Men Nguyen

Men Nguyen was born in 1954 in Phan Thiet, Vietnam. At age 13, he dropped out of school to work as a bus driver to support his family. In early 1978, as a staunch anti-Communist, he escaped Vietnam by boat with 87 compatriots, eventually reaching Pulau Besar in Malaysia. Later that year, he received political asylum from the United States and settled in Los Angeles, California. He became an American citizen in 1986.

Nguyen first played poker in 1984 on a junket to Las Vegas, losing hundreds of dollars on each visit, which earned him the nickname "Money Machine." However, he quickly improved, winning his first tournament in 1987. Using his poker earnings, he opened a dry cleaning business and a furniture store, but sold them in 1990 to focus on poker. Through these businesses, he met many Vietnamese people who would later become his poker students.

Nguyen has won seven WSOP bracelets across three decades, demonstrating remarkable versatility in various poker variants. His bracelet wins are:

In 1996, he also finished 4th in the WSOP Main Event, his highest finish in that prestigious tournament.

Beyond the WSOP, Nguyen has achieved five World Poker Tour final tables (but no title) and 17 WPT money finishes. He has over 475 career in-the-money finishes and more than 95 tournament victories. His best live cash is $412,746. He won Card Player Magazine's Player of the Year award four times: 1997, 2001, 2003, and 2005. As of 2022, his total live tournament earnings exceed $11,200,000, with WSOP cashes accounting for over $4,100,000.

Nguyen is widely known as a poker tutor, mentoring numerous players who have found success, including his cousins David Pham (a two-time WSOP bracelet winner) and Minh Nguyen, as well as his wife Van Nguyen. Van Nguyen learned poker from her husband and went on to win the World Poker Tour Celebrity Invitational in March 2008, becoming the first woman to win a WPT mixed event. Nguyen's nickname "The Master" was given by a student in 1991. He receives a portion of his students' winnings, and some have accused him of unfair practices, though these allegations remain unproven.

Nguyen is known for an aggressive and creative style, adept at post-flop play and bluffs. He excels in deep-stack situations and has a strong ability to read opponents. Despite some controversy surrounding tournament cheating allegations, he has consistently denied any wrongdoing. His reputation as one of the most accomplished tournament players in the world is bolstered by his four Card Player Player of the Year awards and his consistent results over decades.

Nguyen donates a portion of his tournament and tutoring earnings to charities in Vietnam. In 1996, using money from his WSOP Main Event final-table finish, he funded the construction of a kindergarten in Vietnam. He is also a poker author and has written strategy articles for magazines and forums, further solidifying his legacy as a mentor and ambassador for the game.

As of 2026, Nguyen continues to compete in WSOP events. In 2024, he cashed in the $400 COLOSSUS (27th for $17,580) and the $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo (28th for $4,904). In 2025, he placed 75th in the $1,000 SENIORS event for $8,662 and 236th in the $800 Deepstack 8-Handed for $2,249. His most recent 2026 cashes include a 56th in the $600 Deepstack Championship ($5,179) and 318th in the $1,000 MINI Main Event ($5,250).