The first three days of the Triton Cash Game Invitational in Jeju demonstrated that nobody is safe in the world of high stakes poker. Some of the most respected professional players on the planet have been left bruised and battered at the hands of so-called “recreational” businessmen, people who play poker for a hobby.
But the overwhelming motif on Day 4 was revenge. In another turbulent session, the second-last of the week, one pro came roaring back. Most specifically, this was Wiktor Malinowski’s time to shine.
The man known as “limitless” from his online exploits in particular had dipped perilously into the red on the first two days. But by the close of play on Day 4, Malinowski was more than $900K ahead. Coupled with a six-figure win yesterday, this huge haul all but wiped out previous deficits. No doubt Malinowski will be angling for a seat in tomorrow’s last session, where he’ll be eyeing a profit for the week.
The three biggest losers tonight were some of those high-rolling businessmen — Andy Ni, Aaron Zang and Elton Tsang — players who can afford to take the hits, but aren’t accustomed to it at the cash game tables. They’ve all been flying high of late. This was also a great session for fan favourite Tan Xuan, who rode his aggressive playing style to a half-million profit.
This was also the night on which Triton debuted its new “Super Squid” game, a variation on the popular stand-up game that makes cash games even more volatile. When players win a pot, they also win one of nine or ten squids — essentially a token that indicates that they have won a pot.
These are worth $2,000 apiece, although if you win several there’s also a multiplier that boosts the income further. The more squids you have, the more you stand to win.
And who’s doing the paying? That would be any people who don’t win a squid during the relevant period, so it’s incumbent on all players to get involved and to try to win those squids. Otherwise it can get very costly. In Brian Rast’s words, it’s “the stand-up game on steroids”.
The Super Squid format certainly drove the action on its debut night. Let’s drill down into some of the finer details.
SQUID CHASE GETS THE ACTION STARTED QUICKLY
On the second deal of the night, the effect of the squid was plain to see. After two limps of the $500 big blind, ST Wang found pocket sevens on the button and raised to $4,000. Rui Cao looked at 
in the big blind and three-bet to $20,000. Wang called.
The flop was 
and Cao fired out $25,000 with his overcards. After Wang called, the 
turn added a flush draw to Cao’s possibilities. He blasted for the full amount: the $154,500 he still had in his stack.
Wang had the best hand but let it go. Cao secured himself a squid, demonstrating the lengths it’s going to be necessary to go to to land one of those dastardly tokens.
NI FINDS XUAN LURKING WITH ACES
Andy Ni lost his first stack in a pot against Aaron Zang where both players had a straight, but Zang’s was bigger. And when Ni found another big hand not long afterwards, another difficult-to-read opponent had an even bigger one again.
Ni laid a trap with a limp from UTG with 
, and Zang fell into it with a raise to $6,000 one seat along with 
. Xuan then saw 
in the hijack and three-bet to $60,000. He obviously knew his hand was better than anybody’s, but Elton Tsang then four-bet to $55,000 from the small blind.
All these players were squid hunting, and Ni knew it. So he followed through with his plan to get in as much as possible. He now five bet to $175,000. Xuan’s dreams had come true, and he was able to slam in the six-bet, putting everything he had into the middle ($236,500). Ni’s call made the pot worth $514,500, but neither of two run outs helped him.
Xuan picked up a huge one, plus another squid.
MALINOWSKI’S GOES SQUID CHASING AND HITS
It’s was the final hand of a round of the Squid Game and Wiktor Malinowski was one of two players who hadn’t yet won one. He would be on the hook to pay off everyone unless he could buy himself a pot at the last. It put Malinowski’s math skills to the ultimate test — was it worth taking a speculative line with and chase the squid? Or should he let it go and suck up the loss? Malinowski found the right answer.
Tan Xuan, already with three squids, started the action in the pot. He limped from UTG+1. He had the , but his other card couldn’t be seen by the card-reading technology. Malinowski looked at those suited connectors and raised to $15,000 from the hijack. Elton Tsang, with 
called on the button, but then Andy Ni found 
in the big blind and ripped it all in for $124,500.
