Triton Poker, Author at Triton Poker

Brilliant Bonomo adds Triton short-deck title to collection

The most talented poker players in the world came to Jeju, South Korea, this week for the opening event of the 2019 season of the Triton Poker High Roller Series — and one of the very best has just walked away with the first trophy.

No one has been able to get close to Justin Bonomo over the past 18 months, and there’s no sign of the 33-year-old American’s heater cooling one bit. He was the last man standing in Event #1, a Short-Deck Ante-Only tournament with a buy-in of HK$250,000. There were 65 entries, including 28 re-entries, and Bonomo beat everyone to the HK$4.6 million (US$586,000) first prize. The total prize pool was HK$15.275 million (US$1.95 million).

It is Bonomo’s second title of 2019, following a 2018 during which he won more than $25 million and took over at the top of poker’s all-time money list. But it also represents his first ever cash in a short-deck tournament and demonstrates a peerless all-round mastery of the game.

“I’m super happy to have won this obviously,” Bonomo said. “A lot of people at the table had a lot of experience of short deck. For me, a lot of the spots were new and I had to figure them out as I went along. Some decisions I just ended up guessing.”

He added: “It’s a lot of fun learning. I really like the dynamic puzzle aspect, just solving things on the fly. It’s stressful though. People are watching on the stream at home. My friends are watching. I just don’t want to make a huge mistake.”

Bonomo’s final opponent was Malaysia’s Yeu Wei Hsiang, who took HK$3.3 million for third.

FINAL DAY BLOW-BY-BLOW

Action paused last night with 15 players left, but there was no point in hanging around. Only seven places paid, and everyone started looking for a place at the final. But all of Peter Jetten, Chan Leong, Robert Flink, Daniel Dvoress, Mikita Badziakouski, Luc Greenwood and Paul Phua hit the rail, before troubling the cashier, with the latter’s elimination, at the hands of David Benefield, taking us into the money.

Mikita Badziakouski fell short of the money

Paul Phua‘s elimination bursts the bubble

These pre-money stages cannot be dismissed as irrelevant, however, because two players in particular started decisive charges up the leader board. Bonomo’s aces held up in a major confrontation against Badziakouski, and then Hsiang won the biggest pot of the tournament to that point when he sent both Flink and Leong to the rail at the same time. His turned a straight, which destroyed Flink’s top set and Leong’s pair. Hsiang was also then responsible for eliminating Dvoress.

John Juanda’s knockout in eighth, which earned him HK$610,000, took them to the final table of seven. And that’s when the result of Hsiang and Bonomo’s surge was made most notable. Here’s how they stacked for the final:

Yeu Wei Hsiang (Malaysia): 6,970,000
Justin Bonomo (USA): 4,230,000
Sergey Lebedev (Russia): 2,280,000
Tong Siow Choon (Malaysia): 1,875,000
Chua Ying Lin (Malaysia): 1,425,000
Ben Lamb (USA): 1,405,000
David Benefield (USA): 1,110,000

Final table players (l-r): Justin Bonomo, Yeu Wei Hsiang, Tong Siow Choon, David Benefield, Chua Ying Lin, Ben Lamb, Sergey Lebedev.

Hsiang started the final in characteristic fashion, and knocked out Ben Lamb within the first 15 minutes. Lamb’s was a strong hand in short-deck, but Hsiang’s stayed stronger. Lamb had previously found a decent fold to dodge Tong Siow Choon’s royal flush, but there was no evading the bullets. Lamb took HK$780,000, which is the best part of US$100,000.

The geographical complexion of the final table was stark, with three Malaysians battling three Americans, and Russia’s Sergey Lebedev stuck in the middle. The general equilibrium was maintained when Chua Ying Lin became the next player to be knocked out, losing in a classic hold’em match-up: against Hsiang’s . There was nothing for the over-cards, which sent Lin out in sixth for HK$975,000 (US $126,000).

Although eliminations dried up for a period when the tournament was five handed, the quality of poker got even better. One hand in particular was terrific: Hsiang made a huge bluff shove on a board of with in his hand, and managed to get Lebedev to fold . Lebedev had bet a third of the pot with his bottom full house, but with a flush, quads and a better full house still possible (all of which would beat Lebedev’s hand) Hsiang had read the situation brilliantly. Lebedev folded, and said: “Big bluff…Or big hand.”

It was so, so good because Lebedev had taken over the chip lead by that point, so Hsiang was putting enormous amounts of tournament equity on the line. But it worked, and put him back in the lead.

