J. C. Tran is a Vietnamese-American professional poker player, based in California.
Born in 1977, Tran is the youngest of eight children of Vietnamese parents. When he was two years old, his family moved to Northern California. He later went to California State University at Sacramento to earn a degree in Business Management Information Systems.
He first started playing poker when his older brother took him to a casino for the first time when he turned 21. He was doing very well in cash games and, by 2003, he decided to give tournaments a try. He developed a reputation very quickly as a dangerous player.
In 2004 he just missed the TV table in the L.A. Poker Classic on season 2 of the WPT when he finished in 7th place for $94,540.
In 2004 he then cashes 3 times at the WSOP, including a cash in the main event and two final tables in other events.
Still in 2004, during season 3 of the WPT, he finished in 5th place in the 2004 World Poker Finals for $353,850.
In 2005 Tran again finished on the TV bubble of a WPT event when he finished in 7th place in the Borgata Poker Open, winning $199,280. That same year he finished 1st in a WSOP circuit event, earning $97,470 and cashed in the WSOP 4 times, including a cash in the main event and a final table appearance in the $2,000 No-Limit Hold'Em Event where he finished 5th for $118,350.
In 2006 he finished 5th in the WPT L.A. Poker Classic, earning $265,728.
On October 2, 2006, Tran won the main event at PokerStars' WCOOP, winning $670,000.
On March 2, 2007 Tran finished 2nd in the 2007 WPT L.A. Poker Classic, winning $1,177,010. On March 28 he won his first WPT title at the World Poker Challenge, earning $$708,973. He was also the World Poker Tour's Player of the Year.
On June 30, 2008 Tran won his first bracelet at the 2008 $1,500 No Limit event after beating a field of 2,718 players, winning $631,170. Tran had 7 cashes at the 2008 WSOP and finished in 6th place finish in the 2008 WSOP Player of the Year voting.
In November 2008, Tran won the PartyPoker Premier League III by beating Tony G in heads-up play, winning $300,000.
In June 2009, Tran won his second bracelet in the $2,500 Pot-limit Omaha event, winning $235,685.
Tran has 28 WSOP cashes (all since 2004) for total WSOP earnings of $1,694,280 as well as 4 WSOP Circuit cashes for an additional $413,780.
Tran is one of the most under-rated, under-recognized players in the poker world today. He has: won 2 WSOP bracelets, won a World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) Main Event, made 5 WPT final tables, won a WPT title and WPT Player of the Year title, and won at the World Poker Challenge.
As of 2009, his total live tournament winnings exceed $7,800,000.
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HPG ADMIN on February 27, 2013