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Mapping out the world’s poker rooms and shattering myths with Liz Lieu.
Being called a diva these days can either be a mark of enviable A-list talent, privilege and celebrity, or it can be a flat-out accusation of being a capricious, self-important bitch, no matter what your gender. So you can understand people’s suspicion when the ambiguous label gets attached to a name, either voluntarily or not. Thankfully for poker pro Liz Lieu, otherwise known as the Poker Diva, the moniker was borne from her revolving couture wardrobe and little more. And if you’re lucky enough to spend time with her, any other concerns of irrational, short-fuse behaviour are instantly snuffed out. In fact, she goes the other direction with enormous generosity, humility and grace. She’s been a fixture in the poker circuits for years now and has amassed a sturdy bankroll, earned recognition into the elite of the game, and built borderless brand recognition. Such success goes hand in hand with a brutal travel schedule as well. So when a flight to Malta to meet with her sponsor, ChiliPoker.com, was cancelled, leaving her in a holding pattern in London for the night, GOM jumped at the chance to meet with the hold ‘em veteran. Inconvenient for her; great for us. But Liz has great perspective of the big picture and knows how to keep circumstances, and herself, in check.
Liz Lieu is dressed comfortably in casual in jeans, a non-descript top and a black leather jacket. The Louis Vuitton bag next to her is the only real glaring indication that this young lady loves her shopping. A wardrobe full of Robert Cavalli is her main extravagance. Demure and soft-spoken, but she doesn’t give the impression that we only have about half an hour for the interview. As it turned out, she was all too accommodating to sit for two hours without a hint of hurry in her. Granted, she does reside part of the year in Southern California but she seems almost too cool for even there. The glare coming off her designer indoor shades, however, creates some distance—possible aloofness. But brought to her attention and they come swiftly off, with a warm smile. She’s in the top register of a highly glamourous profession but stripped down, she’s a savvy, hardworking businesswoman doing extraordinary things for much more humble result. The big cash and tournament wins continue to pile up but apart from a few personal indulgences—“I never wear the same outfit twice,” she says—the true fulfillment comes from playing a more intangible hand that affords much greater rewards.
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Lieu, now 33, came to the US at the age of one from war-torn Vietnam. Growing up in the safety and high-altitude of Colorado was a completely different world. Not particularly academic or athletic, she merely went to school as a formality to please her parents and she gave up on the glorious skiing facilities that surrounded her after doing somersaults down a couple of runs.”I could go left but I couldn’t go right,” she says with sweet self deprecation. But regardless of her motivation, she was naturally hard-wired for maths and accounting, breezing through advanced classes. What she also had a natural talent for was playing Chinese poker, which was a common activity at home. She developed skills with cards at 13 and it was only a matter of time—five years to be exact—that she hopped on the hold ‘em bandwagon. “I watched poker for the first time in a casino for four hours when I was underage,” she says. “It was the same thing fundamentally as Chinese poker and the next day, I sat at the table and won. Beginners luck. Then I started my own home game and after that, I didn’t want to do anything else.” Her parents were worried, knowing that you can be rich one day and poor the next in the unpredictable world of poker. They had a more domestic blueprint drawn up for her future that consisted of an established career and a family. In other words, conventional stability. “But they were supportive,” she says of her decision to play poker for a living. “Especially my father.”
And with that support, she forged ahead with making a success of herself. She began primarily as a limit Texas hold ‘em cash game player for years before WPT final-table contender John Phan got Lieu motivated to play tournaments. And at the 2005 World Series of Poker, she entered the $1,500 no-limit hold ‘em event and ended up fifth with over $168,000 in prize money. She also placed 12th in the $5,000 no-limit hold ‘em event the same year and cashed in the $3,000 tournament also. Her portfolio was steadily expanding and immediately after, she placed fourth in the $2,500 no-limit hold ‘em event at the Bellagio’s 2005 Festa Al Lago tournament. A couple of other 16th-place finishes earned her a tidy $80,000 for under a week of work.
The momentum further increased with top-ten finishes at the World Poker Finals, Five Diamond World Poker Classic and the Gold Strike World Poker Open. But her first tournament win didn’t come until the 2006 LA Poker Classic at the Commerce Casino where she won the $1,000 limit hold ‘em event. Coincidently, her second tournament win was a year later when she defended her title. In the 2008 event, however, she got knocked out, unable to make a make a hat trick. She also busted out of the Main Event there with aces against K-9. But before that, Lieu went to Macau for the APPT (Asia Pacific Poker Tour) last November and made back-to-back final tables.
