A native of Hong Kong, Danny Wong was a born poker player. By the age of five, just a couple of years after his family moved to Los Angeles, California, he had taken up the game of Chinese Poker. When other kids were playing Go Fish, Danny Wong was dubbed the Chinese Poker Wizard. He finished 14th in the 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event for $465,000.

As is the case for most young poker players of his generation, Wong took up online poker and was already a regular at the virtual tables at the age of 18. His pastime continued while he worked toward his college degree, but although he was a strong player, he still had his sights set on a career as a stockbroker. His love for poker, though, grew to the point where he began to seriously consider it as a valid career alternative.

Wong’s first live tournament cashes came in 2006, when he made a combined $9,155 in two events at the World Series of Poker. Just a few days after his second cash, he placed second in the $10,000 Bellagio Cup II Main Event, banking $561,115. That clinched his decision to make poker his full-time career. The stock market would always be there if he needed a fallback.

In the first year following his impressive live tournament debut, Wong won a $2,500 No Limit Hold’em event at the 2006 Five Diamond World Poker Classic for $319,420, placed third at the $10,000 Bellagio Cup III Main Event for $361,480, and won a $2,425 No Limit Hold’em event at the 2007 Legends of Poker for $124,040.

His career live tournament winnings amount to over $2.4 million, including ten WSOP cashes and three World Poker Tour cashes. He has reached three WSOP final tables, finishing fourth twice and fifth once, and made one WPT final table at the WPT World Poker Challenge in Reno, Nevada. Wong is still looking for his first major championship.