Men Nguyen: A Master Poker Player

Only a master poker player could win six gold bracelets from the World Series of Poker ; seven diamond rings from the Legends of Poker ; two gold bracelets from the World Poker Open ; 14 gold watches, nine from the Taj, one from Harrah's, and four from the Hall of Fame ; and more than 60 trophies representing prize money in excess of $4 million.

That vast success belongs to none other than Men Nguyen, affectionately known in the poker community as "Men the Master." He is a force to be reckoned with. Men won Card Player's illustrious "Player of the Year" award in 1997, 2001, and 2003. When he didn't win the award, he ranked high. In 1998, he placed fourth. In 1999, he had a bad year and placed 12th. In 2000, he placed third, and in 2002, he placed fifth. Unquestionably, his hardware demonstrates the strength of his game. As a matter of fact, he has won so many trophies, they cannot fit in one home alone; they are displayed in two of Men's homes in Bell Gardens .

In 2003, Men's skillful play landed him at 23 final tables, to the tune of $633,457 in prize money. What is most amazing is that during the middle of the Bellagio Five-Diamond Poker Classic tournament in mid-December, when it was time to clinch the coveted Player of the Year award, Men left the United States to visit Vietnam . His reasons were compelling. He went home to purchase and distribute 15 tons of rice to his indigent neighbors. He also went home to supervise the building of an indoor playground at a school he built. It was freezing cold in the winter and the small school children had no place to play. This was just not acceptable to Men.

Men's Charity Work

Besides building a Buddhist temple and separate housing for the monks with the help of his friend Danny Dang, Men recently enlisted the help of other poker players in order to build two separate schools – a kindergarten school and a school for third graders – in his hometown of Phanthiet. Among the generous contributors were Maureen and Bob Feduniak, Kenny Flaton, Phil Hellmuth, and Bay 101. Men also sold commemorative chips to other poker players, raising more than $32,000 in order to help build the two schools in Vietnam . Hanging in one of the schools is a picture of Men and the Feduniaks that serves as a reminder to the children of the kindness and generosity that exists in a foreign land.

When Men went to Vietnam in December, he knew there were many close contenders for the prestigious Card Player award. Amir Vahedi, David Pham, Scotty Nguyen, and Jim Meehan were close behind. Had any of them reached a final table in the final weeks of December, Men would have lost the title. None did. Men believes he was rewarded for his acts of charity. He did what was right instead of thinking about himself, and for this he feels a deep sense of accomplishment.

Why was Men the Master compelled to leave in the middle of the tournament? His humble beginnings explain it all. His earliest recollections are set in the South Vietnamese seaside town of Phanthiet , which is about 150 miles outside of Saigon . The land is beautiful. Men quit school at the age of 13 and worked as a bus driver. When North Vietnam took over, Men could not bear the communist regime. His mother was pregnant, and when she was about to give birth, everyone had fled and there were no doctors in the hospital to assist her. His mother and the baby both died during childbirth. Men felt compelled to leave his homeland, which was now an oppressive skeleton of its former self.

Men respects the opportunities the United States has to offer and feels fortunate to live here. Yet, he cannot and will not forget his modest roots, where people are starving. Each year, he returns home with presents, food, and fresh ideas to help his Vietnamese people.

The Risk for Freedom

Late one evening in 1978, Men and 87 others fled in the dark of night. Little children were placed in a tiny boat, crammed in six or eight at a time, while Men and others silently swam and pushed the tiny boat out to a larger boat hidden from view. The small children were too young and frail to swim. Men describes the small boat as the kind two lovers might use for a romantic evening. The larger boat was only about 13 meters long. When the small boat reached the bigger one, Men remembers that the children were literally thrown up to the bigger boat and caught by the loving arms of an awaiting adult. Then, the small boat was dutifully brought back to shore to pick up more children. This continued in silence until the job was accomplished. All of the adults swam to the larger boat while the children were quietly ushered there in the black of night. Each participant knew they could be jailed for a very long time if captured, but the price of sacred freedom was worth the risk to each one of them. When the last of the children arrived, the anchor was cut and the 13-meter boat sailed for a refugee camp in Pulau Besar , Malaysia .

