He first had success at the
World Series of Poker (WSOP) in 1993, where he finished 2nd in the $1,500 Pot Limit
Hold'em event to John Bonetti, and winning his first bracelet in the $1,500 Ace to Five Draw event the same year. He first cashed in the WSOP
Main Event in
1996, finishing in 13th place. He won a second bracelet in the $2,000 Omaha 8 or Better event in
1998, and a third bracelet in the $2,000 Pot Limit Omaha event in 2004, finishing ahead of
Robert Williamson III,
Dave Colclough and
Chris Ferguson. Giang used to play online at
Full Tilt Poker under the user name "La Key U" and was signed as a Pro in January 2009. He earned 2.1 million playing online in 2008. As of 2022, his total live tournament winnings exceed $3,700,000. His 51 cashes as the WSOP account for $1,767,062 of those winnings. He is in 8th for most all time cashes at the WSOP.
World Series of Poker bracelets The big game Giang avoided playing tournaments other than the WSOP for many years, as he preferred to concentrate on his cash game play, where he plays $4,000/$8,000 limit regularly. Giang is a regular in "
The Big Game" in Las Vegas, alongside his next-door neighbor
Doyle Brunson. He returned to tournaments when his children asked him why he was not on television. His first
World Poker Tour (WPT) cash was 9th place in the first WPT Championship. He would also cash in the second WPT Championship. However, his largest tournament prize to date was 2nd place in the 2005 $10,000 World Poker Open, which earned him $773,448.
Poker philosophy Giang has regularly stated that poker is not a game of chance. In a 1994 interview, he said, "At the table I hear people say, ‘Poker is luck.’ That is 100 percent wrong. If they are losing, it is because they're doing something wrong. Poker is skill, it isn't luck. In the long run, day after day after day, you cannot get lucky all the time." In the book
Deal Me In, Giang said "Poker is a game of skill with an element of luck, not a game of luck with an element of skill." He discusses how he lost his twenty million dollar bankroll playing craps, a game of luck. He says nowadays he gets a physical revulsion when he goes near a game of craps, or any game of dice. He believes that if he sticks to poker, he will always make money in the long run. ==Personal life==