Sacramento's JC Tran has come a long way since arriving in California as a 2-year-old immigrant in 1979. Tran is chip leader going into the final table of the World Series of Poker's Main Event, the man with the best shot of taking home the $8.3 million top prize.
A seasoned pro, Tran honed his game at the Capitol Casino in Sacramento and has won two WSOP bracelets and a World Poker Tour title. He has career earnings of more than $8 million. But years ago, he was known for playing fast and loose.
"When I was younger I won a lot of money, but I didn't know the true value of a dollar," he said in a phone interview. Now 36, Tran says he's a changed man and his top priority is his family. He has a 2 1/2-year-old son and a daughter due next month.
"I've cleaned it up a lot. I don't put myself in situations where I'm playing crazy in cash games and losing big chunks of money," he said. "My family taught me well to be humble and appreciate life - we never had a lot of money. Now you won't see me coin-flipping in a cash game hand for $100,000. I'm still grinding."
Tran will earn a minimum of $733,000 for making the final table, to be held Nov. 4-5 at the Rio hotel in Las Vegas. With his strong chip position (38 million chips - no other player has more than 30 million), he's likely to add several million dollars to his bank account. But he doesn't plan to buy anything special, just invest in his kids' college fund and save for retirement.
"I have what I need," he said. "I don't need fancy jewelry or any of that stuff."
Tran says he's in good shape mentally for the final table and can use his towering chip stack "to keep pushing it and win some hands." But he won't be too aggressive because at the Main Event final table, "every pay jump is like winning another tournament." For example the difference between finishing second and third is more than $1.4 million.
Tran said he can play aggressive or tight. "That's an advantage I have over guys who have just one style." But he's not taking any of his opponents lightly.
"In the end I'm playing with eight other guys who have played seven great days of poker," he said. "No one is easy money here. Everyone has potential to win and everyone's a threat."
Michael Shapiro is a freelance writer and author of "A Sense of Place." E-mail: 96hours@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @shapirowrites
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