By Sean Chaffin
Among the field in the Season XVI WPT Tournament of Champions was Nam Le. Le has been playing major tournament poker since 2004, and he’s one of the most successful players on the WPT with a tour résumé that includes more than $3.4 million in winnings across all World Poker Tour events.
Le’s win at the Season IV WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star in 2006 for $1.2 million earned him entry into the prestigious WPT Champions Club. In his entire poker career, Le has more than $7.3 million in live tournament winnings, according to HendonMob.com, and numerous final tables and championships at all buy-in levels in events all over the world.
While he may be only 38, Le told WPT during the Season XVI WPT Tournament of Champions that he feels like part of poker’s old guard after getting in on the poker boom in its infancy while in his early 20s. In a game where players come and go, Le talked about how important it is to stay consistent.
“I just try to stay balanced,” Le said. “Not just on the table, but in life as well. I think it’s really important competing in these tournaments that you set all your fears aside. You want to remove anything that’s really distracting you, anything that’s occupying space and time in the moment.
“And these tournaments are so long and tough, and if you’re not fully present it’s tough to compete. There are a lot of tough players these days. You need all the edge you can get.”
Finding an edge in an event like the WPT Tournament of Champions with so many top performers requires plenty of focus and the realization that everyone in the tournament has many of the same skills other players possess. Keeping that edge may be a big help in the long run, Le believes.
“Everybody here knows how to navigate to the end and know how to close, which is unique because it doesn’t matter where you go, everybody knows how to play,” Le said.
Le said he transitioned a bit about six years ago. Currently, he is playing less poker and now does some investing on the side for his income. Investing allows him time to play poker when he wants, but also to spend more time with his family and friends. With five siblings, the family is important to him. He tries to keep distractions and negative influences out of his life, as, again, Le stresses that balance is crucial to him. He has a longtime girlfriend, but no plans to get married anytime soon.
When not at the tables, Le enjoys traveling through Asia, both for visiting friends and for business interests. Some of his most recent trips took him to Hong Kong and the Philippines, and he finds that most of his travels tend to involve business or poker.
“There’s no real time for relaxation,” Le said. “I hit the beach every now and then, but I’m mostly a homebody.”
When not traveling or playing poker, Le likes to read, especially about the nature of human behavior. This topic probably helps at the poker table as well, where Le has always been one of the fiercest competitors.
Along with his success on the WPT, Le has $1.2 million in winnings at the World Series of Poker ahead of the 2018 summer and is gearing up for a long summer of playing around 20 events. Last summer, he cashed in five WSOP events, including finishing 736th in the WSOP Main Event for $18,693.
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