Online poker is a hobby for the vast majority of poker players who enjoy the excitement and rush which is delivered with each turn of the cards. Actually gambling one’s life savings in an online poker game or tournament requires a very special mindset, and is definitely not for everyone. Two players which have made a well-known name for themselves are the Dang brothers Di and Hac. Risking hundreds of thousands, and sometimes even millions of dollars playing online poker is just another ho-hum part of their everyday job.

Having won millions of dollars playing online poker, which they commonly refer to as “the grind,” to say that poker on the World Wide Web has been good to them would be a vast understatement. The brothers have garnered over $15 million in total winnings since 2004. Di is the older of the two brothers at 28, and he said it really isn’t gambling when you approach it like a business. He explained that there are certainly going to be ups and downs, but if you play with a set game plan and don’t stray from it, keep your emotions out of the game in the long run, and keep focused, you have a good chance at winning. He went on to say in a recent interview that he and his brothers are “gamblers like people who invest in the real estate or the stock market.”

Di explained that he and his brothers win 55 to 60 percent of their sessions, but since they play with large amounts of money, that small winning advantage of 5 to 10 percent has added up to some substantial paydays in the past. How did Di and Hac, who is 27, get started playing online poker in the first place? While attending school at the University of Virginia as engineering students, the two Vietnamese-Americans heard their friends talking about online poker, and decided to give it a try. As we all have done, they started with very little money. However, unlike most online poker players, they decided to give it a shot as a full-time business, and the rest is history.

But both brothers were quick to say they were very fortunate with their timing. The economy was doing very well, online poker was relatively new, and there were a lot of “fish” out there for the poker sharks to gobble up. Di said that there were many instances in the beginning where they really “didn’t know what we were doing.” But he said their very strong math background and strategic approach allowed them to play just in their free time, yet still begin to develop a substantial bankroll. Their initial foray into the world of online poker? They opened a $200 account with an online poker room, and quickly lost it. Not sure if they were doing the right thing, they opened a second account with another $200, and in Hac’s words, they “never looked back” after that.

That is definitely putting it mildly. During one Spring Break they decided to spend most of their time playing online poker, and won $40,000 in that short period of time. Both brothers were quick to say that the online play quickly got in the way of their education, and don’t recommend it to anyone who plans on graduating on time. The biggest single day that Di has had playing online poker resulted in $1.1 million in winnings, but he also lost $900,000 on his worst day. How can you avoid these two sharks of the online poker ocean? Di and Hac go by the names “urindanger” and “trex313” respectively, so unless you want to test your skills against two of the best-known and most successful online poker players ever, you’ll want to head to another table if one or both of these millionaire poker playing brothers show up in your game.

Watch for Di and Hac frequenting highly rated online poker rooms such as the ones featured in our Poker Reviews.  Want to learn how to beat these guys?  Visit our poker strategy section to improve your skills and fine tune your game.