YongChao Yuan

YongChao Yuan was born in Handan, Hebei, China. He moved to the United States in 2016 to pursue a Ph.D. in mathematics and probability at the University of Wisconsin–Madison – the same alma mater of poker legends Phil Hellmuth and Phil Galfond. Prior to that, he spent time working in the United Kingdom.

Yuan began playing poker as a teenager around 13 or 14 using fake chips, relying on intuition rather than probability. After arriving in the U.S., he was inspired by the success of young German star Fedor Holz, thinking, "I am studying probability, so if he can do it, I can do it." This led him to take the game seriously, focusing on live play where he believes his ability to read opponents gives him an edge.

Yuan's biggest career achievement came in 2020 when he qualified for the online portion of the WSOP Main Event on WSOP.com. He entered the final table fourth in chips with 4,825,000, fighting for a $1.5 million top prize and a chance at an additional $1 million against the international champion. Prior to this, his lifetime tournament earnings were only $6,774, with a career-high of $1,341 from winning the Venetian DeepStack Showdown in September 2020. Speaking about his Main Event run, Yuan admitted, "I still can't believe it. I don't know how I made it, but someone I did. I was quite lucky to have some big hands."

Yuan describes himself as a "live guy" who excels at reading opponents. His math background gives him a strong theoretical foundation, but he balances it with practical reads. He is known for patience and the ability to win crucial coinflips, as demonstrated in the Main Event when he held pocket nines against ace-jack offsuit while short-stacked.

Yuan has stated that his poker future depends on his Main Event result. A deep run could lead him to pursue poker full-time or part-time, while a smaller score would see him continue his Ph.D. His story exemplifies the growing presence of Chinese players on the global poker stage and the blending of academic rigor with competitive poker.