Excellent bluff from the inscrutable Yeu Wei Hsiang

Though they played five handed for close to two hours, the longest period of the tournament without an elimination, the dam finally broke when the overnight chip leader Choon got his short stack in with and Bonomo was going nowhere with his .

There was nothing on the runout for Choon, so he became the fifth-placed finisher and earned the first seven-figure payout. His HK$1.25 million is around US$160,000 and nearly the biggest payday of his career. “I’m happy, I’m satisfied with this place,” Choon said. “Everyone is difficult,” he said, referring to the rest of the field.

All the way to fifth for Tong Siox Choon

Part of the fun of short-deck hold’em is the way that hand values change so dramatically, at all stages through flop, turn and river. That makes for a more volatile game, and some pretty brutal beats, including the one that accounted for Benefield in fourth place here today. Benefield flopped bottom set with his , and was up against “only” top pair as Hsiang had on a board. But then the turn and river went and , with betting on both streets, to put Hsiang into the lead.

Benefield couldn’t get away and was left with 17 antes. He rallied a little, but it was only a temporary respite, and his shove with was picked off by Bonomo’s . Benefield took HK$1.62 million (US$210,000) for fourth, and said: “Great result. First Triton I’ve played, I’ve played two live tournaments in the past year and a half, so I feel pretty good about it.”

Our perfect geographical balance remained three handed, with one American up against one Malaysian and Lebedev in the middle. But it was soon time to dispense with the middle-man. Lebedev got his stack of more than 4 million in with but Bonomo called and hit with . He got HK$2.14 million (US$278,000 approx.) for third.

Bonomo therefore entered heads up play with a two-to-one chip advantage and, despite playing in only his fourth ever short-deck event, does not relinquish leads like that.

Bonomo and Hsiang prepare for heads up play

Hsiang should take comfort in the fact that he ends today in highly esteemed company. All of Fedor Holz, Daniel Negreanu and Patrik Antonius have finished runner up to Bonomo over the past 12 months, and Hsiang became the most recent. It was only a short heads-up battle, with Bonomo’s out-drawing Hsiang’s .

“The Justin Bonomo train keeps on rolling,” said Lex Veldhuis in the commentary booth.

When you’ve got it, you’ve got it. And Bonomo has it in spades.

“It’s a fantastic start,” the new champion said. “My plan for short deck this week was to play the smallest buy-in and see how I’d feel to see if I’ll play the higher buy ins. I couldn’t be happier right now.”

Triton Jeju Event #1: Short-Deck Ante-Only
Buy-in: HK$250,000
Entries: 65 (inc. 28 re-entries)
Prize pool: HK$15.275 million
1 – Justin Bonomo, USA, HK$4,600,000
2 – Yeu Wei Hsiang, Malaysia, HK$3,300,000
3 – Sergey Lebedev, Russia, HK$2,140,000
4 – David Benefield, USA, HK$1,620,000
5 – Tong Siox Choon, Malaysia, HK$1,250,000
6 – Ying Lin Chua, Malaysia, HK$975,000
7 – Ben Lamb, USA, HK$780,000
8 – John Juanda, Indonesia, HK$610,000

SHORT DECK BECOMES THE WORLD’S GAME

It’s the second day of eight at the Triton Series Jeju and already we’re entering the phase of this festival where you don’t know where to look. On the feature table stages, Event #1 is playing from three tables, down to one and then crowning a champion. Then in surrounding tournament room, Event #2 is getting under way, with another shimmering galaxy of stars taking their seats.

The best view of the feature table action is of course to be had via the live stream. But we’ll be keeping an eye on the outer tables too, and welcoming what seems likely to be a bigger field even than the opening event. That’s largely because the buy-in for this second tournament is double that of the first: they’re stumping up HK$500,000 (US$64,000 approx.) to play.

Once more, they’re playing short deck, which means it’s another day at school for almost all the players, dealers and reporters. We’re all still getting used to the new strategies of short deck play, and it’s a fascinating process.

READ A SHORT-DECK HOLD’EM EXPLAINER

Yesterday, Triton co-founder Richard Yong told us about his passion for short-deck, and his particular pride at introducing the game to the world. Yong suggested there had been only about 10 short deck tournaments ever played, but he’ll probably be delighted to learn that he’s wrong about that. It is catching on more quickly than Yong possibly realises.

I searched The Hendon Mob database for short-deck tournaments, and found that the go-to poker tournament results site now has a dedicated money list for short-deck events . There’s no surprise to see Jason Koon at the top — he has four in-the-money finishes in short-deck tournaments, including his spectacular US$3.5 million win at Triton Montenegro — but it’s much more interesting to look further down the list.

