Tuan Le (born February 15, 1978) is a rising American professional poker player, best known for his consecutive winnings at the third World Poker Tour series, which won him over $4,000,000 in cash.
Tuan Le was born in Paris, the son of Vietnamese immigrants who moved to the U.S. shortly afterwards. In the mid-1990's highschool prodigy Le enrolled in California State University, majoring in Finance. College was also the place where Tuan Le became enamoured with poker. What began as a hobby soon consumed much of his time as he started playing low-risk No Limit Hold'em in L.A.'s Hustler Casino.
It was not long before Tuan Le was noticed by poker guru Barry Greenstein. The star poker pro soon became something of a mentor for Le, giving him a copy of his then-unpublished book Ace on the River. Having made a fairly modest entrance into the professional arena (landing the 9th place and netting $4,900 at a $300 Limit Hold'em game at the 2001 Sport of Kings tournament), Greenstein's mentoring and his own determination would soon establish Tuan Le as a rising talent. He took up high-risk tables in L.A., and was soon getting attention at Las Vegas playing rooms.
2004 proved a pivotal for the 26-year old player. In October he entered the third Festa al Lago tournament, and won some $43,000 in ten days' time. Nothing, however, could prepare him for the final day of the World Poker Finals. Tuan Le and opponent Temp Hutter entered the game with a nearly identical chip count; later in the game Le assumed the chip lead. He soon got 67, and was confident about picking up the straight. His confidence was justified: he called, and the next card proved to be a lucky 10. Tuan Le won the first place, scoring $1,549,588. In just minutes he became a poker sensation, winning acclaim for his non-compromising yet wise playing. Victory also meant an automatic entry ticket to the April 2005 World Poker Championship. Held at the famous Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas, the game helped cement Le's reputation for ruthless playing; the final hand - 7 on the river - sent British pro Paul Maxfied down to second place. Tuan Le, meanwhile, emerged victorious yet again, nearly doubling his November 2004 winnings and proving his former achievement was not a fluke.
Since winning his awesome double Tuan Le has labored to triumph over his main shortcomings - the lack of game selection and less-than-adequate steam control (as even mentor Greenstein admits). A recent WPT game saw him finishing a disappointing 39th; his 4 major first-place finishes and over $4,600,000 in winnigs nonetheless make it clear the soft-spoken poker wizard has a river up his sleeve still.
Tuan Le Landmark Victories
2006 4th Five-Star World Poker Classic
$2,500 Super Satellite - No Limit Hold'em
04/17/2006 $25,700
2005 WPT 3rd Five-Star World Poker Classic
$25,000 No Limit Hold'em Championship
04/18/2005 $2,856,150
2004 WPT Finals
$10,000 No Limit Hold'em
11/13/2004 $1,549,588