There’s still a head full of steam halfway through 2008, but she’ll be the first to say her game needs work. “My game can always improve,” she says, gesturing with lengthy, elegant hands. “There’s always something new to pick up and even at my level, I might have some leaks; some tells that I don’t notice. The one thing I might still have a hard time with is playing heads up.” She doesn’t carry the torch alone, but Lieu is undoubtedly part of the big movement of high-profile women on the poker tour—including Kathy Liebert, Annie Duke and Jennifer Harman-Traniello—which ultimately encourages other women to come out and brave the tables filled with judgmental men. A tough skin is prerequisite. “I rarely get embarrassed. You have to be one of the boys at the tables,” she says wryly. “You have to blend in.”
At the moment, Lieu is in the midst of a rigourous schedule of EPTs—now that she’s living half of the year in her new home near Notting Hill—as well as going back to California and Las Vegas to play cash games, and ramping up for the WSOP. But apart from her work at the tables, she’s compiling a strategy DVD with ChiliPoker, a sponsor she finally feels at ease working with. She’s been approached by other top online poker sites but the monetary incentive wasn’t enough considering the concessions he would have to make, the schedule she would have to keep, and the fact that she’d be lost in a massive crowd of pros wearing the same insignia. “Chilli is more about lifestyle and there are a lot of business opportunities,” she says. “And that’s something I really admire. I don’t want to work for a team with 20 players, being told what to do when and where. I like small, intimate family-type partners better than the money.” Plus, ChiliPoker are very supportive of Lieu’s entrepreneurial ambition and motivation to strengthen her global brand, especially in Europe and Asia. “It’s more of a friendship,” she continues.
Lieu has been very busy the last two years with her poker, a game she staunchly categorises as a sport where, year after year, the best names keep coming up when tournaments go deep—hers included. It’s also been a very eventful couple of years, but not always for the good. Late last year, her father died and since then, Lieu has made a more concentrated effort to succeed in order to give back. That’s a phrase that gets thrown around a lot but Lieu gives 20 percent of her winnings to a variety of charities, mostly in her native country, Vietnam. Despite her homes in the US and London, she now considers Vietnam a second home since her father died; a far cry from when she visited as a teenager and couldn’t see herself returning.
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“I think of him every day,” she says of her father. “I thought of him all during the Macau event. He left me something really good—to help people and to be honest; do all you can. Even if I stop playing poker, I’ll still give to charity.” At the moment, all proceeds from poster sales on her website (lizlieu.net) go to charities and ChiliPoker donates a dollar for every new player signed up. But in addition to just giving money, Lieu puts her words and efforts into practice by visiting Vietnam every few months and personally hauls sacks of rice to different cities and villages. “I’m just hoping to make it through another final table so I can go back there again,” she says. “Think about all that poker players have done”—she sites Barry Greenstein and Gavin Griffin—“so the more people spread the word, the better the world will be. Six out of 10 poker players give back; poker doesn’t ruin peoples’ lives. It’s nothing bad.”
In that regard, Lieu wants to leave her mark on more than just poker. If she were to quit the game, she would want her legacy to be first philanthropy, and then poker. “I want to be remembered as a good player—not the best,” she says. “I want to be remembered as a top-tier player, and I deserve that. But with charity, I hope I inspire people to help others. It’s life changing when you see it for your own eyes.”
Apart from personal tragedy, Lieu is determined to expand the Poker Diva brand. The days of playing precariously are behind her now; she leaves that for the ruthless online guys. Now, the money she earns is wisely invested for the long term. She’s reluctant to subscribe to the “older” generation of players, but that’s where her mindset is. “Years ago I would have put it all on the table,” she says. “I’m more responsible now.”
So as Lieu settles into the scenery in London, tolerating the weather and workaday cuisine, she keeps her eyes cast on the next horizon, which happens to be in the East. “It only makes sense to buy a place in Macau,” says Lieu, who is fluent in Chinese, Vietnamese and English. “Gambling is part of the culture [there]. Every New Year, people place a wager for good luck.” And now is the perfect time to strike as poker in Macau is still a very lucrative novelty for those with honed skills; it’s a virtual smash and grab with bustling gaming areas three times the size of Las Vegas “A lot of people there don’t care about the money,” she continues. “It’s just the rush of seeing a flop, no matter what the cost.” It’s a great motivator to keep going there to clean up, but with a professional attitude comes an essential purpose to keep life in balance and priorities maintained. And for Lieu, success is meaningless if it isn’t shared. |
