Kitty Kuo: Biography, Career and Poker Results

November 14, 2026

Table of Contents

Kitty Kuo, whose full name is Hui Chen Kuo, is a Taiwanese professional poker player from Taipei who has been based in Las Vegas for most of her career. She won the PokerStars Macau Poker Cup in 2009, finished second to Darren Elias at the 2018 World Poker Tour Bobby Baldwin Classic and won the Asian Poker Tour (APT) Taiwan Main Event in 2021. PokerNews describes her as one of Asia’s top female poker players. ^[1][4][6]

Kitty Kuo, at a World Poker Tour event in December 2025 — Photo: World Poker Tour, licensed under CC BY-ND 4.0.

Kitty Kuo: key facts

Full name	Hui Chen “Kitty” Kuo ^[6]
Country	Taiwan ^[1]
Born	1983 (age 42–43), Taipei ^[1][4]
Lives	Las Vegas, Nevada ^[4]
Known for	APT Taiwan 2021 Main Event champion; runner-up at the 2018 WPT Bobby Baldwin Classic; Natural8 ambassador since 2016 ^[1][5][6]
WSOP bracelets	None (1 WSOP Circuit title, 26 cashes and 2 final tables on WSOP.com) ^[2]
Best result	4th, 2023 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open $5,300 Championship, $480,763 ^[3]
Poker Hall of Fame	Not inducted
Live tournament earnings	$3,837,589 as of October 27, 2026 ^[1]

Early life: from engineering to the poker table

Kuo was born in 1983 and comes from Taipei. ^[1][4] She studied at the University of Southern California and earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering. In a 2020 Card Player interview she said nobody introduced her to poker: as a student she went to Las Vegas to play blackjack most weekends, and on a summer trip to Korea, after a heavy loss at blackjack, she sat down at a $1-$2 poker table for the first time. “I realized while playing the game that you didn’t really need a hand. You can bluff,” she said, adding that she never went back to blackjack. ^[4]

Beginning in poker

Back in Asia, she won the HK$10,000 PokerStars Macau Poker Cup in October 2009 for HK$557,230 ($71,899), her breakout live result. ^[1][4] The following year she decided to move to Las Vegas on her own to become a professional, a decision her family opposed: she told Card Player that no one in her family spoke to her for six months. ^[4]

Her tournament buy-ins at the time averaged $200 or $300. She recalled that her first Las Vegas cash came in the $5,000 NAPT Venetian Main Event, and that she had told herself she would go back to being an engineer if she did not cash; she finished 92nd for $9,643. ^[1][4] On April 20, 2010, she won the Cleopatra Open, the official Ladies Championship of the WSOP Circuit stop at Caesars Palace, beating a field of 79 players for $7,357. WSOP.com reported that she then lived in Vancouver and planned to move to Las Vegas. ^[10]

Playing style

Almost all of Kuo’s major results have come in No-Limit Hold’em tournaments. ^[1] She has described her first three years as those of “a feel player… but I had good logic and math”, and Card Player reported that she later worked on her game with Darren Elias and Steffen Sontheimer. ^[4] PokerNews noted in 2018 that her preparation involved daily study and hand review. ^[5]

After their 2018 heads-up match, Elias described a small-ball battle: “We were both limping. She was limping a ton,” he told PokerNews, adding: “She played tough.” ^[5]

Greatest achievements

Runner-up at the 2018 WPT Bobby Baldwin Classic

Kuo reached the $10,000 WPT Bobby Baldwin Classic at ARIA in Las Vegas through a $1,000 satellite. The event drew 162 entries, and her final table included Darren Elias, Joe McKeehen, Jonathan Little, Sam Panzica and Dietrich Fast. She eliminated Fast in fourth place with an ace-ten nut flush draw that got there on the turn. Calling herself the “worst player at the final table”, she went heads-up against Elias, who held a chip lead of nearly three to one that grew to almost ten to one before she doubled up. The match lasted 103 hands before Elias won his record fourth WPT title and $387,580; Kuo received $248,380. ^[5]

APT Taiwan 2021 Main Event

The NT$16,500 (~$590) APT Taiwan Main Event at the CTP Club in Taipei began on February 26, 2021, and drew 196 entries for a prize pool of NT$2,851,800 (~$102,320). Seven of the eight finalists were Taiwanese. Kuo went heads-up against Chi Ying Tsai with 12 big blinds against Tsai’s 68, doubled up at once, and after 90 minutes the two were almost level; her king-seven then held against a king-high flush draw. She won NT$724,200 (~$25,980), the APT Champion’s Ring and the Golden Lion trophy, her first APT Main Event title. ^[6][7]

