Poker Tournaments in Vietnam

Poker tournaments in Vietnam: what is on offer

Live tournament poker in Vietnam centers on the Asian Poker Tour (APT), which runs multi-day festivals in the country several times a year, sponsored by Natural8⁴. A typical festival is not one tournament but a full series: the APT Da Nang 2022 festival ran 35 events over 12 days¹, while the APT Summer Series Hanoi 2023 packed 48 events into ten days². Alongside the headline Main Event you will find smaller buy-in tournaments, pot-limit Omaha and No Limit Hold'em variations, mixed games, and daily High Roller events for bigger budgets⁶.

The schedule is built around the Player of the Series (POS) race, with each event tagged to a category (A through E) that counts toward that overall points competition¹. APT Tournament Rules apply across the board, and the published schedule may be updated without prior notice, so check the official series page before you travel¹.

Beyond the tour festivals, poker clubs exist in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and provinces across the country, each running their own tournament play⁷. Entry costs at club-level events range from a few hundred thousand dong to a few tens of millions of dong, so there is a level for almost any bankroll⁷. For the wider picture of cash games and where poker fits into Vietnamese gambling generally, see our page on poker in Vietnam.

Poker's legal status: an intellectual sport

Vietnam treats poker differently from casino gambling. The government position is that poker is licensed to operate only in tournament format, with the stated aim of giving players in Vietnam a useful and structured arena for the game⁷. A tournament (known locally as a "danh giai") is considered legal when it is organized under the sports authority's tournament framework and the association's rules: players pay an entry fee (the buy-in), which covers organizing costs and prizes, and personal income tax and corporate income tax are fully paid on the arrangement⁷.

The practical takeaway is that licensed tournament play at recognized festivals is a normal, open activity, while unlicensed cash games are not. The line matters: in 2023 the APT itself canceled a Vietnam Poker Series mid-series amid concerns over legality⁸, and police in Ho Chi Minh City have busted unlicensed poker rings, one of which drew 10 to 20 players per session⁹. Stick to the published tour festivals and licensed club events and you are playing in the format the country recognizes.

APT festivals in Vietnam: where and when they run

APT has returned to Vietnam again and again since 2022, rotating between Hanoi, Da Nang and Phu Quoc. Here is the recent festival calendar:

The Hanoi festivals have used the VSOP Club on the 6th floor of the Viettower Building at No 1 Thai Ha Street, Dong Da district¹⁰. The Phu Quoc festival played out in the Sapphire Conference Room at Corona Resort & Casino, the same resort that houses the Corona Casino Phu Quoc¹². The Hanoi Billions event in December 2023 moved to a bigger stage, the National Convention Center in Hanoi⁵.

Every player, local or visiting, must register with the Asian Poker Tour before playing in any APT event, which you can do at the venue². If you are planning a trip around a festival, the casinos in Vietnam page covers the resorts that host them.

Main Event guarantees: from VND 1 billion to VND 25 billion

The Main Event is the centerpiece of each festival, and the guarantees have grown fast. APT Da Nang 2022 advertised a VND 1 billion guarantee¹. A year later the Hanoi and Phu Quoc festivals of 2023 both carried VND 10 billion guarantees¹⁰, the Summer Series Hanoi 2023 pushed it to VND 12 billion², and APT Phu Quoc 2024 topped the list at VND 25 billion¹¹.

Guarantees are floors, not ceilings, and the actual prize pools have regularly blown past them:

• APT Summer Series Hanoi 2023: VND 17,752,455,000 (about $759,340) prize pool from a VND 12 billion guarantee¹³
• APT Phu Quoc 2023: ₫14,753,700,000 (about $619,655) from 507 entries¹²
• APT Hanoi Billions 2023: VND 73,855,800,000 (about $3,033,430), a 195 percent increase on its VND 25 billion guarantee⁵

Winners' shares have scaled up with the pools. The APT Hanoi Billions 2023 Main Event, played December 4 to 9, built a prize pool of VND 73,855,800,000 (about $3,033,430) and paid a top prize of VND 11,831,710,000 (about $485,880)¹³. That event ran as a 195 percent increase on the VND 25 billion (about $1 million) guarantee, the same figure carried by the APT Phu Quoc, Vietnam 2024 Main Event¹⁴.

The Main Event is not the only big game in town. The Da Nang 2023 festival ran a Mini Main Event with a VND 1.5 billion (about $63,000) guarantee and a High Roller whose VND 5 billion (about $210,000) guarantee was more than doubled by entries¹⁴.

APT Hanoi Billions Main Event: the tour's biggest field

The APT Hanoi Billions in December 2023 was the largest and richest poker tournament in the tour's 17-year history⁵. Played December 4 to 9 at the National Convention Center in Hanoi, the VND 36 million Main Event drew an astounding 2,350 entries from 1,315 unique players, setting a new record for the biggest-ever field for any Main Event in Vietnam⁵.

The prize pool reached VND 73,855,800,000 (about $3,033,430), with a top prize of VND 11,831,710,000 (about $485,880)⁵. Day 2 chip leader was Vietnam's Quang Hieu Nguyen with 939,000 chips, with China's Yadi Yao second on 887,000⁵. Day 3 action got underway at 11am local time on Friday, December 8⁵.

