What makes a poker player a good one?
Some people will put great importance to a player’s total career earnings – The greater the earning the better the player. Others will rely on GPI rankings. But a significant factor to judge whether a player is a good one is the amount he or she has finished in the money.
Players who are consistently seen in the money have very strong work ethics and discipline. Being able to cash more than 50 times in your career is quite impressive especially when done all over the world.
For this reason we have decided to put the most consistent ITM finishers in the Asian circuit under the spotlight. This list is based on data registered in Hendonmob which includes all regular events (weekly and monthly events are excluded)
China: Celina Lin Pei Fei – 85 Cashes
PokerStars Team Pro Celina Lin has had 85 cashes in her entire career, some of which are major victories that have earned her the title “Asia’s Queen of Poker.” Although Lin has played in Vegas, she has focused most of her efforts in the Asian circuit.
Top 5 China
1st: Celina Lin Pei Fei – 85
2nd: Yang Zhang – 56
3rd: Ion Sang Song – 52
4th: Quan Zhou – 48
5th: Xixiang Luo – 43
5th: Luzhe Zhang- 43
Hong Kong: Park Yu Cheung – 121 Cashes
President of the Hong Kong Poker Player Association (HKPPA) Park Yu Cheng has the most in the money finishes in Hong Kong with 121 cashes. Coming up in 2nd is a familiar face in the community, Raiden Kan who has 95 cash finishes in his entire career. Both players have been playing in the Asian, American and European poker circuits to achieve these numbers.
Top 5 Hong Kong
1st: Park Yu Cheung – 121
2nd: Raiden Kan – 95
3rd: Pak Kwan Justin Chan – 59
4th: Ka Cheong Wong – 51
5th: Winfred Yu – 38
Japan: Iori Yogo – 122 Cashes
Iori Yogo from Japan has had 122 career cash finishes to his name. He has played all over the world – in Europe, the United States and in the Asia Pacific. He has also been awarded the Australian New Zealand (ANZ) Player of the Year (POY) award in 2013 and the Asian Poker Tour (APT) POY award in 2016. Coming in at a close 2nd is Tetsuya Tsuchikawa who is a prominent figure in his country as someone actively promoting the game. Tsuchikawa has had 105 cash finishes in his career which has mostly focused on the Asian circuit with slight dabbling in the WSOP.
Top 5 Japan
1st: Iori Yogo – 122
2nd: Tetsuya Tsuchikawa – 105
3rd: Motoyuki Mabuchi – 61
4th: Yosuke Sekiya – 58
5th: Yuri Ishida – 57
Macau: Sam Cheong – 24 Cashes
Sam Cheong has focused most of his efforts in the Macau scene and has finished 24 times in the money since 2015. There is no doubt that if in 2 years he has made this much cash finishes, more can be expected from this fantastic player in the future.
Top 5 Macau
1st: Sam Keng Long Cheong – 24
2nd: Harold Tsakmaklis – 22
2nd: Milton De-Spain – 22
4th: Jeffrey Iok Seng Kat – 14
5th: Huidong Gu – 13
Malaysia: Lee Wai Kiat – 56 cashes
Lee Wai Kiat from Malaysia has had 56 cash finishes in his whole career but most of them were made in the European Poker circuit. Victor Chong and Sam Nee are sharing the 2nd place with 32 cashes.
Top 5 Malaysia
1st: Lee Wai Kiat – 56
2nd: Victor Chong – 32
2nd: Sam Nee Aik Chuan – 32
4th: Charles Chua – 30
5th: Ming Ken Thoo – 23
5th: Jerry Chee Hoong Lai – 23
Phillipines: Mike Takayama – 61 cashes
Mike Takayama from the Philippines has had 61 cash finishes to his name. The former professional billiards player known in the community as “Choki” has played mostly on home soil with some participation in the Macau scene. Following 2nd and 3rd are Poker King Club Team Pro members Lester Edoc and Jojo Tech, respectively. Edoc has a total of 57 finishes while Tech closely follows with 56.
Top 5 Philippines
1st: Mike Takayama – 61
2nd: Lester Edoc – 57
3rd: John Tech – 56
4th: Andrew Gaw – 35
5th: Edwin Marzan – 34
More: Mike Takayama: The Iconic Enigma of Philippine poker
Singapore: Bryan Huang – 97 cashes
PokerStars Team Pro Bryan Huang from Singapore has cashed 67 times in his whole career with no one near his record in his country. Despite his achievements and popularity, Huang has remained one of the friendliest and most approachable poker celebrities in the industry.
Top 5 Singapore
1st: Diwei Huang – 97
2nd: Norbert Koh – 45
3rd: Alex Xiang Wei Lee – 44
3rd: Ricky Foo – 44
5th: Feng Zhao – 35
South Korea: Sean Yu – 96 cashes
Sean Yu from South Korea has had a total of 96 cashes to his career record. Most of his cashes were in the US poker circuit and he recently won a WSOP Circuit Main Event for $170,000 in Las Vegas.
Top 5 South Korea
1st: Sean Yu – 96
2nd: Jae Kyung Sim – 80
3rd: SJ Kim – 49
4th: Seung-Soo Jeon – 43
5th: Hae Sung Jung – 41
Taiwan: Pete Yen Han Chen – 98 cashes
Pete Yen Han Chen has had a total of 98 cash finishes since 2011. Almost a 100 cashes within 5 years is truly an impressive feat. More astonishing is the fact that 51 out of that 98 was done in only 2016.
Top 5 Taiwan
1st: Pete Yen Han Chen – 98
2nd: Hui Chen-Kuo – 82
3rd Taiwan Jack En Ching Wu 61
3rd Taiwan Li-ta Hsu 61
5th Taiwan Chen An Lin 48
Thailand: Ben Abrahams – 63 cashes
Ben Abrahams, a British national who has lived in Thailand for years, tops the Thailand list with the amount of cashes in the live circuit, with a total of 61 cashes in his poker career. A well-known businessman in Pattaya, he is a poker enthusiast that travels to participate in the Asian circuit.
Top 5 Thailand
1st: Ben Abrahams – 63
2nd: Chane Kampanatsanyakorn – 18
3rd: Pakinai Lisawad – 16
4th: Angsumalee Johnson- 13
5th: Veerachai Vongxaiburana – 11
Vietnam: Linh Tran – 59 cashes
Linh Tran leads the list for Vietnam with a total of 59 cashes. He has focused his efforts mostly on the Asian circuit.
Top 5 Vietnam
1st: Linh Tran – 59
2nd: Thai Ha – 43
3rd: Tien Quyet Pham – 23
4th: Ha Duong – 19
5th: Thi Xoa Nguyen – 17
Men “The Master” Nguyen – 467 cashes
Special mention has to be given to American Vietnamese professional poker player Men “The Master” Nguyen who also plays in the Asian Circuit. The Master, as he is appropriately called, has a total of 467 cashes throughout his whole career making him #1 and the world leader in the Most Number of Cashes.
Article by Gabrielle Barredo
Louis Hartwell
Graduated in Media Communication at the University of Lausanne, Louis Hartman is a co-founder of somuchpoker.com. He began his career in Cambodia as freelance journalist. In same time he was making his living by playing poker every night at that time. Intense learner, he read dozens of poker strategy books to improve his skills during many years. With a strong interest about poker "behind the scene" in Asia and his communication skills, Louis launched Somuchpoker in 2014.
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