Selected tournament results

Year	Event	Result	Prize	Source
2023	Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open $5,300 Championship	4th	$480,763	[3]
2018	WPT Bobby Baldwin Classic, $10,000 (162 entries)	2nd	$248,380	[5]
2018	Aussie Millions A$25,000 Challenge	4th	A$246,240 ($198,731)	[1]
2021	WPT Venetian $5,000 Main Event	6th	$192,855	[12]
2016	Aussie Millions A$10,600 Main Event	6th	A$270,000 ($189,018)	[1]
2014	Hollywood Poker Open $2,500 Main Event (692 players)	3rd	$142,158	[1]
2015	WSOP $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Shootout (1,000 entrants)	4th	$82,890	[11]
2009	PokerStars Macau Poker Cup, HK$10,000 Main Event	1st	HK$557,230 ($71,899)	[1]
2012	World Poker Tour Malta Main Event	4th	€39,200	[1]
2021	APT Taiwan Main Event (196 entries)	1st	NT$724,200 (~$25,980)	[6]
2010	WSOP Circuit Caesars Palace, Cleopatra Open Ladies Championship (79 players)	1st	$7,357	[10]

At the 2021 WPT Venetian she held the chip lead with close to 200 big blinds when the field was down to two tables, and she was one of three women, with Kyna England and Daniela Rodriguez, at the six-handed final table. She finished sixth after being eliminated by the eventual winner, Chad Eveslage. ^[12][13] Her largest cash to date came in August 2023, when she finished fourth in the $5,300 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Championship for $480,763. ^[1][3]

World Series of Poker record

Kuo has not won a WSOP bracelet. Her WSOP.com profile lists one Circuit title, 26 cashes, two final tables and $297,031 in earnings. ^[2] Her closest run to a bracelet came in the 2015 $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Shootout, where she finished fourth of 1,000 entrants for $82,890 behind winner Barry Hutter. ^[1][11] In the Main Event she finished 408th of 6,650 in 2021 for $30,000. ^[2]

Rankings and records

According to PokerNews, Kuo was the Global Poker Index Asia Player of the Year in 2013 and runner-up in the GPI Women’s Player of the Year category the same year. ^[1] In December 2022 PokerNews reported that she was fourth on Taiwan’s all-time money list. ^[8] Card Player, which also counts real-name online results, credits her with $3,754,346 from 188 cashes, including four WPT main event final tables. ^[3] She is not a member of the Poker Hall of Fame.

Beyond the table: Natural8, GPL and live streams

Kuo has been a Natural8 ambassador since 2016, as part of the site’s Team Hot. ^[1][9] In 2016 she also joined the Global Poker League as a member of Team San Francisco Rush. ^[9] Card Player noted in 2020 that she had appeared on live-streamed games such as Live At The Bike! and had hosted her own cash game on Poker After Dark. ^[4]

In her own words

“Just make the right decisions. There’s nothing they can do, if you don’t make a mistake, it’s fine.” Before the 2018 WPT Bobby Baldwin Classic final table, PokerNews. ^[5]
“I believe that we can influence more women to be interested in poker.” On her all-female heads-up match at APT Taiwan, PokerNews, 2021. ^[6]
“I don’t play in many Asia events, especially in Taiwan, so it’s very special for me.” PokerNews, 2021. ^[6]
“Most players don’t enjoy playing against me, but afterward they always say that they’ve learned a lot!” PokerNews, 2022. ^[8]
“The WSOP Las Vegas is the best place to play. It’s not even close.” PokerNews, 2022. ^[8]

FAQ about Kitty Kuo

What is Kitty Kuo’s real name?

Her full name is Hui Chen Kuo; she plays and is listed in tournament databases as Kitty Kuo. ^[4][6]

How old is Kitty Kuo?

PokerNews gives her year of birth as 1983, so she turns 43 in 2026. ^[1]

Where is Kitty Kuo from?

She is Taiwanese and comes from Taipei; Card Player lists Las Vegas as her home. ^[1][4]

What is Kitty Kuo’s net worth?

There is no reliable public figure for her net worth. What can be verified is her live tournament record: $3,837,589 in earnings as of October 27, 2026, according to PokerNews. Sponsorship income is not published. ^[1]

Has Kitty Kuo won a WSOP bracelet?

No. Her WSOP titles are limited to the 2010 Cleopatra Open Ladies Championship on the WSOP Circuit. Her best bracelet event finish is fourth in the 2015 $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Shootout. ^[2][10][11]

What is Kitty Kuo’s biggest win?

Her largest single cash is $480,763 for fourth place in the 2023 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Championship. Her biggest titles are the 2009 PokerStars Macau Poker Cup and the APT Taiwan 2021 Main Event. ^[1][3][6]

Is Kitty Kuo sponsored?

Yes. She has been a Natural8 ambassador since 2016. ^[1]