The most stony-faced men have been seduced by her looks - and paid dearly for it.

They scrutinise her face. They try to suss out what's behind those eyes. If they fail, she will walk away with their money.

Yes, Ms Liz Lieu's looks can kill - at the poker table.

Her inscrutable face and her skills at reading other players have won her millions, plus celebrity status as one of the world's top aces in the male-dominated professional poker circuit.

But it's not just for the fame, glamour and money.

As Ms Lieu, who also appeared in a cameo role in the 2009 Hong Kong movie Poker Kings, puts it: "I'm in an industry that deals with a lot of money, which can easily blind or change a person, especially during the height of success.

"But there's more to life than making money."

Without being specific, Ms Lieu admits she has "made millions" from poker.

She currently drives a 2011 Mercedes-Benz SL550 and lives in a condo in Las Vegas, in the US, with her two cats, Jace and Tesni.

Ms Lieu also has a home in Los Angeles where her mother lives.

She adds: "I travel so much that I'm rarely at home."

She is as comfortable on a movie set as in a fashion photographer's studio.

Dressed in figure-hugging clothes by Roberto Cavalli, the Poker Diva, as she is better known, adds glamour and glitz to the game. Yet, she prefers devoting her free time to charity work.

Being ranked the world's 19th all-time highest woman earner in poker, and possibly being among the top five Asian female poker players, has inevitably made her a target for other players.

Some men eyeball her for the wrong reasons, making her a "high-value" target at poker tournaments.

Ms Lieu, who was born in Vietnam, tells The New Paper on Sunday in a telephone interview: "You would think that men would take it easy on us (women). But it's the opposite.

"I have encountered male competitors who would purposely go all out to knock me out (of the poker tournament). You will hear them say later, 'Now I can go home and say I have knocked Liz out.'"

But Ms Lieu, who turned pro in 2001, is used to the intimidation. It's part and parcel of the game she learnt to play at age 18 from a friend.

She would later organise poker games for friends and soon graduated to playing at the casinos. Ms Lieu isn't the only woman making waves on the professional poker circuit. (See report on the next page.) Indeed, there are others - a few are Singaporeans - playing on the Asian Poker Tour.

She adds: "In my opinion, if there were an equal number of men and women playing poker, more women would win because we have a greater sense of natural intuition - we tend to read into situations on a deeper level."

Ms Lieu's career highlights include two first-place wins at the World Poker Tour Event in 2006 and 2007.

The largest purses she has won include US$168,000 (S$218,000) in 2005 and US$148,000 in 2007. Yet, there have been times when Lady Luck was uncooperative.

Ms Lieu has suffered losses, not only in poker tournaments but in her personal life.

In 2007, she was playing at a Barcelona tournament when an aunt in Vietnam called with news of her father's death.

Four hours later, she was on a plane to Vietnam.

Says Ms Lieu, who is single: "Losing my father was like losing a big part of myself as he's played a very important role in my life."

She has vowed to fulfil her promise to her father - to be a better person and look after the less fortunate.

The Tibetan Buddhist scripts tattooed on her back are reminders to help her attain generosity, tolerance and wisdom, she says.

And her efforts have been acknowledged.

This year, Ms Lieu received the Poker Maven Awards' humanitarian prize for her charity work and donations to many causes in Vietnam and the US.

It was previously reported that Ms Lieu donates 20 per cent of her tournament earnings to charity. "The smiles you get in return from the people you have helped are priceless," she says.

"People don't realise that it's a two-way street - they (the underprivileged) help bring balance to my life."

But in the hectic world of professional poker, achieving such balance is close to impossible. So she has chosen to stay single for the time being.

Without giving details, she said her lowest point in life was around 2005, when she broke up with her boyfriend.

Typically, there were days when she would fly 18 hours to overseas tournaments and then play 17-hour poker games for the next few days.

After that, she would rush to other tournaments in the US.

She says: "I used to be able to do 72-hour stretches (of playing poker). After that I would just collapse with fatigue."

She has learnt to keep her energy levels up by gorging on fast food at the table.

For those aspiring to enter professional poker tournaments, Ms Lieu has some advice.

Play within your financial limits because, she says, poker is not an easy game - it is part strategy, part luck.

Be disciplined and know when to take a break.

"In poker, there are no guarantees that winnings will last forever," she says. "What's most important is to have passion and enjoy the game."

Like everything in life, there are sacrifices to be made when chasing a dream. To Ms Lieu, that once meant seeing less of her family.

"I wrongfully assumed that happiness meant providing a comfortable life and surroundings for my dad, while in reality, all he wanted was to spend quality time with me and my older sister," says Ms Lieu, who has an older sister.

Will we get to watch her play in Singapore?

"The moment I hear a tiny sound or news that Singapore's organising another poker tournament, I will be on the next flight there," she says.

The last time Ms Lieu played in a poker tournament here was in 2006.

This article was first published in The New Paper.