In total so far, 184 players have cashed in short-deck events, with a player named Pam Hawton currently 184th. Hawton, from Brisbane, Australia, has two recorded cashes to her name, the second of which came in October last year at Southport Sharks Casino, Southport, Australia. Whoever runs the poker room there spread a short-deck event that cost AU$35 to enter. That’s about US$25, or approximately 2,560 times smaller than the buy-in for today’s Triton short-deck event. There were 71 entries and 16 re-entries, but it’s indicative of a clear trend that this game is being played at all levels of the poker pyramid.

Similarly, there have been short-deck events at Dusk Till Dawn in Nottingham, Great Britain (that one cost £50 to enter, or about US$66), and also at the Amateur Poker Association (APAT) event in Newcastle, where the buy-in was £33 (or US$43). Perhaps most excitingly is the fact that short-deck has also made its debut on the Brazil Series of Poker (BSOP), specifically at an event in Sao Paulo in December.

Brazil is in the grip of what seems to be a never-ending poker boom, and 197 players duly paid the 1,150 Brazilian Real (USD$300) to play the event. That clearly demonstrates an appetite for short-deck in Latin America’s poker hot-bed too, which can only mean great things for the world game.

Although some commentators in the west are still yet to be convinced whether short deck is here to stay or is a passing fad, the evidence at present points to the former. The game that began among the super high rollers of Asia has spread all the way from top to bottom in the poker pyramid, and that is very encouraging indeed.

CHOON SHOWS HIS SHORT-DECK CHOPS AS TRITON 2019 KICKS OFF

The 2019 season of the Triton Poker High Roller Series is now well under way, with the first day of the first event in the books.
After 11 40-minute levels in Event #1 — the HK$250K buy-in short-deck ante only — at the Landing Casino of the luxurious Jeju Shinhwa Resort, we have 15 players left from a starting field of 65 entries.
They’re all hunting the first title of the week, worth HK$4.6 million (US$586,000 approx).

Malaysia’s Tong Siow Choon, who came to Jeju specifically to play the short-deck events, is leading the field. He lost his first stack early on, but rebuilt after re-entering and won two enormous pots to vault him into contention. In the first, his aces beat pocket kings, and he was then on the right side of a three-way confrontation when his pocket kings held up against two opponents.

“It was a good day, yeah,” Choon said. “I got the cards.”
This is only Choon’s second or third appearance on the Triton Series, but he is already showing his skills against some of the world’s best in what he described as his favourite game. Short-deck is becoming increasingly popular in the global game, and has proved particularly successful on the Triton series.

Today’s field included poker superstars Justin Bonomo, Stephen Chidwick, Bryn Kenney, John Juanda, David Peters, Mikita Badziakouski and Isaac Haxton, among others, as well as Triton co-founder Richard Yong and Triton Ambassador Jason Koon.

Of those, only Badziakouski, Bonomo and Juanda remain, and none is sitting with a top-five stack. Three Malaysians — Choon, as well as Wei Hsiang Yeu and Wai Leong Chan — sandwich two former World Series of Poker final tablists, Ben Lam and David Benefield, at the top of the counts.
The winner, crowned tomorrow, will take HK$4.6 million (approximately US$586,000). The full prize schedule, chip counts and day two seat draw is below. Play resumes at 2pm Sunday.

PAYOUTS
Triton Jeju Event #1: Short-Deck Ante-Only
Buy-in: HK$250,000
Entries: 65 (inc. 28 re-entries)
Prize pool: HK$15.275 million
1 – HK$4,600,000
2 – HK$3,300,000
3 – HK$2,140,000
4 – HK$1,620,000
5 – HK$1,250,000
6 – HK$975,000
7 – HK$780,000
8 – HK$610,000

FULL CHIPS COUNTS

Pos	Name	Country	Chips
1	Tong Siow Choon	Malaysia	2,925,000
2	Wei Hsiang Yeu	Malaysia	2,890,000
3	Benjamin Lamb	United States	2,675,000
4	David Benefield	United States	1,240,000
5	Wai Leong Chan	Malaysia	1,240,000
6	Mikita Badziakouski	Belarus	1,215,000
7	Ying Lin Chua	Malaysia	1,155,000
8	Sergey Lebedev	Russia	1,055,000
9	Paul Phua	Malaysia	1,015,000
10	Robert Flink	Sweden	920,000
11	Johnson Juanda	Indonesia	895,000
12	Daniel Dvoress	Canada	890,000
13	Justin Bonomo	United States	575,000
14	Peter Jetten	Canada	370,000
15	Lucas Greenwood	Canada	345,000

