 John
Phan Poker Profile
John Pahn has been
hot at this year's
World Series of
Poker thus far.
The
Vietnamese-American
professional poker
player based in Long
Beach, California
has managed to win
his second bracelet.
"Going into a World
Series, I don't
expect to win a
bracelet, but it
would be nice to win
one. The
first(bracelet), I
didn't really care
that much.
But(winning) the
second one is so
difficult," he said.
Often referred to as
the bridesmaid,
never the bride,
John Phan quieted
his critics with a
win in last week's
$3,000 No-Limit
Hold'em tournament,
Julio Rodriguez of
CardPlayer.com wrote.
At the 2008 WSOP in
late June, he may
have quieted them
for good by taking
down the $2,500
Deuce-to-Seven
Triple Draw Low Ball
event. Phan overcame
a major chip deficit
three-handed, as
well as a verbal
fight from Gioi
Luong to take his
second career
bracelet in event
no. 40.
His year-to-date
winnings total
$739,435.
"I'm like so excited
I can't even talk,"
Phan said during the
post-win interview
on
ESPN360.com
following his second
bracelet win. "It's
like a dream come
true."
In a strange way,
Phan believed that
this bracelet
carries more weight
than his first one.
During his first
victory, Phan and
his opponent were
going all-in in the
dark and simply
gambling, but with a
second bracelet on
the line, Phan
wouldn't act in the
same way this time
around.
"The first one I
really didn't care
that much," Phan
noted. "We were
gambling and really
crazy, moving all-in
in the dark … I was
telling myself,
'Play good, this
bracelet will mean
so much to me.' It's
like a miracle …"
Although he'll be
thrown in the poker
spotlight, Phan
believes that he'll
stay grounded, but
still has another
dream to attend to.
"Winning doesn't
make me anything,"
Phan replied when
asked what winning
meant to him. "I'm
still myself. The
bracelet does mean a
lot."
 Phan
has made numerous
World Series of
Poker (WSOP) money
finishes, including
the final table of
the $5,000
Seven-card stud
event in 2005,
finished fourth and
outlasted both
professional poker
players Dave
Colclough and Rob
Hollink.
Although he makes a
career out of poker,
Phan is quick to
note that it isn't
money alone that
drives him. To Phan,
poker is a "game of
the mind."
"As a player, you
continue to develop
more skill and
become better at the
game. It gets more
interesting as an
adult because you
can play the player
or play the game
differently in
almost any
situation. I really
love the challenge.
It's such a fun
game," he told
Poker News.
----
Ace King,
Gambling911.com
Originally published
June 26, 2008 2:13
pm EST
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