The 2016 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event recently concluded, with Qui Nguyen winning the tournament and a massive $8,005,310 payout.
Nguyen navigated through 6,737 players to win the Main Event, something which takes a mixture of luck and skill. The 39-year-old poker pro has plenty of the latter, having been a poker pro for well over a decade.
If you’re interested in playing better poker, there’s much to learn emulating the style that Nguyen used to win. That said, let’s look at what you can gain as a poker player by analyzing Nguyen.
Learn to Play Aggressive
Nguyen was the most-aggressive player at the Main Event final table, raising often to win pots and force opponents to make difficult decisions. Nowhere was this more evident than when he faced second-place finisher Gordon Vayo in the final showdown.
The two players adopted very different styles, with Vayo playing passively and often folding the better hand. Nguyen, meanwhile, frequently bet and raised to take advantage of Vayo’s passiveness.
The worst poker style that you can adopt is tight-passive, where you always check and call opponents’ raises without making any raises yourself. Be sure to quiz yourself on what type of player you are and avoid playing tight-passive.
Don’t Be Predictable
A big reason why Vayo struggled against Nguyen is that he couldn’t figure out his heads-up opponent.
“He just kind of plays every hand uniquely; he doesn’t necessarily have a constructed strategy,” said Vayo. “Not that that’s a negative, but most people aren’t able to adapt to every hand and make so many correct assumptions and correct plays over and over again, and he was able to do that.”
Although you want to use tried and tested poker strategy, it’s still good to switch up your play like Nguyen so that opponents have trouble reading you.
Learn While Playing
Some new poker players have a tendency to over-study and not play enough hands. And when you’re not playing hands and applying anything, you forget what you’ve studied.
Nguyen didn’t have a problem with this, though, because he quickly dove into no-limit cash games when he started playing in 2003. He played live and/or online poker every day and began learning from his mistakes. By 2005, he was playing cash games professionally and tournaments on the side.
Don’t Focus on Poker Results
Playing poker for a few hundred dollars is stressful enough, so imagine being in Nguyen’s position, where final-table payouts differed by the millions.
Nevertheless, he kept calm by focusing on the process of playing each hand, rather than monetary results.
And this is exactly what you need to do: focus on playing each hand the best you can and stop focusing on wins and losses. In poker, anything can happen in the short term, but only skilled players win in the long run.
Manage Your Poker Bankroll
Early on in his career, Nguyen had a big problem with bankroll management since he played too much Baccarat on the side.
“I have lost my ass playing Baccarat, over $250,000,” Nguyen told ESPN. “I know that I couldn’t beat the game, but I couldn’t stop playing. I lost a lot of money.”
If you develop the skillset to become a good poker player, don’t blow it on ‘negative-expectation’ casino games like baccarat. Additionally, don’t play stakes too high for your bankroll since you increase your risk of being eliminated.
Final Thoughts on Qui Nguyen’s Poker Strategy
The one word that sums up Nguyen’s playing style is aggression. This is important because not only will you force folds and steal easy pots, but you will also avoid being bullied yourself.
The main caveat here is to avoid being too aggressive until you’ve had time to learn and study the game. Also, don’t play too many hands until you develop familiarity with opponents and poker in general.
