Against
All Odds: Chau Giang Wins Third World
Series of Poker Gold Bracelet
At the table I hear people say, ‘Poker
is luck.’ That is 100 percent wrong.
If they are losing, it is because they're
doing something wrong. Poker is skill,
it isn't luck. In the long run, day after
day after day, you cannot get lucky all
the time.
-- Poker Champion Chau Giang (as told
to Dana Smith in a 1994 interview)
If CHAU GIANG was named “John Smith” and
was from Oklahoma instead Vietnam (by
way of Florida and Colorado), he would
probably be one of the most famous poker
players in the world. Instead, GIANG shuffles
around casinos and cardrooms in relative
anonymity. Although GIANG routinely plays
in poker games with the highest limits
in the world – try playing $2,000-4,000
limit as your regular Thursday night poker
game – he rarely gets recognized publicly
for the immense poker talent he maintains
and the bankroll management he exercises.
He sits down among, plays with, and often
defeats the living legends every poker
player will recognize – be it Brunson,
Berman, Baldwin, or Reese. His peers universally
agree that GIANG possesses a brilliant
poker mind and is one of the toughest
players in the world to beat – whatever
the game, whatever the limit, and whatever
the decision.
The
story of how this former cook making $160
a week evolved into a high stakes poker
player is astounding, but also secondary
to the more remarkable story of how GIANG
departed his native Vietnam to come to
the United States. GIANG, who’s parents
were Chinese, fled Vietnam in a small
boat – risking everything he owned to
taste freedom in America. In a sense,
it was an “all in” bet GIANG was willing
to make. When his ultimate gamble paid
off with his arrival in the United States
in 1978, GIANG began working laborious,
minimum wage jobs to support himself and
build a better life.
GIANG
later moved to Colorado and took a job
as a cook in a Chinese restaurant. Barely
making ends meet, GAING
started playing in a low-limit poker game
and eventually discovered he could make
a better living at the green felt table
rather than frying rice inside a steamy
kitchen. Convinced he could succeed, GIANG
took another gamble when he came to Las
Vegas. He started in low limit games,
then moved up to higher levels as his
bankroll and confidence increased. Within
the first year, GIANG made $100,000 at
the poker tables in Las Vegas. When the
Mirage opened a few years later, GIANG
was regularly seen in the biggest game
in the room – often playing $500-1,000
limit and higher.
“Poker
is poker, whether the player is English,
Chinese, or American,” GIANG said ten-years
ago in an interview with Card Player’s
Dana Smith. “A smart player always stays
in action; he knows how to preserve his
bankroll and he stays off the rail.“
Unfortunately,
GIANG had to learn that lesson the hard
way, as he gambled away most of his early
poker winnings on baccarat. That meant
he had to get back to playing poker and
stick with it, and at the same time –
eliminate the “leaks” that are so self-destructive
to a poker bankroll.
GIANG
began playing tournaments in the early
90s and won two gold bracelets at the
World Series of Poker – for Ace-to-Five
Lowball in 1993 and Omaha High-Low Split
in 1998. Despite his success, GIANG quit
the tournament circuit for many years
– choosing instead to focus on high-limit
cash games. He didn’t play at the World
Series of Poker for a number of years
and only recently decided to return to
the Horseshoe, because – he says – “tournaments
are the only place to find a big game.”
GIANG
came to the final table of the $2,000
buy-in event at this year’s World Series
of Poker low on chips, with only $64K
against chip-leader ROBERT WILLIAMSON
III ($129K), the popular Dallas-based
pro who was seeking his second win at
the World Series. In an incredible turn
of events, six of the nine finalists busted
out within the first hour of play – leaving
just three players. When Australian-born
Jeffrey Lisandro, who now lives in Italy,
busted out in third place, it looked as
if the final table might end in record
time – less than two hours. But then,
the real battle began.
WILLIAMSON
and GIANG battled it out for three hours,
with WILLIAMSON holding a decisive chip
lead most of the way. WILLIAMSON played
brilliantly, giving the utmost respect
to his opponent, while at the same time
trying to capitalize on his chip advantage
– which endured around the 2 to 1 mark
(favoring WILLIAMSON). During the clash,
GIANG almost faltered and went down to
just $60K at one point, versus WILLIAMSON’s
$642K. Out-chipped by a massive 10 to
1 margain, GIANG never showed any loss
of confidence and retained his composure
throughout. GIANG wavered and forth between
$60K and $250K in chips for most of the
final hour, before winning two big pots
which put him into the chip lead for the
first time.
GIANG
won the final hand of the night on a flush
draw that got there on the river:
GIANG:
K-10-8-6 (two diamonds)
WILLIAMSON: 9-7-x-x
The
flop came 9-7-3, with two diamonds. GIANG
had a diamond flush draw. WILLIAMSON had
two-pair. WILLIAMSON was “all in.” WILLIAMSON
picked up a straight-draw on the turn,
but a king of diamonds on the river completed
GIANG’s flush.
Afterward,
ROBERT WILLIAMSON, 33, admitted he was
extremely disappointed with the defeat.
“I would have given Chau all the money
– I just wanted the bracelet,” he said.
“I wanted to give the gold bracelet to
my father.” For the time being, WILLIAMSON
will have to settle for the gold bracelet
he won in Pot-Limit Omaha in 2002.
CHAU
GIANG, age 49, once again defied the odds.
The man who started with nothing, evolved
into a success, and became a millionaire
playing poker, is married and has three
children (ages 8, 5 and 3). In a sense,
this World Series of Poker win was emblematic
of a life that began with serious disadvantages,
yet which ultimately yielded immense personal
and financial awards and achievement.
“I
wanted to win this tournament so bad for
my children,” GIANG said after his win.
“My children asked me – why don’t we ever
see you on TV? So, I played this one for
my children.”
When
ESPN shows GIANG’s performance at this
final table to a national audience, GIANG’s
three children will surely be watching
and smiling. They will have good reason
to be proud of their father. And we, as
poker players, all have good reason to
be proud of CHAU GIANG.
-- by Nolan Dalla
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