Steve Blay
Steve Blay is a software engineer and poker coach. He and his brother Allen are the founders of AdvancedPokerTraining.com, which allows members to learn while playing poker against up to 8000 virtual opponents. Since 2009, the site has had over 30,000 members from 27 countries.
Steve received national attention when his computerized simulation correctly predicted Qui Nguyen's dominating victory at the WSOP Main Event. When the news reached Qui's family, they flew him to Las Vegas to serve as Qui's personal poker advisor during the Final Table.
Steve is also the founder of Friends Across the Ages, an outreach charity dedicated to mentoring volunteers to form friendships with nursing home residents. He and his wife, Allison, have coordinated the program since 1999. They live in Gainesville, Florida with their two children, Peter and Annie.
Poker players are always told that to be successful, you have to play aggressively. What is not usually explained is just exactly how you are supposed to play aggressively. On the Final Table of the 2016 WSOP Main Event, Qui Nguyen destroyed the opposition with an absolute masterclass in aggressive play and walked away with the coveted gold bracelet as well as $8 million. If you want to understand what this mythical “playing aggressively” means in practical terms, then From Vietnam to Vegas will give you the answer.
Many of the experienced professionals commentating for TV simply couldn’t understand Qui’s play. Antonio Esfandiari, who has won over $27 million in live play, commented, “I couldn’t get a read on Qui Nguyen if my life depended on it.” From Vietnam to Vegas tells the complete story behind Qui’s magnificent achievement. In this book Qui:
reviews 176 key hands from his historic victory at the WSOP Final Table
provides an in-depth analysis of his thought process on each hand
relates the story of his life, from his early struggles in Vietnam through to his transition to a poker professional in Las Vegas.
The book also includes commentary from Steve Blay, founder of AdvancedPokerTraining.com and Qui Nguyen’s personal poker advisor at the final table. Blay’s commentary often analyzes the mathematical basis behind Qui’s decisions, and discusses practical ways to apply it to your own poker game.