Almost 90 people were crowded into the boat with no room to move. They were mindful of the stories passed down about other boats sinking, and friends perishing. The English called them Boat People. Perhaps they would not survive, yet they persevered, because they had an unyielding hunger for freedom. For five nights and four days, they sailed, nibbling on bits of rice and sips of water. Some people took ill, as they were wet, tired, and hungry. But their spirits were high and their dream of freedom kept them encouraged. Finally, they arrived at the refugee camp in Malaysia . There were four countries granting interviews to decide whom they would accept into their country: France , England , Australia , and the United States .

United States-Bound

Men wanted an interview with only the United States . His father had fought against the Viet Cong alongside the Americans, making friends with American soldiers. His father told Men that he would have freedom and opportunity in the United States , that he was free to dream and to work hard, and that he could achieve whatever he wanted within the safe boundaries of the United States . Men told this story during his interview, and he was readily accepted by the United States .

Men landed in Los Angeles , where he immediately got an I-94 card so that he could work. He attended ESL (English as a second language) classes and worked as a machinist for Sun Net Tool. Two years later he got a green card, and in 1986, after studying hard, Men passed all of the necessary tests and became a United States citizen, an important day in his life.

During this time in L.A. , Men met a Salvadoran woman and they moved in together. They had a beautiful daughter, and Men felt like he was part of a family, something he had missed for so long. After a few years, she left and took their daughter. Men was heartsick, homesick, and distraught.

Men Wasn't Always the Master

One day in 1995, a friend asked Men to join him on a junket to Las Vegas . He was miserable about the breakup and Vegas sounded like a fun idea. For $30, he was flown to Vegas, fed, and given a hotel room, and all he had to do was play silly house games. His group, which consisted of many senior citizens, was shuttled to Caesars Palace . Men had to wear a number on his shirt, and he was expected to play for a certain number of hours. When he had played the required number of hours, he inadvertently found himself wandering into a poker room. He was fascinated. In Vietnam , five-card stud is played with a 28-card deck from eights to aces. One card is facedown and four are faceup. Men watched eagerly, trying to figure out how to play with a 52-card deck, with three cards down and four up. As he was watching, a floorman asked if he wanted to play. Men didn't know how to ask about the buy-in and sat down in a $15-$30 stud game. Imagine – his first poker experience was getting gobbled up by the Vegas professionals in a $15-$30 game! He had no idea how to play, but after losing to the tune of $3,200 that first night, he was hooked.

The following weekend, he went back and recouped $1,600. The action was riveting. Week after week he went back to Vegas. He became known as the Money Machine, because when he lost, he ran to the money machine to take out more money.

One weekend, the $30 junket took Men's group to the Dunes instead of Caesars. Johnny Moss ran the Dunes poker room. Men asked for a stud game and was seated. In one of the first hands, Men was delighted to have aces full. At the end of the hand, there were 13 raises until the puzzled Men thought his opponent must have quads. When they turned over their hands, the man showed a flush and Men smiled, exposing his superior hand. Prior to his glee setting in, the dealer began to split the pot. Men abruptly stopped her and loudly demanded to know what she thought she was doing. The poor dealer tried to explain. She showed Men the sign that said stud high-low. The other gentleman had a low hand. Men had no idea what she was talking about. Imagine that familiar high-pitched voice of Men's, demanding to know what American rule allows a flush and a full house to split the pot. Even with all cards and all the different American rules, the full house wins! Men screamed for the floorman. "What is the meaning of this stud high-low? What is this high-low? Why are you splitting up my money?" demanded the red-faced Men. The floorman calmly explained that Men was playing a high-low split game. Men laughed at himself as he explained that after a long discussion with the floorman, he finally understood. That was Men the Master's first taste of stud high-low. Men estimates that he lost for the first six months of learning each new game, until he began making a killing. He believes stud and stud high-low are his best games, and he memorizes every card out so that he always knows the statistical probability of getting the cards he needs.

Men is self-taught. He never read a poker book or took poker lessons. He believes he has a gift, an intuition, and an ability to read other people. He is more concerned with his opponent's hand than his own hand. He sits at a poker table concentrating on how each person plays. He memorizes his opponents' styles of play until he perfects his read on them.

Men did admit, however, that he sometimes has problems playing against amateurs. During the $10,000 buy-in championship event at Commerce Casino last year, a novice in early position moved all in. Men had kings and quickly reasoned that no one in their right mind would ever move all in with a huge hand from early position. Instead, they would make a small raise, he would make a bigger raise, and when they came over the top, Men would know to fold, losing only part of his stack. What he didn't figure was that an amateur isn't that sophisticated. So, Men immediately called with his pocket kings and got knocked out of the tournament.

