Liz Lieu, a professional card player and certified poker hottie, was born August 2nd, 1974 in Vietnam. Due to her style and elegance, many throughout the gambling world refer to her as the “Poker Diva.” An aggressive player, Liz has captured wins in both limit and no limit games, and she’s one of the 20 top female earners in poker history.
Liz Lieu - The Early Years
When she was a year old, Liz’s family moved from Vietnam to the United States and settled in Colorado. While her parents worked hard to provide for Liz and her older sister, the youngest Lieu daughter was slowly developing a love for card games. In fact, she was playing Chinese Poker with friends by the age of 13.
By the time she was 18, Liz was already making money from cards, as she and a friend started a home game by spreading hold’em and pai gow tiles. While the business venture was short-lived, it demonstrated to Liz just how profitable poker could be.
A Bankroll and a Dream
When her father suffered a heart attack, Liz convinced both of her parents to retire and enjoy their remaining years. In return, Liz vowed to provide for them by playing poker.
So Liz Lieu journeyed to Las Vegas with a respectable bankroll and started playing in the $80-$160 limit Texas Hold’em cash games. As time went on, she played for increasingly larger stakes, but then a setback nearly caused her to go broke.
Luckily, best friend John Phan supported her through this rough patch and helped encourage her to rebuild her bankroll. These days, Liz haunts the cash games at places like the Bellagio, often playing for $400-$800 limits.
Liz Lieu Poker Tournaments
In 2005, John Phan talked Liz into entering the $1,500 No-limit Hold’em event at the World Series of Poker. While not her primary game, Liz ended up finishing in fifth place and taking home over $168,000 in prize money. During that WSOP, she placed 12th in the $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em event and also finished in the money in the $3,000 tournament.
Later that year, she placed fourth in the $2,500 No-limit Hold’em event at the Bellagio Festa Al Lago tournament. She also placed 16th in two other events, taking home over $80,000 from the tournament. She would later finish in the top 10 at the Diamond World Poker Classic, World Poker Finals and Gold Strike World Poker Open.
In 2006, her first tournament win came in the $1,000 Limit Hold’em event at the L.A. Poker Classic. The following year, she once again placed first in the event.
In 2007, she placed in the money twice at the APPT Macau tournament, taking home over $60,000. Liz Lieu also finished in the money at the $2,500 No-limit Hold’em event during the 2008 World Series of Poker.
To date, she has earned over $690,000 in live tournament play. She has also done well in big money cash games, which still remain her major passion. Liz keeps homes in both Las Vegas and Los Angeles, and she supports her father in Vietnam and her mother in L.A.
Donations to Charity
Liz donates 20% of her winnings to charity. She is especially fond of giving back to those less fortunate in her birth country of Vietnam, but she also donates money to help find a cure for Multiple Sclerosis.
Liz Lieu In Demand
In 2007, Liz signed on to act as an ambassador for Chilipoker. She appears in their ads and encourages others to play there. In addition, Liz’s status as a poker hottie has been validated by her appearance on the following magazine covers:
- Deal
- American Poker Player
- Maxim’s Total Poker
- Woman Poker Player
- Midwest Gaming and Travel
- Poker Player
- World Poker Tour
- Maximal
- Flush
- Poker Pro Europe
- Poker Pro France
Liz Lieu Hobbies and Interests
When she’s not donating to charity or playing poker, Liz enjoys shopping, dancing and spending time with friends and family. The most common types of music found on her iPod are hip-hop, r & b and house. She’s also fond of going out on the town with her girlfriends, and seven of them once racked up an $8,600 bill at an exclusive Vegas nightclub.
Liz Lieu Bikini - Liz Lieu Maxim
In 2007 Liz Lieu appeared in a cover of Maxim. She has also published sexy bikini fotos at her website (lizlieu.net) or at her myspace profile (myspace.com/lizlieu).
Liz Lieu's Style of Play
Liz plays an ultra-aggressive style of play, and she prefers limit for cash games and no-limit for tournaments. Liz likes to take control pre-flop, and she believes that the flop is the most important bet in the no-limit game.
In the big money games, Liz is on record as saying that you have to play the players more than the cards. She also stresses that it’s vital to know who you’re playing against and adjust your game accordingly.
