Originally born in Da Nang, Vietnam but raised in Stockton, California, Bon John Phan has spent most of his adult life in the Los Angeles area where cardrooms are aplenty. His youth was spent with family, learning Asian five-card stud from his father and brother, and picking up other forms of poker as he grew older and played more games with friends. He learned to find the fun in poker but to create a balance between fun and career, as he was beginning to make enough money in cash games to consider poker his job.

In October of 1998, John won a small seven-card stud event at the Big Poker Oktober series in Los Angeles, followed up by a limit hold’em victory at the L.A. Poker Open later that same month. With cashes and wins in various tournaments around Southern California over the coming years, he knew that tournaments would be his key to longevity, and it was backed up by the tenacity to consistently win in cash games.

John worked his way up to major tournaments like the World Poker Tour and played hard to achieve a victory. By 2005, he made it to a WPT final table at the $25,000 WPT World Championship at the Bellagio and finished a respectable fourth for over $500,000 in prize money and the fame that comes with appearing on a WPT televised tournament. And in 2006, he cashed in four tournaments at the World Series of Poker, which included a second place cash in the $1000 no-limit hold’em event. Though a title eludes him thus far, he continues to strive for the big win. In the meantime, smaller tournament wins will suffice and support his regular donations to various charities, including feeding and housing the poor in Vietnam. He enjoys his life, including his career as a professional poker player.