Khoa Nguyen
Khoa Nguyen is a Vietnamese-Canadian professional poker player and businessman from Calgary, Alberta, who earned a career-best $607,882 for finishing 11th in the WSOP Main Event World Championship in Las Vegas. With over $772,000 in career live tournament earnings, he is a highly respected tournament competitor in Canada .
Career Earnings & Biggest Results
With total live tournament earnings of $772,886 across 15 recorded cashes (according to The Hendon Mob), Khoa has compiled an impressive record headlined by deep runs in world-class tournaments. His top career tournament results in reverse chronological order include:
- November 2016: 4th place in the DeepStacks Poker Tour Tour Championship C$550 Run It Up Event for $13,091 (C$17,670).
- July 2015: 347th place in the 46th WSOP $10,000 Main Event World Championship for $29,329.
- July 2013: 69th place in the 44th WSOP $1,111 Little One for One Drop for $7,405.
- July 2011: 11th place in the 42nd WSOP $10,000 Main Event World Championship for $607,882, capturing his career-best live cash.
- June 2010: 46th place in the 41st WSOP $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Event for $9,688.
- June 2008: 1st place in the 2008 Stampede Classic C$760 No-Limit Hold’em Event in Calgary for $72,126 (C$73,000).
Biography & Poker Background
Khoa resides in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Outside of poker, he holds a degree in electrical engineering and has operated as a businessman while competing across live and online cash games and tournaments. He built his early tournament foundation in Western Canada, capturing a victory in the 2008 Stampede Classic in Calgary for $72,126.
Khoa achieved a career-defining performance during the 2011 World Series of Poker $10,000 Main Event World Championship in Las Vegas. Navigating through a massive field of 6,865 entrants, he held a top three chip stack deep into Day 7 and reached the final two tables. He ultimately finished 11th overall, just two spots shy of the famous November Nine, earning $607,882. In subsequent years, Khoa continued to make selective appearances in major summer events in Las Vegas and regional Canadian series across Alberta and British Columbia.
Play Style & Strategy
Khoa plays a disciplined, patient, and mathematically sound No-Limit Hold’em tournament strategy. Utilizing his engineering background, he approaches multi-day events with strong analytical discipline, precise pot odds calculation, and effective stack management. His ability to navigate massive championship fields without succumbing to fatigue or high-payjump pressure was demonstrated throughout his deep run in the 2011 WSOP Main Event.
Social Media & Online Presence
Khanh Ho is a Live Content Writer at SoMuchPoker, covering major poker festivals across Southeast Asia, including APT and PokerStars LIVE events. Alongside live tournament reporting, he conducts interviews and writes player features, bringing the human stories behind the game to life.