DAY 2 SEAT DRAW

TABLE/SEAT	NAME	COUNTRY	CHIPS
1-2	Wei Hsiang Yeu	Malaysia	2,890,000
1-3	Sergey Lebedev	Russia	1,055,000
1-4	Wai Leong Chan	Malaysia	1,240,000
1-5	Jochanan Robert Flink	Sweden	920,000
1-6	Peter Jetten	Canada	370,000
2-1	Mikita Badziakouski	Belarus	1,215,000
2-3	Johnson Juanda	Indonesia	895,000
2-4	Benjamin Lamb	United States	2,675,000
2-5	Justin Bonomo	United States	575,000
2-6	Wei Seng Paul Phua	Malaysia	1,015,000
3-1	Ying Lin Chua	Malaysia	1,155,000
3-2	David Benefield	United States	1,240,000
3-3	Tong Siow Choon	Malaysia	2,925,000
3-5	Lucas James Greenwood	Canada	345,000
3-6	Daniel Dvoress	Canada	890,000

SHORT DECK DRAWS THE CROWDS TO JEJU

Registration is closed on the first event of the 2019 Triton Poker Series, and we’ve started as we surely mean to go on. Despite numerous poker players still jetting toward South Korea from all corners of the globe, those who have already made it to the Landing Casino at the Jeju Shinhwa World Resort have built a prize pool of HK$15.275 million.

That would be extraordinary on most normal poker tours, but it’s only to be expected among these high rollers. The buy-in for this curtain-raiser — a Short-Deck Ante-Only event — is HK$250,000 (US $30,000 approx), and there were 65 entries, including 28 re-entries. It means that the first champion of the festival, crowned tomorrow, will be taking HK$4.6 million (US$586,000 approx). Eight players will be paid.

Tournament organisers knew before any card was dealt that the strength of the field would be exceptionally high, and when the early arrivals included Justin Bonomo, Isaac Haxton, Stephen Chidwick, Jason Koon, David Peters and Sam and Luc Greenwood, the rest of the audience quickly twigged as well.

Stephen Chidwick among world’s best in Jeju

They were latterly joined by Mikita Badziakouski, Bryn Kenney and Daniel Cates, with Triton co-founder Richard Yong pulling up a chair to lead the glittering collection of local talent. Paul Phua, Ivan Leow and Wai Kin Yong, were all also among those firing bullets. Each player was allowed a maximum of three and seven took them all.

Here’s the full payout schedule for the tournament, with the complete player list below.

Triton Jeju Event #1: Short-Deck Ante-Only
Buy-in: HK$250,000
Entries: 65 (inc. 28 re-entries)
Prize pool: HK$15.275 million

1 – HK$4,600,000
2 – HK$3,300,000
3 – HK$2,140,000
4 – HK$1,620,000
5 – HK$1,250,000
6 – HK$975,000
7 – HK$780,000
8 – HK$610,000

Full player list

Name	Country	Entries
Mikita Badziakouski	Belarus	2
David Benefield	United States	1
Justin Bonomo	United States	2
Rui Cao	France	1
Daniel Cates	United States	3
Wai Leong Chan	Malaysia	3
Stephen Chidwick	England	2
Wei Lim Chin	Malaysia	2
Hing Yaung Chow	Malaysia	2
Ying Lin Chua	Malaysia	1
Seth Davies	United States	2
Daniel Dvoress	Canada	1
Robert Flink	Sweden	1
Lucas Greenwood	Canada	1
Samuel Greenwood	Canada	1
Isaac Haxton	United States	2
Peter Jetten	Canada	1
John Juanda	Indonesia	1
Benjamin Lamb	United States	2
Ivan Leow	Malaysia	2
Gabe Patgorski	United States	3
Paul Phua	Malaysia	2
Furkurt Rakhimov	Russia	1
Gilbert Romain	France	1
Michael Watson	Canada	2
Richard Yong	Malaysia	2
Tong Siow Choon	Malaysia	2
Jason Koon	United States	1
Sergey Lebedev	Russia	3
Xian Ong	Singapore	2
Wei Hsiang Yeu	Malaysia	3
Bryn Kenney	USA	3
Wai Kin Yong	Malaysia	3
Beh Kok Weng	Malaysia	1
Cheok Ieng Cheong	Macau	1
David Peters	USA	1
Lin Ern Chio	Singapore	1

RICHARD YONG: POKER PLAYER AND TOURNAMENT HOST ON HIS PASSION FOR THE GAME

If you’re among the most successful businessmen in Asia, you’ve probably seen a few things that the average Joe could only dream of. But for Richard Yong, a businessman turned philanthropist and poker fanatic, it’s this card game that still holds the strongest fascination.

