He credits Barry Greenstein's Ace on the River for his success, despite making every money management mistake mentioned in the book.
Tuan Le's parents moved to France from their native Vietnam during the last years of the war. Le was born in Paris in 1978. Shortly afterwards, his parents traded the City of Light for the Show Me State. He lived in Missouri until he was a teen, then moved again, this time to the City of Angels.
Growing up in Los Angeles, Le was an exceptional student. He was able to test out of high school and enter junior college when he was just 16. He attended the University of California Northridge and set his sites on a finance degree. It would be Wall Street's loss that he got distracted along the way.
One day when walking through Northridge's student union, he saw his friends playing poker. He was immediately captivated by the game's mathematical component. When he sat down, he discovered that there was a lot more to poker than just crunching numbers. Poker was a game that challenged both sides of his brain, and he was immediately hooked. Le quickly chewed up the campus games and went looking for tougher competition. He found it in the card rooms around Los Angeles. The seasoned players were only too happy take Le's money, but Le was getting something in return - a real poker education. He quickly improved and he was able to turn the tables on his teachers within a few months.
Le's determination and raw skill caught the eye of Barry Greenstein and he agreed to mentor Le. Throughout 2004, Le had respectable finishes in several tournaments in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. He used his winnings to buy a seat at the World Poker Finals at Foxwoods. Le won the tournament and took home over $1.5 million. If anyone thought Le's victory was a fluke, a few months later he came from behind to win the WPT's World Championship. This time his payday was $2.8 million.
Despite all his accomplishments, Le remains a humble young man. He's quick to attribute his success to Greenstein's support and his parents' inspiration.
