Lucky Streak: New Job Leads to WPT Maryland Entry for Ryan Chua

By Sean Chaffin

A new job, some unexpected free time, and a nice poker win led to an entry in Day 1b of WPT Maryland for Boston’s Ryan Chua (pictured). He’s hoping to parlay some fortuitous events into a deep run at Live! Casino & Hotel. 

“I was at my job for five years and it was just time to move on,” he says. “I interviewed with the company and thought I was actually going to start on Monday. But it’s an Israeli company and it’s Rosh Hashanah so all of them are on vacation this week.”

With a week and a half off between jobs, Chua decided to treat himself to an entry in WPT Maryland. A recent big run at the tables provided most of the buy-in.

“Not that I’m a big believer in fate, but the previous weekend, my friend roped me into playing a $300 tournament,” he says. “I don’t normally play one-day events, but I finished fourth in that and won $3,800. I feel like I’m freerolling right now – it’s great.”

Chua works in the software industry in quality assurance and his new company is in the network security industry.

“I went to Northwestern University and my major had nothing to do with what I do now,” he says. “I graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering. Computers and technology have always been my passion though, and that’s all self-taught.”

At the poker table, Chua has almost $41,000 in live tournament winnings with his best finish coming including a 59th-place finish in a $1,500 World Series of Poker event this summer for $15,231.

When not working or in a big tournament, he’s a regular at the Bar Poker Open, a national series of buy-in free tournaments where players battle to earn a trip to two national tournaments in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. Winners of national events can earn as much as $50,000. In 2014, Chua won a smaller event at the Borgata for $10,000.

Inviting a few new players into his fantasy football game ultimately led Chua to the poker table. They had a weekly game and he started joining in. After his five-figure score in the Bar Poker Open, he decided it was time to study more and take the game even more seriously, but he still remains a recreational player.

Has this 33-year part-time poker player ever considered giving it a shot playing professionally?

“I know enough professionals to know that this is not something I want to do for a living,” he says. “It’s something I want to enjoy. I’m not saying you can’t enjoy it if you’re a professional, but there are some days you don’t want to be there. I want to play when I want to play. I don’t want to have to log 40 or 50 hours a week because that’s what I’m doing for work.”

Sean Chaffin is a freelance writer in Crandall, Texas, and his work appears in numerous websites and publications. Follow him on Twitter @PokerTraditions.