Thu Nguyen migrated to the United States in 1991 in order to better support his family consisting of his wife and four children. Being a family man, Nguyen wanted to give his family a proper home in Orange County California, where he moved to in his 20s. Thu Nguyen started working at 3M, a mining and manufacturing company, as a technician. It was in 2001 that Nguyen started spending some time at the Bicycle Casino playing poker, even though there wasn’t much spare time available.
He went broke several times, losing most of his bankroll in an effort to learn the game. He watched World Poker Tour episodes again and again to better his game and he knew he would be successful if he followed the advice from professionals at premier casinos. Thu Nguyen then befriended poker pro David “The Dragon” Pham, who gave him a lot of advice on cash game play, money management and the scene of the tournament. His game had vastly improved by 2004, so much so that it was enough for him to quit his job and call himself a professional poker player.
The highlight of Thu Nguyen career was when he won the tournament at the Holiday Bonus $330 No-Limit Hold’em Rebuy tournament in 2004. This was also his first win.
In August 2007, won a $1000 satellite event to find himself a place at the World Poker Tour’s Legends of Poker main event, where he found himself face to face with his friend and teacher David Pham. Despite the odds, he finished a respectable third and won $388,660.