A Poker Life -- Kido Pham

A Poker Life is a new series for CardPlayer.com that looks beyond the felt and into the untold stories of poker’s biggest names.

He’s spontaneous, aggressive, and unpredictable. Known for his unmatched fearlessness, he won’t so much as flinch if his entire stack is on the line on a stone-cold bluff. That’s because, hey, it’s all just a freeroll to Kido “Freeroll Kido” Pham.


Childhood

Born in war-torn Vietnam in 1971, Pham lived with his mother, father, and five siblings. Wanting a better life for her family, Pham’s mother made the difficult decision to attempt to relocate in the United States.

“My dad went first, then my oldest brother and sister, and that was really hard,” said Pham. “I was just a little kid, and I had to take care of my two little brothers and my mother.”

Pham was eight at the time, and his brothers were six and seven. None of them knew how to swim, but nonetheless they were desperately trying to board any small, rickety, wooden boat that would take them to a better life.

Not only was it incredibly expensive to pay for a way to the U.S., but there were also many con-men who promised a seat on a boat, but instead took desperate customers’ money and ran.

On one failed attempt, Pham and his family were nearly caught by Vietnamese police. Because those who tried fleeing the country received such severe and unpredictable punishments, the three young boys and mother would stop at nothing to avoid getting caught. They were chased and shot at as they ran. They finally found refuge in the jungle, where they hid for two days. They had no food, aside from the things they could scrounge up from their meager surroundings, all the while trying to survive the merciless mosquitoes.  Unfortunately, they were eventually found and thrown in jail, where they stayed for three long months.

Not exactly a picture-perfect childhood memory of cops and robbers.

“My mom didn’t want us to know, but I’m sure some people were killed,” said Pham.

The trials and dangerous tribulations did not stop them from trying again and again to reunite with the rest of the family in the U.S. Pham says it was literally “do or die.” After 15 tries, they made it, but it wasn’t cheap. Pham says that it cost his mother an equivalent of what would be $300,000 today.

“Now, when I look back, if I was in my mom’s shoes, I don’t know if I could do the same thing. That is why now, I give her whatever she wants.”

So how did this troubled youngster eventually turn out to be a man with a family who owns 12 dental clinics and almost $2.4 million in lifetime poker tournament winnings? Well, this is where his “freeroll” mentality came into play, eventually leading to his success -- but not without hurting him first.


Gambling Man

The Pham family settled in New Orleans. Kido’s parents started a chain of convenience stores. Growing up, he learned the ins and outs of business and eventually ran one of the stores under his name. Unfortunately for him, he was used to having nothing, so gambling with everything he had seemed like no big deal.

At the end of each day, Pham took the cash the store earned, which turned out to be $1,500-$2,000, and brought it to the local casino, Belle of Baton Rouge. He played $20-$40 limit hold’em all night and was an overall loser in the game. On one or two hours of sleep, he’d re-open the store in the morning. After three months of this daily routine, he lost enough money that eventually he couldn’t re-stock. The convenient store had to be closed.

Still unscathed, Pham continued to play poker, despite his family’s wishes. His parents put him in community college, but instead of attending class, he went to the casino. His poker skill became better, but time and time again he depleted whatever bankroll he managed to build by playing blackjack, craps, and other table games.


Upswing

It wasn’t until he met his wife, Lynh, that he really started putting things in perspective.

“I’m embarrassed to say that I didn’t have a nickel to my name when we met.”

Nonetheless, their relationship grew, and the two married eight years ago and moved to Dallas, Texas. Lynh was already an established dentist, so Pham, of course not afraid of a little gamble, put what little money and assets they had into opening up a dental clinic. He said it was incredibly hard the first year. They stayed open seven days a week and put their heart and soul into making it work. And work it did. The success of the first Smiley Dental turned the business into a franchise. With his life and business in order, Pham began focusing on poker.

Pham made his first big hit at the 2004 Festa al Lago III during the Doyle Brunson North American Championship. It was at this final table that Pham firmly secured his reputation as a loose cannon.