Xuan folded, but Malinowski now figured everything out. A fold would cost him at least another $30K, based on the squid situation around the table, and he worked out that he should jam. He put all his stack over the line, and after Tsang folded, the official pot size hit $265,000 (i.e., double the short stack of Ni).
They decided to run it twice and, on the first, after four board cards that hit neither player, Malinowski still had two live cards and an inside straight draw when the dealer put the river on the table. It was the 
, hitting his higher card, and landing him the squid. (The squid only plays on the first run out.)
On the second, Malinowski flopped an eight to win that one too, felting Ni once more. (He did get some back quickly afterwards when he four-bet and found a customer in Rui Cao’s 
. Ni hit two fives on the board to double and win a $431K pot.)
XUAN SOLVES MALINOWSKI’S MYSTERY AND GETS AWAY
Aaron Zang limped from UTG+1 with 
and Tan Xuan called in the hijack with 
. Wiktor Malinowski’s Mystery Hand was deemed good enough for a raise to $7,000 from the cutoff.
Zang folded, but Xuan now three-bet to $33,000. Malinowski called.
The flop was 
and Xuan bet $25,000. Malinowski called. That took them to the 
turn. Xuan checked and that allowed Malinowski to seize the betting lead. He put $62,000 out there. Xuan called.
The 
completed the board and Xuan checked again. Malinowski fired $120,000 at it this time. Xuan took his time but flicked his cards away, allowing the TV director to reveal Malinowski’s 
. It was a very good fold from Xuan.
MALINOWSKI COOLERS TSANG FOR NEAR HALF MILLION POT
Andy Ni stepped away from the table, nursing an $800K hit. Tom Heung took his seat as the shenanigans continued. Heung played a bit-part in a big pot that brewed between Wiktor Malinowski and Elton Tsang, with another big one going to the Polish player.
ST Wang placed the UTG straddle of $1,000, which Tsang called from one seat to his left. Rui Cao called with 
, Tan Xuan called with 
, Aaron Zang called with 
and when Heung called with 
, this had the makings of a family pot.
Malinowski was having none of that, however, and raised it up to $13,000 from the big blind. Most of the dross got tossed at that point, but Tsang and Heung wanted to see a flop and paid for it. The dealer put the 
on the table.
Heung missed and checked. Malinowski c-bet to $20,000 and Tsang called with his flush draw. The turn gave both players top pair. Malinowski bet $55,000. Tsang called again. Tsang was looking for a flush still, but the river likely gave himself belief that he could win it another way.
However, Malinowski now had a lock on it and he bet $135,000. Tsang made a quick call, even though he maybe didn’t like it quite so much. Malinowski showed his winner and took down a pot of $463,000.
WANG PUTS TSANG TO THE SWORD
Aaron Zang placed the $1K straddle on, but then ST Wang found himself a Mystery Hand and raised to $5,000. Commentator Brian Rast has been excellent this week in guessing the contents of a Mystery Hand, but quickly admitted that the Squid Game made this exercise much harder.
Elton Tsang looked down at 
and raised to $20,000 on the button. The blinds and straddle cleared out of the way, but Wang called with a stack of $1m behind.
After the flop of 
, Wang check-called Tsang’s $20,000 c-bet. The turn was the . Wang and Tsang both checked. The 
river upgraded Tsang’s hand to a better two pair and, after Wang checked once more, Tsang bet $60,000.
There was now a flush draw on the table, and a seven would always have been good. Wang pulled the trigger on a big check raise, making it $250,000 to go. There was no quick call from Tsang this time. He pondered long and hard before letting his hand go, yielding a pot of $392,000 to Wang.
Wang raked in the chips. Tsang would have to wait until he saw it on TV to discover he’d been bluffed. Wang had only 
but had done one on Tsang this time.
