World Poker Tour

Nam Le

Birthplace
Irvine, California

Birthday
September 10

Total Winnings
$2,096,582

Nam Le is a Southern California native who grew up around friends and family members who had a penchant for the gaming life. He was always a fairly quiet but observant youth who excelled at anything to which he put his mind and carefully executed his plans to get what he wanted out of life.

Much of Nam’s poker knowledge came from his close friend, Tuan Le, who won the WPT World Championship III, as well as the WPT Battle of Champions III. Nam paid close attention to his friend’s play, and he began to put his knowledge into practice in the cardrooms in the Los Angeles area. After proving to be a winning cash game player, he joined Tuan and aspiring pro, JC Tran, on the tournament circuit. By late 2004, he won his first small tournament ($500 buy-in) and moved up to bigger events.

By the third season of the World Poker Tour, Nam was a familiar face at the tables. Finding his way easily to a final table, he showed up at the WPT’s Five Diamond World Poker Classic in 2004, though he finished sixth. He then cashed in the L.A. Poker Classic several months later. It wasn’t until 2006 that his game kicked into high gear. He began it by winning the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Stars main event for nearly $1.2 million, then continued his momentum with five cashes at the World Series of Poker that year. In 2007, he cashed in five more WPT events, one of which was a sixth place finish at the final table of the Turks and Caicos Poker Classic. And with two more in early 2008 already, including a fourth place ending to a run at the L.A. Poker Classic, there seems to be no stopping this young pro.