La Key U is 22nd on the list of biggest poker winners tracked by HighstakesDB. The data is based on 160265 hands played and his total cash game profits amount to $2,672,097.
Chau Giang’s story is a typical rags to riches one. He fled Vietnam in the 70s in a small boat and arrived to Florida to undertake a series of minimum wage jobs before learning to play poker. He then moved to Las Vegas to pursue poker as a career. Needless to say, he soon struck gold: having honed his skills at pretty much every poker variant that was being played, he became one of the most complete, all-round poker professionals, capable of squeezing a profit out of just about every setup and betting structure. Despite that, some believe his strength is Omaha 8 or better.
For years, Giang had been playing almost exclusively in cash games. Given the success he saw though, he had all the reasons to do so. He earned more than $100k in his very first year as a professional. He soon became a regular in the Big Game at the Bellagio, where a bunch of professional players teamed up against billionaire Andy Beal to strip him of as much money as possible. Giang was instrumental in putting “The Corporation” up overall.
Like for so many other cash game specialists, the WSOP proved to be too big a temptation to resists for Giang. He picked up tournament poker for the sake of the WSOP, though these days he’s playing in more and more live poker tournaments around the world.
He won 3 WSOP bracelets: in 1993, 1998 and 2004. He’s had no fewer than 51 cash finishes in various WSOP events. He also had 3 final table presences in the WPT and finished in the money no fewer than 13 times. He plays online too, under the name LA Key U at Full Tilt Poker.