HEUNG GOES FOR MAX VALUE, RUNS INTO BETTER
ST Wang was riding something of a roller-coaster during the middle part of the session, losing a $400K+ pot to Tan Xuan when Xuan’s hit a six to beat Wang’s , but then getting plenty back when Tom Heung was felted.
In this second pot, Heung had in the cutoff and raised to $5,000. Wang was in the small blind with and called, with Elton Tsang and Rui Cao giving up the big blind and straddle, respectively.
The flop then smashed Heung when it came . Wang checked his top pair, but Heung bet $5,000 with bottom two. However, Wang swung into the lead after the turn. Wang checked again, but Heung now sized up to $24,000.
Wang just called again, disguising his hand very effectively. The blank river brought another check from Wang and he was rewarded when Heung slammed a massive overbet of $166,500. Wang took a little while before calling, perhaps giving Heung hope that he was good.
But Wang showed his better two pair and the $402,500 pot went in Wang’s direction.
SNEAKY MALINOWSKI LURES IN WANG
It wasn’t the biggest pot of the night, but Wiktor Malinowski played this one sneakily and excellently to keep the rest of the table on their toes.
Malinowski had north of $900K in his stack when he opened to $5,000 from under the gun and found calls from Rui Cao, with in the hijack, and ST Wang, with 
on the button. It was those three to a flop of .
Only Wang had hit so far but Malinowski bet 5,500 with his flush draw and got calls from both opponents. Wang had a pair of fives to go with the jacks on board. The turn was the and Malinowski’s bet of $16,000 now got rid of Cao. But Wang was sticky with bottom pair and paid to see the 
river.
Malinowski now had a flush, but slowed to a check. Perhaps knowing his pair of fives had scant chance of winning at showdown, Wang turned his hand into a bluff and fired out $27,000. But Malinowski now tank-raised to $85,000 and the game was up for Wang.
Malinowski built his stack closer to $1 million, the same total Wang was still sitting with at this stage.
TSANG PUT IN BLENDER BY WANG
Elton Tsang doesn’t like folding too much, but it’s the mark of a quality player when you can walk away from a big hand and lose the minimum. In a late hand against ST Wang, Tsang correctly folded top pair on a flushing, paired board. He was right, but he didn’t like the $366K pot heading to his opponent.
Tsang was in the hijack and raised to $4,000 holding the . The table card readers missed his second hole card. Aaron Zang called on the button with , Wang called in the small blind with and Tan Xuan called from the straddle/UTG with 
.
The flop brought plenty of intrigue. It was 
, giving Wang a flush. Wang and Xuan checked, but Tsang c-bet $4,000. Zang folded, but Wang now check-raised to $20,000, which was enough to lose Xuan. Tsang stuck around with top pair. (We still didn’t know his other card.)
The turn was the and Wang bet $45,000. Tsang called again, taking the pot close to $150,000, and the landed on the river. Wang bet $225,000, but it was Tsang’s $110,000 that was the effective stack. Tsang took a long time as he pondered things, but eventually folded. It was surely the right fold, but he really didn’t seem happy about it.
XUAN BLASTS CAO OFF WINNER
Tan Xuan and Rui Cao had two squids each when they got involved in a pot far bigger than their holdings warranted. They were both merely seeking to land the third, crucial squid that would trigger the multiplier.
Wiktor Malinowski actually had the best hand pre-flop, with pocket sixes, and he raised to $2,500 from UTG+1, only to see Elton Tsang call with 
and Rui Cao raise it up to $12,500 in the cutoff with 
.
Xuan was in the straddle with and he put in a cold four-bet to $65,000. Malinowski binned his pair, Tsang got out the way as well, but Cao called. The dealer showed them the 
flop. Xuan hadn’t hit much but bet $45,000. Cao, with middle pair and a baby flush draw, called.
The turn changed little, but Xuan bet $108,000. Cao’s call took the pot up to $442,000. The river gave Cao a lock on it, even though it was only with that tiny pair to go with the fours on board.