That field size tells you what a Vietnam Main Event feels like: large, heavily re-entered, and full of local players alongside travelers from across Asia. If you play one, expect long Day 1 flights and a wide spread of stack sizes going into the money.

Buy-ins, staff charge and the 10% tax on prizes

All buy-ins and fees at APT Vietnam festivals are in Vietnam dong (VND), so plan to have local currency¹. The headline numbers:

• Main Event buy-ins: VND 35,000,000 (about $1,505) at the Summer Series Da Nang⁴, ₫30,000,000 plus ₫3,000,000 entry fee at APT Phu Quoc 2023¹², and VND 36 million at Hanoi Billions⁵
• Club-level events: from a few hundred thousand dong to a few tens of millions⁷

On top of the buy-in, a 3% staff charge applies to all tournaments and satellites at the festivals¹. Payouts are rounded, with all events paid to the nearest 10,000¹.

Prizes carry a government tax of 10%, applied only to net winnings above VND 10 million after deducting your total buy-ins¹. The festival's own worked example shows how it works: a gross cash prize of VND 20,000,000 with a VND 1,000,000 buy-in leaves VND 19,000,000 net; the 10% tax applies only to the VND 9,000,000 that exceeds the VND 10 million threshold¹. Players can request a receipt for the 10% tax¹¹.

Players can ask for paperwork on the tax side: at APT Phu Quoc, Vietnam 2024, players could request a receipt for the 10% tax deducted from prizes¹⁵. Our page on tax on gambling winnings in Vietnam covers the detail.

Satellites on Natural8: how to win a Main Event seat

You do not have to pay the full VND 35 million to get into a Main Event. Natural8, the APT's sponsor, runs online satellite series for the Vietnam festivals with 25 guaranteed Main Event Day 1 seats worth more than $35,000 in total⁴. The Sunday Mega satellites leading into the Da Nang festival included a $200 buy-in event with 10 seats and $15,050 guaranteed, and a $30 buy-in event with 5 seats and $7,525 guaranteed⁶. If those numbers are still steep, step satellites start from only $3⁴.

Winning a seat sets off a simple claim process. The Natural8 team reaches out to you by email with details and instructions; once you confirm your attendance, you just go to the APT registration counter at the venue⁴. If you cannot attend the live event after winning, you receive $1,354.50 (the $1,505 seat value minus the service fee) as Natural8 points⁶.

If you win more than one Main Event Day 1 seat, you keep one and the extras are converted into Natural8 credit minus rake: for the Da Nang festival, each additional seat paid T$1,354.50 ($1,505 minus rake) in credits as soon as you won it⁴. The same conversion rule applies to Natural8's satellite programs for other APT stops¹⁶. One caveat from the operator itself: satellite guarantees are subject to change, and amounts listed on the website may not be current, so check the tournament lobby in the Natural8 app for the latest numbers⁴. For more on the operator, see our Natural8 review, and for the online side of the game generally, online poker in Vietnam.

Who can play: age and entry rules

APT festivals in Vietnam set a minimum age of 18¹, which matches the age Natural8 applies to its Vietnam-facing play¹⁷. This is worth noting because it is lower than the casino floor rules: at licensed casinos, foreigners may enter at 18 while Vietnamese citizens must be 21¹⁸. Since APT festivals are tournaments rather than casino floor gambling, the 18 threshold is the one that matters for the poker room.

Eligibility at licensed gaming venues in Vietnam extends to foreigners and overseas Vietnamese who legally enter the country with passports or international travel documents and valid visas, provided they have full civil act capacity under Vietnamese law and accept the game rules¹⁹. Vietnamese nationals joining casino-based events should also note the separate casino entry conditions, including the age and financial-capacity requirements, which our gambling in Vietnam as a visitor page explains.

Practical tips for playing a tournament in Vietnam

A few things make your first APT festival go smoothly:

• Register early. All players must register with the Asian Poker Tour to participate in any APT event, and first-timers may be asked to give or confirm their details and sign a Player Release Form, with staff on hand to help².
• Bring your documents. Players are expected to carry papers proving they are eligible to play, and to follow the game rules and house rules of the venue²⁰.
• Expect VND. Buy-ins, fees and payouts all run in Vietnam dong, paid to the nearest 10,000¹.
• Know your payout rights. The operator must confirm and pay winnings in full, and foreign players and overseas Vietnamese with valid passports may receive prize money and transfer or carry it abroad in foreign currency under Vietnam's foreign exchange rules²⁰.
• No side betting. Using the results of games at the venue to bet directly with other players is prohibited, so keep any action to the registered tournaments²⁰.
• Watch the schedule. Festival schedules can be updated without prior notice, and organizers reserve the right to cancel guarantees due to force majeure such as earthquakes, flooding or typhoons, which are real possibilities in Vietnamese summer weather¹.

For moving money in and out of the country for a poker trip, see gambling payments in Vietnam, and for the resorts that host the Phu Quoc and Da Nang festivals, our new casino resorts in Vietnam page has the detail.