Kitty Kuo: Taiwanese Poker Pro, APT Champion and WPT Finalist
POKER HALL OF FAME
Inducted 2014
Kitty Kuo has built one of the most recognizable tournament careers among Taiwanese poker professionals, combining success in Asia with repeated deep runs on the World Poker Tour, World Series of Poker and other major international circuits.
Known professionally as Kitty Kuo and listed by The Hendon Mob as Hui Chen Kuo, she has won major events in Macau and Taiwan, reached multiple WPT final tables and accumulated more than $3.8 million in recorded live tournament earnings. Her career has stretched from the late 2000s into the current tournament era, and she remained active at major events throughout 2026.
As of August 28, 2026, The Hendon Mob lists Kitty Kuo with $3,819,146 in live tournament earnings and a career-best live cash of $480,763.
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Who Is Kitty Kuo?
Kitty Kuo is a Taiwanese professional poker player whose full name is listed by major poker databases as Hui Chen Kuo. The Hendon Mob lists her birthplace as Taipei, Taiwan, and her current residence as Las Vegas, Nevada.
Kuo is primarily known as a no-limit hold'em tournament player. Her résumé includes victories and final tables in Asia, Australia, Europe and the United States, along with substantial results on the World Poker Tour and repeated cashes at the World Series of Poker.
She has also maintained a long-running connection with Asian poker. PokerNews identifies Kuo as a Natural8 ambassador, a role she has held since 2016, while recent Asian Poker Tour coverage continued to identify her as a Natural8 ambassador during major events in Taiwan.
Her major career accomplishments include:
More than $3.8 million in recorded live tournament earnings
2021 APT Taiwan Main Event champion
Runner-up in the 2018 WPT Bobby Baldwin Classic for $248,380
Sixth place in the 2021 WPT Venetian for $192,855
Fourth place in the 2023 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Championship for a career-best $480,763
Sixth place in the 2016 Aussie Millions Main Event
Fourth place in the 2018 Aussie Millions A$25,000 Challenge
Winner of a major Macau Poker Cup event early in her career
2009 PokerStars Macau Asia Player of the Year
Multiple WSOP final-table and deep-run appearances
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Early Career and Macau Breakthrough
Kuo's emergence as an international tournament player dates to the late 2000s.
One of her defining early victories came at the PokerStars Macau Poker Cup, where she won a HK$10,000 event for HK$557,230, approximately $71,899 at the time. That result helped establish her on the Asian tournament circuit.
Kuo was also the 2009 Asia Player of the Year in the PokerStars Macau rankings. Contemporary PokerNews coverage of the award's history lists Hui-chen "Kitty" Kuo as the inaugural winner in 2009.
Her career soon expanded well beyond Asia. By the early 2010s, she was regularly recording results in the United States and Europe and appearing in major tournaments on the WSOP, WPT and European Poker Tour schedules.
In 2012, she finished fourth in the WPT Malta Main Event for $51,409. Two years later, she took third in the 2014 Hollywood Poker Open Championship Main Event for $142,158.
Those results established a pattern that would continue throughout her career: Kuo repeatedly reached the late stages of major-field no-limit hold'em tournaments even when the outright title remained elusive.
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Kitty Kuo's World Poker Tour Record
The World Poker Tour has been one of the most productive major circuits of Kuo's career.
As of August 2026, Kuo's official WPT player profile lists 11 Main Tour cashes, three Main Tour final tables and $714,227 in Main Tour earnings. When WPT Prime, Special Events and WPTDeepStacks results are included, the WPT database lists $757,001 in total winnings.
Kuo has not won a WPT Main Tour title, but she has come close on several occasions.
2018 WPT Bobby Baldwin Classic Runner-Up
Kuo's best WPT finish came at the 2018 WPT Bobby Baldwin Classic at ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.
The $10,000 event attracted 162 entries and produced a final table that included Darren Elias, Joe McKeehen, Dietrich Fast, Sam Panzica and Jonathan Little.
Kuo reached heads-up play against Elias before finishing second for $248,380. Elias won the tournament for his then-record fourth WPT title.
The result was Kuo's largest tournament cash at that stage of her career and remains one of her signature WPT performances.
2021 WPT Venetian Final Table
Kuo reached another major WPT final table in July 2021 at The Venetian in Las Vegas.
The tournament drew 1,199 entries, and Kuo advanced to a six-player final table that was notable for including three women: Kuo, Kyna England and Daniela Rodriguez.
Kuo finished sixth for $192,855. Chad Eveslage eventually won the championship for $910,370.
Her WPT record also includes a fourth-place finish in WPT Malta and numerous additional cashes on the Main Tour.
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2021 APT Taiwan Main Event Championship
Kuo added one of the most significant outright titles of her career in 2021 when she won the Asian Poker Tour Taiwan Main Event.
The tournament attracted 196 entries and generated a NT$2,851,800 prize pool. Kuo defeated Chi Ying Tsai heads-up and collected NT$724,200, approximately $26,000 at the time.
PokerNews' report on Kuo's APT Taiwan victory identified it as her first APT title. She also received the APT Golden Lion Main Event trophy.
The victory carried additional significance because it came in Taiwan, where Kuo began her poker career.
Her connection to the APT continued in later years. At the record-setting 2025 APT Taipei Main Event, Kuo ended Day 3 as chip leader with 7,575,000 chips after the field had been reduced from more than 2,500 entries to 48 players.
Later in 2025, she reached the final table of the Natural8 Cup Championship Freezeout during the APT Championship in Taipei, finishing eighth for TWD 863,300, approximately $27,850.
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Aussie Millions and Other Major Results
Australia has also produced several important results in Kuo's career.