Xuan had ace high but always finds a way. He blasted for everything, $1.1 million, even though his bet was only officially for $382,000, which took him to the maximum $600K cap imposed on all-ins in this game. (This was a rule agreed upon by players ahead of this session.)
Cao did not like it at all, but binned the winning hand as Xuan scooped a huge one. The on-screen graphic measured the pot at $1.6 million, and though the cap made it less than that, this was still massive.
MALINOWSKI GETS WANG TO FOLD ACES
There was just time in the session for Wiktor Malinowki to show more of his skills as he found the Mystery Hand and put ST Wang in a super tough spot with aces. Wang actually started things off by laying a trap with a pre-flop limp from UTG+1, and Malinowski seemed to fall into it with a raise to $5,000 from the button.
Wang three-bet to $30,000 with and Malinowski called in position.
The flop was pretty well connected. It came . Wang check-called Malinowski’s $20,000 bet. The [10c] turn made it even wetter and the pattern repeated. Wang check-called Malinowski’s $38,000 bet.
The river was just about the worst card Wang could see. It was the , putting four to a straight on board. Wang checked again and this time Malinowski bet $120,000. Wang still only had that pair of aces, and eventually thought better of it. He laid his cards down.
Malinowski’s hand was revealed to be pocket fours. The power of position earned him another sizeable pot and yet another squid.
HEUNG DOUBLES IN LATE FLIP
Things had been going incredibly well for ST Wang on Friday until a late flip against Tom Heung cost him half of an $800K+ pot. He didn’t do much wrong. He merely had the misfortune to find when Heung had and Wang lost both flips when they ran it twice.
Pre-flop, Wang limped from the cutoff, prompting Heung to raise to $10,000 from the cutoff. Tan Xuan called from the button with and Elton Tsang called from the big blind with . Wang now three-bet to $75,000.
Heung jammed for $411,000, which got both Tsang and Xuan out of the way. But Wang called and the remaining pair agreed to see two boards.
Although Wang hit a king on the first, Heung also flopped the case nine. That locked up the first run out. The second was blank for everyone, which sent all the chips to Heung and put a dent in Wang’s carefully accumulated stack.
ZANG LOSES A SICK ONE TO CAO
The squidless Rui Cao and Aaron Zang went to battle with Cao open raising 
from the cutoff and Zang three-betting to $20,000 from the button with . The flop was as bad as it could be for Zang. It came 
.
Cao, with an improbable two pair, checked. Zang bet $40,000, but Cao now raised it to $125,000. Zang called. The turn was the , filling Cao’s boat, and he now put his foot on the gas some more. He bet $140,000.
Zang’s top pair now had another to go with it, even though he was actually drawing incredibly thin. Zang announced that he was all-in, a maximum of $600K, and Cao snapped him off.
Needing to hit one of two jacks in the deck to pull this one out the bag, Zang whiffed on both of two rivers. Cao snapped up a $1.2 million pot to wrap up the session.
*****
“It’s just been such a clinical day from Wiktor,” said Brian Rast in the commentary booth. He continued to describe how Malinowski hadn’t had any crazy pots but just kept quietly accumulating through every session. It was indeed a calm and seemingly effortless way to haul himself out of the hole.
It was significantly less comfortable for Andy Ni, Aaron Zang and Elton Tsang, who all finished this one in the red. Tan Xuan, as is his style, took a more turbulent route to his half million profit, with the squid game playing very much to his strengths.
On some instances tonight, the squid seemed to tame the action somewhat, as players started limping more. But with only one day left on this cash game invitational, the stage is set for some fireworks on Saturday night.
DAY 4 PROFIT/LOSS
Wiktor Malinowski: +$915,000
Tan Xuan: +$578,000
Rui Cao: +$268,500
ST Wang: +$135,500
Tom Heung: +$37,000
Elton Tsang: -$321,500
Aaron Zang: -$799,000
Andy Ni: -$823,500