Get ready to meet another member of Natural8's Team Hot – Kitty Kuo, one of the two female players on the team. Hui Chen Kuo, better known as “Kitty”, has been a valued member of the Natural8 Team Hot crew since 2016. She has had a long and storied career as a poker professional and is considered to be one of Asia’s top female poker players.
Beyond the poker table, Kitty shines with her vibrant personality and captivating social media presence. A dedicated user of Twitter, she delights her fans with entertaining posts, solidifying her position as one of the poker world's most colorful and cherished figures.
Rise To Fame
Kitty’s first recorded tournament cash came all the way back in 2007, playing in an APPT event in Macau. After a couple of years of playing tournaments, she found her breakthrough, when she won the HK $10,000 No Limit Hold’em Main Event at the Pokerstars Macau Poker Cup, taking home over $71,000 USD for her efforts.
That success allowed her to branch out into tournaments overseas, and a year later she won her first WSOP circuit ring when she took down the $340 Ladies Event for over $7,000. Since then, Kitty has made a career playing in some of the biggest tournament series around the world and is regularly in the conversation as one of the top female poker players in the game.
Biggest Accolades
Kitty Kuo's journey in the world of poker has been nothing short of extraordinary, marked by a series of impressive victories that have solidified her as a true poker icon. Beyond her early wins, she continued to add to her already impressive CV with an Asian Poker Tour (APT) victory in the NT $33,000 No Limit Hold’em Main Event at APT Taiwan 2021, securing a well-deserved $26,011 prize. Since then, Kuo's momentum has shown no signs of slowing down, securing over $3,430,609 in total live earnings.
Kitty’s remarkable tenacity has resulted in over 150 cash-ins, with 27 cash-ins just from the prestigious World Series of Poker (WSOP) and 18 from the World Poker Tour (WPT). Not to mention the eight six-figure scores over her long tournament career, with the biggest one in 2023 when she came fourth in the $5,300 No Limit Hold'em - SHRPO Championship (Event #37) and took home $480,763. Prior to 2023, her best live cash happened at the $10,000 No Limit Hold'em - WPT Bobby Baldwin Classic, where she was placed 2nd and rewarded with $248,380 for her effort.
Her consistent performances throughout various poker series over the years have showcased her ability to excel across a range of poker variants and formats, not to mention her deep runs and final table appearances in various WSOP tournaments stand as a testament to her strategic brilliance and nerves of steel in high-pressure situations.
Kitty’s skills and consistent performances have not gone unnoticed. In 2009, she won the Red Dragon Cup and simultaneously claimed the first Asia Player of the Year (APOY) award. A few years later, in 2013, she secured the Global Poker Index Asia Player of the Year and was the runner-up in the Women’s Player of the Year category.
Kitty passionately champions the advancement of diversity and inclusiveness within the game. In fact, she was quoted saying, “I hope that my passion for poker can encourage more women to play poker…”. Her successes have left quite an indelible mark on the global poker scene and indeed inspired many female players worldwide.
At the time of writing, Kitty sits at #4 on Taiwan’s all-time money list and given her talent, we won’t be surprised if she climbs another place or two at some point in the future.
Summary
There aren’t that many female players who have survived at the top level of the game as long as Kitty has; it’s a tough game that’s constantly evolving, so to continue playing at the level she does is a testament to her ability to adapt and learn new strategies. As we reflect on her journey from early victories to becoming a symbol of diversity and empowerment, it's clear that Kitty's legacy is more than a tally of wins—it's a testament to the unwavering spirit that propels champions forward.
If you want to learn the skills you need to stay on top of your game for as long as Kitty has, make sure you check out the strategy articles on the Natural8 blog. We have a team of experts dedicated to helping you improve your game, so give them a read if you want to take your game to the next level.
Image Source: Pokernews.com
