When Steve Wong began his online tournament career in 2004, choosing a name to suit his long-term goals was a no-brainer. In the Chinese tradition, the number 18 signifies "one who is going to prosper," and prosper he did. As "S18," he won the tournament leader board in 2004 at PokerStars three weeks in a row, all without winning a Sunday event. At the end of that year, he took down the Sunday $500 event for $106,000 and won three $10 rebuy tourneys in one day. Live poker was the next challenge on the list.
With hundreds of online tournaments under his belt, Wong began to make waves in the live arena. He left his home base in the Netherlands and the anonymity of the Internet to compete in the 2006
World Series of Poker $1,000 no-limit hold'em rebuy event. He cruised to the final table, eventually finishing fourth to Allen Cunningham for a payday of $162,000, a warm-up for the prosperity on the horizon.
In the fall of 2006, Wong, 34, went on a run that would land him the nickname "King of Bellagio." During the last three months of the year, he would make the final table of four events at that famed casino, winning two of them to take home more than $1 million. The most notable was a second-place finish for $542,000 in the
World Poker Tour televised
Festa al Lago championship.
Wong is living proof that nice guys don't always finish last. This amiable and charming player will most certainly have a long and successful life on the circuit. He recently moved to Las Vegas to take advantage of the poker tidal wave. Between tournaments at the recent
WSOP, Wong sat down with
Card Player Europe to share his poker origins and the evolution of his unpredictable style.
Craig Tapscott: When did you start playing poker?
Steve Wong: I grew up playing five-card stud and Chinese poker, and then learned seven-card stud. I know that these games gave me an edge in calculating odds for hold'em when I began playing.
CT: I read that your cousin taught you poker.
SW: My cousin, Steven Liu, is a very successful poker player. He told me that I should start playing hold'em, that it is a skill game and not a luck game. In 2003, I started to play online to learn the basic rules. My cousin didn't want to tell me the basics, because I had to learn them myself first. Once I had those down, I flew over to England and he taught me everything he knows, or at least 80 percent (laughing), and then I had to figure out the rest.
CT: What were some of the key concepts you applied?
SW: I made my game loose-aggressive before loose-aggressive play was famous. My game also grew because I watched a lot of final tables to see what players were doing. I learned to play the player and not my cards.
CT: How did switching from online to live play change things for you?
SW: The game is a lot slower, but it's more exciting because I can see the other players now. That was so good for my game.
CT: Did you find this to be an edge for you?
SW: Certainly. And sometimes I know players can have an edge on me, so my edge versus them is that I play some silly hands. Then, I bust them right there. I believe that when you're at a certain level in poker, you just can't go much higher and you have to mix other things in to be successful.
CT: Do the successful online players have an edge in live play?
SW: The young Internet generation dares to gamble; just push, push, and push the edges. The older generation tends to play more tight and solid, and can't seem to switch to the aggressive type of play nowadays.
CT: What did you take away from your online success?
SW: I learned to play to win, not to cash. You see so many hands. I was able to perfect my game. I always reviewed hands to see if I got the maximum value out of them.
CT: What are the big mistakes you see weak players making in the WSOP tourneys?
SW: One mistake players make is getting stuck on top pair and an OK kicker, not realizing that their opponent might have a set or two pair. Many players continue to go for inside-straight draws and chase flush draws after the turn. Or, they push with hands that you see on TV. They forget that that is shorthanded final-table play. At the final table, sometimes you can push with a pair of threes, because you have position or know your opponent from the previous four days.
CT: Thanks, Steve, for taking the time to share your keen insights with
Card Player. 
