Placed third at the 2003 WSOP Limit Hold'em Shootout
Dee Luong came into this world under some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable, having been born in Vietnam during the most turbulent year of the war. She learned at an early age to make the most out of every situation - no matter how badly the deck was stacked against her.
Dee's family was able to leave Vietnam when she was six-years-old. They moved to the United States and settled in San Gabriel, California. When she turned 21, she struck out on her own and moved to Las Vegas. Like most people who live in Vegas, casinos became a big part of Dee's social life, but stuffing coins in slots was not her idea of fun. She started playing poker and met a lanky player with the improbable name of Huckleberry Seed. Seed coached her on the finer points of the game and helped her get the confidence to play at increasingly higher stakes. If she had been looking for a teacher at the time, she couldn't have found a better one. Seed's game was picking up steam and in a few years he would win the Main Event.
Dee quickly established her own reputation. She became a familiar face in all the high-stakes cash games around Vegas, and was known as a dangerous player with ice cold money-management skills. When she tried her hand at tournaments, she found a good fit. Starting in 1993, Luong reached the final table in all but two of the major tournaments she entered, including two third-place finishes in 2003 at the L.A. Poker Classic and the WSOP.
When Dee takes her seat at Poker After Dark's exclusive table, she'll be sitting with Cyndy Violette, a player she helped into the trivia books by making her the first person busted out of the Professional Poker Tour. Cyndy would certainly like to return the favor some day, but it hasn't happened yet.
Though cash games will always be the foundation of her game, Dee plans to add more tournaments to her schedule. No matter how big the field is, she always likes her chances.
