Thang Luu Biography

Thang Luu Omaha 8 or better Specialist

Winning multiple bracelets is a great accomplishment and one that many professionals would love to achieve. Winning a bracelet in the same event in back to back years is an accomplishment achieve by few. The latest to achieve this feat is Thang Luu. Luu just won the $1,500 Omaha 8 or Better Event at this year’s World Series of Poker. Luu also won this event in 2008. Both times, the Omaha 8 event was the largest live Omaha 8 field in history.

As if that was not enough, Luu also finished in 2nd in this event at the 2007 WSOP. Frankie O’Dell won his 2nd bracelet in Omaha 8 that year. Luu’s back to back bracelet win is only the 9th time in World Series of Poker history that someone has won a bracelet in the same event in back to back years.

Thang Luu is a 34 year old professional poker player originally from Vietnam. He came to the U.S. at the age of 17 and when he was 21, he was working as a dealer in Las Vegas. In fact, Luu finished in 3rd in the Casino Employee’s Event at the 2005 WSOP.

At present, Luu is mainly a cash game player. He can regularly be found at the $80-$160 Limits at casinos around Vegas. He prefers the $200-$400 mixed games due to the fact that many players play mixed games poorly. As one can tell from his online profiles, Luu does not play in many poker tournaments. After winning the Omaha 8 bracelet for the 2nd straight year, he has stated that he will play in that event from this point forward.

Luu plays many games well and admits that Omaha 8 and Badugi are among his favorites to play. In winning his 2nd bracelet, he said that “I think these kinds of $1,500 buy-in events are the best for me. There are a lot of new players…”

Luu style tends to be one where he likes to keep the pressure on his opponents. As a result, there were times where he saw some dramatic swings in chips. However, his overall experience, coupled with a never say die attitude allowed him to accomplish something rare in poker.

At just 34, Thang Luu still has a long future in this game. As he told everyone after winning his 2nd bracelet, he is here to stay. Those that play Omaha 8 or Better should take notice because “Tiger Luu” will now be on the prowl.