Thang Duc Nguyen took the 9th place and $430 in the National Championship of Poker Limit Hold'em tournament. Apparently it wasn't enough for him, and Thang Duc Nguyen continued trying to win the 1st place. Finally he got his wish, plus an enormous exposure in the world of professional poker, as he won the 1st place (his only 1st place in live tournaments so far) in the No Limit Hold'em tournament of The Big Double – the 17th European 7-Card Stud Championship of the EPT Season 3, October 2006.
Since Thang Duc Nguyen is the chef of his own restaurant in Hamburg, Germany, and has to spend some time with his family, he seems to take part in 4-5 live poker tournaments every year, unlike many of his fellow professional poker players who sometimes play 4-5 tournaments a month. When asked about it, Thang Duc Nguyen said it was not yet the right time for him to focus on a career as a professional poker player, and that he's not yet ready to give up his career as a chef. Still, Thang Duc Nguyen finds time to play poker not only in tournaments, but also online, and he already made it to the final tables of PokerStars.com World Cup of online poker.
Thang Duc Nguyen Quick Facts
Cashes: 14
Total Winnings: $704,438
First place finishes: 1
WSOP bracelets: 0