At the 2016 Aussie Millions Main Event, she reached the final table and finished sixth for A$270,000, worth approximately $189,000 at the time.
Two years later, she finished fourth in the 2018 Aussie Millions A$25,000 Challenge. That result paid A$246,240, approximately $198,731.
Those performances came during a period when Kuo was increasingly competing in major international tournaments outside Asia.
Her résumé also includes deep runs on the European Poker Tour, including a sixth-place result in a €10,300 no-limit hold'em event during EPT Barcelona in 2016 for €101,500.
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Kitty Kuo's Largest Live Tournament Cash
Kuo recorded the largest live tournament cash of her career in August 2023.
She finished fourth in the $5,300 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Championship and earned $480,763.
That result surpassed the $248,380 she earned for her runner-up finish in the 2018 WPT Bobby Baldwin Classic and pushed her career live earnings comfortably beyond the $3 million mark.
As of August 28, 2026, The Hendon Mob lists:
$3,819,146 in total live tournament earnings
$480,763 as her largest recorded live cash
More than 190 recorded live tournament results
Sixth place on Taiwan's all-time live tournament money list
Tournament earnings databases are updated as new results are recorded, so those totals can change as Kuo continues competing.
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Kitty Kuo's WSOP Record
Kuo has been a regular World Series of Poker participant for many years, but she has not won a WSOP bracelet.
One of her closest runs came during the 2015 WSOP, when she finished fourth in a $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout bracelet event.
Her WSOP record requires some context because the official database currently divides results between separate Kitty Kuo and Hui Kuo player records.
The official WSOP Kitty Kuo profile displays zero bracelets and one Circuit ring. A separate official Hui Kuo record contains additional WSOP results, including several of her more recent cashes.
Kuo also won the 2010 WSOP Circuit Caesars Palace $340 Ladies No-Limit Hold'em event for $7,357. WSOP's contemporary report stated that the event's champion received a gold-and-diamond pendant instead of the customary Circuit ring. Because of that historical detail and the split player records, individual WSOP aggregate statistics should be read with care.
What is clear is that Kuo remained in pursuit of her first WSOP bracelet through the 2026 season.
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Kitty Kuo's 2026 Results and Current Activity
Kuo remained an active international tournament player in 2026.
Her recorded results included multiple cashes at the 2026 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas:
46th in the $5,000 8-Handed No-Limit Hold'em event for $11,410
105th in the $5,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em event for $10,531
99th in the $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship for $9,985
She also participated in the 2026 WSOP Main Event and continued appearing at tournaments outside the United States.
The combination of current WSOP appearances and international tournament activity confirms that Kuo remained an active professional player as of August 2026 rather than a player whose résumé is limited to earlier career results.
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Playing Style and Poker Reputation
Kuo's tournament record is centered overwhelmingly on no-limit hold'em, from large-field Main Events to six-handed tournaments and higher-buy-in championship events.
Assigning a rigid style such as "tight-aggressive" or "loose-aggressive" would be overly subjective without consistent technical analysis across many events. Tournament reporting does, however, document a willingness to play aggressively in important pots and apply pressure when stack sizes and situations allow it.
A more reliable description is that Kuo is an experienced international tournament specialist. Her career longevity, repeated final tables and ability to produce results across Asia, North America, Europe and Australia demonstrate considerable experience adapting to different fields and tournament structures.
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Kuo's Place in Taiwanese Poker
Kuo's significance extends beyond any single tournament result.
Her 2009 Asia Player of the Year award came during an earlier stage of modern tournament poker's expansion in Macau and the broader Asian market. She later developed a substantial record on major Western tours while continuing to compete in events throughout Asia.
The Global Poker Index also recognized her as Taiwan's national Player of the Year for 2013, and she has remained one of the most visible Taiwanese players on the international tournament circuit.
Her 2021 APT Taiwan Main Event victory connected those two parts of her career: an established international professional returning to win a major tournament in Taiwan.
More than 15 years after her early Macau breakthrough, Kuo was still reaching the money in WSOP events and competing on major Asian tours in 2026.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How much has Kitty Kuo won in live poker tournaments?
As of August 28, 2026, The Hendon Mob lists Kitty Kuo with $3,819,146 in live tournament earnings. That figure can change as additional tournament results are recorded.
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What is Kitty Kuo's biggest poker cash?
Kitty Kuo's largest recorded live cash is $480,763. She earned it by finishing fourth in the 2023 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Championship.
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Has Kitty Kuo won a WSOP bracelet?
No. The official WSOP database lists Kitty Kuo with zero WSOP bracelets as of August 2026. She has reached deep stages of bracelet events, including a fourth-place finish in a 2015 $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout.
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Does Kitty Kuo have a WSOP Circuit ring?
The current WSOP Kitty Kuo player page displays one Circuit ring. However, WSOP's report from her 2010 Caesars Palace Ladies Championship victory states that the event awarded a gold-and-diamond pendant instead of the customary ring, and her WSOP results are split across multiple player records.
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Has Kitty Kuo won a WPT title?
No. The World Poker Tour lists Kitty Kuo with zero Main Tour wins. Her best WPT result is a runner-up finish in the 2018 WPT Bobby Baldwin Classic, worth $248,380.
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What major tournament has Kitty Kuo won?
One of Kitty Kuo's most significant titles is the 2021 APT Taiwan Main Event. She defeated a 196-entry field and won NT$724,200 along with the APT Golden Lion Main Event trophy.
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Is Kitty Kuo still playing poker?
Yes. Kuo remained active on the international tournament circuit in 2026. Her results included three cashes at the 2026 World Series of Poker, and she continued appearing in major tournaments in both the United States and Asia.