Poker Player Profile : Men Nguyen

Men "The Master" Nguyen is one of the most talented tournament players in the game these days and is also one of the most controversial. He has a very strong, charismatic personality and can always be seen talking to other players at the table. Men escaped communist rule by boat in 1978, living in a refugee camp before arriving in Los Angeles in 1978 not knowing a word of English. He soon found a job as a machinist, something he did for the next 10 years. He discovered poker on a trip with friends to Vegas and was hooked on the game. He would go home and think about what it would take to become a great poker player. He started playing poker for money in 1985, and by 1989, he had saved enough to become a businessman, with interests in a furniture store and a dry cleaners. In 1990, the Master became a full time professional poker player. Since then he has more than 50 titles to his credit, including four WSOP bracelets, and is one of the most feared competitors at any event he enters mainly because he is one of the hardest working poker players around today. He has taught many other successful tournaments players in the game today how to play poker (including Hon Le) and they sit around and have strategy sessions where they talk about the game for hours.

He's made final tables hundreds of times and been in the winner's circle more than 80 times, including two Hall of Fame tournaments. Nguyen is a Buddhist who donates part of his winnings to build orphanages in Vietnam. In 2002 he was ranked number five on Card Player's list of the most successful tournament players in poker. In 2001, he was ranked number one. He was also player of the year in 1997.