David Pham (born February 10, 1967 in

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

), is a

Vietnamese-American Vietnamese Americans ( vi, Người Mỹ gốc Việt, lit=Viet-origin American people) are Americans of Vietnamese ancestry. They make up about half of all overseas Vietnamese and are the fourth-largest Asian American ethnic group after Chinese ...

professional

poker Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...

player from

Bell Gardens, California Bell Gardens is a city in the U.S. state of California in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Located in Los Angeles County, the city's population was 42,072 at the 2010 census, down from 44,054 at the 2000 census. Bell Gardens is part of the G ...

with three

World Series of Poker The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Paradise, Nevada and, since 2004, sponsored by Caesars Entertainment. It dates its origins to 1970, when Benny Binion invited seven of the best-known poker pla ...

bracelets A bracelet is an article of jewellery that is worn around the wrist. Bracelets may serve different uses, such as being worn as an ornament. When worn as ornaments, bracelets may have a wikt:supportive, supportive function to hold other items of ...

who has made seven final tables at the

World Poker Tour The World Poker Tour (WPT) is an internationally televised gaming and entertainment brand. Since 2002, the World Poker Tour has operated a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting playdown and the fi ...

Early life

Pham was born in

and fled to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

at the age of 17 in a boat carrying 145 people of which only 46 survived the journey. Once in the United States, Pham gained employment at his cousin's laundry business. His cousin is the famed professional poker player

Men Nguyen Men "The Master" Nguyen ( vi, Nguyễn Văn Mến; born 1954 in Phan Thiet, Vietnam) is a Vietnamese-American professional poker player. Personal life In 1967, he dropped out of school at age 13 and became a bus driver to help support his fam ...

, from whom Pham would learn poker and continue to do so even after Pham along with his wife had opened a nail salon in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Poker

In both 2000 and 2007 Pham was named "Player of the Year" by

Card Player Card players are those participating in a card game. Various names are given to card players based on their role or position. Position Games of Anglo-American origin In games of Anglo-American origin played in English-speaking countries, ...

. As of 2017, his total live tournament winnings exceed $9,850,000. His 50 cashes at the WSOP account for over $2,175,000 of those winnings.

World Series of Poker

Pham won a

(WSOP)

bracelet A bracelet is an article of jewellery that is worn around the wrist. Bracelets may serve different uses, such as being worn as an ornament. When worn as ornaments, bracelets may have a wikt:supportive, supportive function to hold other items of ...

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

for the $2.000 S.H.O.E. event, defeating a final table including

Tom McEvoy Thomas K. McEvoy (born November 14, 1944, in Grand Rapids, Michigan) is a professional poker player, author and member of the Poker Hall of Fame, 2013 inductee. He is best known for winning the 1983 World Series of Poker Main Event. Early life ...

John Cernuto John Anthony Cernuto (born January 10, 1944, in Jersey City, New Jersey) also known as ''Miami'', is an American professional poker player based in Las Vegas, Nevada, specialising in Omaha hi-lo events. Cernuto has won over $5,500,000 in live ...

Cyndy Violette Cyndy Violette (born August 19, 1959 in Queens, New York) is an American professional poker player who won a World Series of Poker bracelet in 2004. Background Violette often played poker with family members as a child. Her family relocated t ...

and

Paul Darden Paul Darden, Jr. (born October 27, 1968) is an American professional poker player, rap music promoter, and night club owner from New Haven, Connecticut. Early years He was accused of murder at the age of 15, due to mistaken identity but was ...

. In

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, Pham won a second WSOP bracelet in the $2,000 No Limit Hold'em Shootout event. He won a $1,500 No Limit Hold'em event in

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

World Series of Poker Bracelets

Other poker

In February 2003, Pham won the $5,000

limit Limit or Limits may refer to: Arts and media * ''Limit'' (manga), a manga by Keiko Suenobu * ''Limit'' (film), a South Korean film * Limit (music), a way to characterize harmony * "Limit" (song), a 2016 single by Luna Sea * "Limits", a 2019 ...

hold'em event of the L.A. Poker Classic, outlasting such players as John Phan and

Jennifer Harman Jennifer C. Harman (born November 29, 1964) is an American professional poker player. She has won two World Series of Poker bracelets in open events, one of only four women to have done so. Career Harman won her first World Series of Poker brac ...

to take home the $457,320 first prize. Later, in December 2004, he defeated

Alan Goehring Alan Goehring (born February 21, 1962) is an American retired junk bond analyst and trader from Henderson, Nevada. At the age of 37, he became a professional poker player. Goehring first made his mark on the poker circuit when he finished in 3r ...

heads-up to win the $3,000 no limit hold'em event at the Five Diamond World Poker Classic, earning a payday of $414,419. On March 28, 2008, Pham made his sixth WPT final table at the 2008 World Poker Challenge, where he finished 5th earning $93,664. On November 11, 2008, Pham finished in fourth place at the WPT Foxwoods World Poker Finals, earning $240,344. In January 2008, Pham finished in fourth place, winning $600,000 at the

European Poker Tour The European Poker Tour (EPT) is a series of poker tournaments similar to those in the World Poker Tour (WPT), created by John Duthie, winner of the inaugural Poker Million tournament. It began in 2004 as part of the worldwide explosion in Tex ...

's (EPT)

PokerStars Caribbean Poker Adventure The PokerStars Caribbean Adventure was an annual televised poker tournament. The event was first held in 2004 and was originally co-sponsored by PokerStars and the World Poker Tour. In 2008, the event moved from the WPT to the European Poker Tour. ...

(formerly a WPT event) after being eliminated at the final table by

Bertrand Grospellier Bertrand Grospellier (; born 8 February 1981 in Melun), also known as ElkY , is a French poker player and former '' StarCraft: Brood War'' and ''Warcraft III'' esports player. He has won a World Poker Tour (WPT), a World Series of Poker (WSOP) ...

, who called Pham all-in with an ace high flush draw on the turn, which was made on the river.

References

External links

Poker-Player-Profiles.com - David Pham profilePoker-King.com - David Pham profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pham, David World Series of Poker bracelet winners American poker players Vietnamese poker players 1967 births Living people People from Bell Gardens, California