Theo Tran Bio

Theo Tran is affectionately known as "Pittrounder." He was given the nickname for consistently cleaning at up poker games while he attended the University of Pittsburgh. Tran officially graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and psychology, but if you ask him, he received an unofficial major in hold'em and minor in Chinese poker.

Tran was born on Nov. 4, 1981 and learned to play poker at the age of 13. Poker became a serious part of his life at 20, but did not deter him from graduating college. After college, however, Tran knew that a nine-to-five job was not something he was ready for at the moment. He decided to take a gamble and move to Las Vegas with only $3,000 to his name. His gamble paid off.

He started with small-stakes cash games. Tran eventually built up a bankroll and started playing tournaments. Having never made a major tournament cash before, Tran really hit the ground running at the 2006 L.A. Poker Classic. Tran won a no-limit preliminary event for nearly $133,000. With a few cashes in between, including three at the World Series of Poker, Tran went back to the L.A. Poker Classic the next year. Coincidentally, he won the exact same event for a second year in a row, giving another healthy boost to his bankroll.

Then, at the 2007 WSOP, Tran made his biggest cash thus far when he finished second in the $1,000 buy-in no-limit hold'em event, which was good for more than $387,000.

Currently residing in Las Vegas, Tran is determined to make poker his business and have fun along the way.