During three-way play, Pham faced David “The Dragon” Pham and Carlos “The Matador” Mortensen. Kido was in the big blind and was outstacked by Mortensen 5-1, while David, the severe short-stack, was on the button and about to be all in blind the very next hand.  Mortensen was looking to take advantage of his big stack and shoved all in into Kido’s big blind. Most players would fold, knowing that David would most likely be defenseless with so few chips and eventually go out in third place. Kido is not most people. The $250,000 pay difference was no matter to him, and he called with pocket tens. Fortunately for him, he doubled up, and David eventually went out in third place, anyway. Mortensen ultimately won the tournament, but Kido still took home more than $497,000 for second place.

The rest of the world was introduced to the outspoken but always friendly Pham when he made a World Poker Tour televised final table at the 2005 Mirage Poker Showdown. After somewhat of a rollercoaster final table, Pham exited in fourth place but left an impression on the viewing audience. The amount of gamble he had in him was incredible, and further evidencing that was his next televised final table.

The 2005 World Series of Poker Circuit event at Paris/Bally’s Las Vegas featured a number of pros, including J.C. Tran, Scotty Nguyen, Lee Watkinson, and Joe Hachem. One of the more memorable hands came late in the final table, five-handed. With blinds at 3,000-6,000, Tran raised in early position to 18,000. Pham reraised on the button to 50,000. Hachem reraised to 150,000 from the blinds and Pham pushed all in over the top. Hachem called and showed pocket Kings. Pham turned over J 10. Pham flopped trip jacks and crippled Hachem.

“My past has a lot to do with the way I play. I learned street smarts, and I went through a lot when I was young. I’m sure I gamble more because I feel so lucky now.”

The gamble in that hand paid off, and Pham took advantage of his super-aggressive image for the rest of the final table and that is likely what helped him in the final hand of heads-up play against Tran.

Tran raised the button, Pham reraised, and Tran called. The flop came A K 6, and both players checked. The turn card was the J. Pham bet, and Tran called. The river card paired the board with the J, and Pham moved all in. Tran went into the tank for a few minutes, studying his opponent. Tran asked Pham if he would show his cards. Pham smiled and said he would if Tran called.

With thoughts of Pham’s past play running through his head, Tran called and tabled K Q for a pair of kings, but Pham showed A 8 for a pair of aces to win the pot and the title. Pham earned more than $453,000.

The win opened the door for a healthy series of major tournament cashes. Since then, Pham made another WPT final table at the 2007 World Poker Open, won the 2007 Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge III, placed second in the 2007 Caesars Palace Classic for more than $480,000, and at this year’s World Series of Poker he made the final table in the World Championship pot-limit Omaha event and cashed in the main event.


Present-Day Kido

So, Pham has done it all. He’s established himself as a widely respected poker player, survived a turbulent and dangerous childhood, overcome trials with gambling addictions, built a hugely successful business from the ground up, and started a family. So what now for Freeroll Kido? Well, he’s says there’s just one thing left to do — enjoy life.

Pham recently bought an impressive estate in Frisco, Texas, that boasts 15,000 square feet, a 4,000 square-foot sports center, and a 125,000 gallon pool. The house is currently going through an extensive renovation before the family moves in, but during the summer, Pham’s kids — Joshua, 7, and Isabella, 5 — were able to enjoy the pool.

“For the first time in eight years, I saw that my money and hard work was worth it. I see my kids enjoy the swimming pool, going down the slide, and see them smiling, I feel like, hey, it all paid off.”

One of his children is diagnosed with autism, and Pham has donated an extensive amount of his tournament winnings to research for the disorder. Pham continues to run his dental clinics, but mostly works from home, giving him even more time to spend with his family. He is also currently in the process of trying to build five more clinics in the next sixth months. When Pham finds time between taking care of family and business, he shoots off to Las Vegas. You won’t find him at any table games, though, only poker.

With the wisdom that life experience has taught him, he knows the importance of enjoying each day as it comes.

“Right now, every day, life is beautiful. Because of poker and making money through my dental clinics, I’m living comfortably with my family. I’m 37, and I think now is the best time of my life.”

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