An Tran

A poker biography of An Tran.

Quick Information Name - An Tran Born - In 1952, Saigon, Vietnam Poker Room - Not Available

Biography

This former South Vietnam Green Beret lieutenant is a karate master who was born in 1952 at Saigon.  Like other poker players throughout the world, An Tran started playing the Five-Card Stud game in his homeland for fun when he was younger.  Soon after arriving in the United States, Tran started to learn the other games at top speed.  He was first a resident of Houston Texas, arriving there at around 1675, where he opened his own martial arts school.  After learning more about poker, Tran started competing professionally by 1980.  Soon, he left Houston to live in Las Vegas, Nevada so as to have time to play a quality game of poker day after day.  The load of practice soon paid off and An Tran made it to the World Series Of Poker final table in 1987.  This was followed by thirty-three WSOP series, and he has not looked back since then.

An Tran admits that there were plenty of times that he went broke, but it didn't deter him from his ambition and hobby.  He believes that a person must be able to take this blows gracefully, since there are more than a hundred ways of losing money.  Aside from losing games, Tran has also lost a large amount of money in the stock market and other ventures, so he does not dwell on it that much.

An eternal optimist, An Tran brings his outlook to the poker tables for good measure.  Unlike other poker players, An Tran lives and breathes poker.  He readily says that he has no other hobby, and no other venue for relaxation aside from poker.  Tran would rather play poker than do anything else, since he is confident that any play would be a possible venue to win.  His confidence and devil-may-care optimism has made him a highly respected figure among his poker peers especially when Tran had gone head-to-head against fellow winner John Hennigan during the 2004 $5,000 WSOP Limit Hold'em Tourney, where he won second place.  Hennigan was reported to have complimented Tran's game style, and he credits mostly luck on his win.

Aside from his optimism, An Tran is also known for playing style, which is more volatile than anything.  Unlike most players who have a certain style -- whether aggressive or tight -- An Tran has different styles.  Tran explains that he plays different games, and that his style mainly depends on the kind of person he is up against.  This is because he knows that there is no one style of playing that will fit in every game situation.  There are certain people who can handle certain kinds of pressure, and to use them would be useless.  Due to his unpredictable style, Tran has won a loyal set of followers who watch his games on the television.

A force to reckon with at the poker table, An Tran is more popularly known by his nickname or alias, "The Boss."  His skill and determination, combined with luck and crafty know-how makes An Tran one of the heavyweights in poker tourneys around the world.