Men's next goal is to win a tournament with a million-dollar prize. Although his record speaks for itself and he has probably won more tournaments than any other player, other players have won more money. T.J. Cloutier is an example of someone who has probably won fewer tournaments but more money, according to Men. Men explains that something happens to him when there is a million dollars at stake. He wants to win so badly, he doesn't play his own confident, unpredictable brand of game. He plays a scared game, and thus far, that is why he believes he hasn't won.

When he's not playing in tournaments, Men says his favorite place to play live-action games is Commerce Casino, because he enjoys playing in the middle of the night and can always find a great variety of games at the limits he plays there.

The Buddhist Faith

Men is a Buddhist, and takes his faith seriously. He proudly displays a beautiful three-level Buddhist shrine. He explains that the top level honors Buddha, the middle level honors the warriors, and the bottom level is for good fortune and luck. Men never prays to win. He prays for Buddha to bless his family; he prays for good health and a better life; and he prays for a peaceful life. He believes that when an individual does an act of kindness, it will come back to him.

On his table sit three sealed boxes. One box is for "The Poor," the next is for "The Children," and the last one is for "The Temple," referring to the Buddhist temple. He frequently passes around the boxes for donations amongst those he teaches. At the end of the year, the money is donated to the needy in Vietnam . But Men is generous to not only his own people, but others. Card Player Publisher Barry Shulman states that after 911, when Card Player was organizing donations, Men was among the first to step forward and donate money for those in New York who needed help.

Men the Master's Students

Besides being a winning and respected player, Men is a skillful mentor, schooling and financing a band of Vietnamese poker pros. Through the years, Men has trained some of the best poker players. A prime example is his cousin David Pham, a successful poker player. When Men teaches, he has five rules for his students: (1) Don't play games other than poker; (2) Don't borrow money; (3) Don't lie; (4) Don't steal; and (5) Don't cheat. Men doesn't want his students doing anything that reflects badly upon him, like borrowing money and then not paying it back. Nor does he want his students winning a tournament and then losing it all in a craps game. His other rules are consonant with Buddhist teachings. If a student breaks a rule, he is let go.

Nothing infuriates Men more than someone soft-playing him during a tournament. His voice rises as he explains his aggravation: "A tournament will not be won or lost in one hand! When someone does not play his hand strongly against me, it is so obvious and it makes me look bad. It harms my reputation. I am Men the Master, and whatever I do, everyone is watching. Do you think I want someone soft-playing so that people will talk about me? Some people are jealous of my success and I try to be nice to everyone. The last thing I want is for someone to try to be my friend by not playing hard against me." Men explains that because he is famous, sometimes someone he doesn't even know will soft-play him and then later ask to borrow money, as if they did him a favor. He wants everyone to know that it is no favor to soft-play Men the Master. He is there to win, and he respects others with the same attitude. He says stridently: "Don't take a poker game personally!"

According to Men, soft-playing is a form of cheating, and that violates his Buddhist teachings. Men believes that if he cheats, it will come back tenfold to harm him. To Men, his reputation is eminently more important than winning a card game. For about a year, Men backed Card Player columnist Warren Karp, who verifies that Men never even hinted that Warren should soft-play him or any of his other students. As a matter of fact, Warren remembers bluffing Men out of a pot, showing the bluff, and then laughing about it with Men. After the tournament, Men told Warren how well he played.

A Future Prediction

Men proudly introduced me to his younger brother, Ut Nguyen, who just arrived from Vietnam . Of course, my first question was how long it would take for Men to turn his brother into a winning poker player. Men confidently said two years. The next day when we continued our interview, Men playfully complained that I had put him on the spot the previous day and that he had had time to fully consider my question. He wanted to change his prediction to three years, because, after all, his brother doesn't know a word of English, nor does he even know how to play poker. Laughing, we argued back and forth about how long it would take to teach someone to say, "Raise." Finally, I asked Men whether he wanted to hedge his bet and just say four years. He nodded and assuredly proclaimed: "My brother, Ut Nguyen, will be a champion in three to four years!"

While his children played nicely in his modest surroundings, Men looked at his gold watches, trophies, gold rings, championship bracelets, and other awards and commented: "God bless America ! I want to say thanks to America for making me who I am today."