Yong wandered into the tournament room at the Landing Casino at around 3pm today, one hour before the scheduled start time of the HL$250,000 Short Deck Ante Only tournament that kicks off a week of action at Triton Poker High Roller Series. He mingled with his friends for a while, and then spent the next three or four hours circling the tables as the action got under way. When there was an all-in, he scurried over to look, and he was also holding an iPad on which he was either playing or railing another poker tournament or two.

Those are the actions of someone who simply loves poker. If you didn’t know better, you might expect him to stop one of the assembled superstars and ask for a selfie. But we do know better. We know this: Yong is actually the co-founder of Triton Poker. He is the reason that all these superstars are here.

Three years ago, he noticed a gap in the market for a series comprising only fast-structured, high stakes tournaments and established Triton to plug it. Not only that, he wanted his company to send all its profits to charitable concerns rather than to the bank accounts of shareholders or executives. And that’s exactly why most of the friends he was mingling with at the start of the day are also the best poker players in the world. They like it too.
“The response we have from our players is good,” Yong said earlier today as he explained the Triton philosophy and described his journey from the boardroom to poker player to the founder of a tournament series.

“My passion came in 2006, in Macau,” he said. “I knew Chinese poker, not Texas hold’em, but I started to learn. I lost a lot of money the first time I played. But I played a lot of cash games, in Macau, for maybe half a year, then there was a tournament with Tom Dwan, [Phil] Ivey, John Juanda. They came in to play the tournament, and I got to know them. Then I started to play tournaments too.”

From the word go, Yong was embedded in the VIP circles in the Asian gaming world, and knew the demands of the players. Typically the preference was for higher stakes and shorter playing sessions than is common on most other tournament circuits, and so Yong set up Triton to cater specifically for that market.

“Maybe we don’t have enough experience to run the big tournaments,” Yong said. “But we like the small tournaments. If there were a few thousand people, we do not have enough experience. We hope Triton in the future, maybe, we can do that, like the WSOP, the EPT, with the smaller buy in. But now we’re not experienced enough. But we’ll try to plan.”

The stakes and conditions also suit another type of player, of course: poker’s elite. Only the very best in the world can afford to enter events with such high buy-ins, and that means the VIPs know they’ll be up against some of the most world’s most decorated players every time they sit down. But that also has its benefits.

“I have learned how to play poker,” Yong said. “I have learned a lot from all the good players. All Triton players are star players and they teach me. I’ll ask: ‘How did that happen? Why did you play like that?’ Then they will teach us.”

This particular power dynamic is also behind the appetite for the short-deck variant, which has become incredibly popular in a short period of time. “In short deck, everybody has a chance,” Yong said, adding that he hopes short deck will eventually take over for Triton main events too. “I know all the Chinese people like to play short deck. In a full deck tournament, all the stars will be the very hot favourite. Maybe they still are the best, but short deck makes it closer.”

For all his protestations to the contrary, Yong has proven himself to be a highly accomplished player himself, even in full deck hold’em. Last June, he won a 35-entry HK$250,000 six-max event at Triton Montenegro, holding off Steve O’Dwyer and Ike Haxton to take the spoils. He also has a third place and a second place Triton main events in both Montenegro and Jeju last season, plus another runner-up finish at the Aussie Millions $100,000 event in 2015. Watching is one thing, but Yong is just like every other poker player and eventually pulls up a chair.

“I like to play tournaments, I like to play with all the star players,” he said. “When I beat them, I am very happy.”

ACTION UNDER WAY AT TRITON JEJU

The 2019 Triton Super High Roller Series is now officially under way after tournament officials set the ball rolling on the first of six events playing out at the Landing Casino, Jeju, South Korea, this week. We are in the salubrious Jeju Shinhwa World resort — an extraordinary complex of hotels, restaurants, shops and attractions.

A field comprising the best players in the world has already assembled for Event #1, a HK$250,000 ($32,000 approx) Short-Deck Ante-Only tournament. It will play out over the coming two days and will offer the first hefty prize-pool of what will inevitably be a exceptional week.

This first event sets the tone for an eight-day schedule, culminating in the HK$2 million (US $250,000 approx.) main event, which runs Thursday through Saturday. While three of six events, including the main event, are traditional no-limit hold’em tournaments, the other three are Short Deck, which is played with all the cards from five down removed. That leaves 36 cards instead of the more normal 52 and means a shifting in hand rankings and a fairly significant strategy rethink for players.

READ A SHORT-DECK HOLD’EM EXPLAINER

That, however, is part of the Triton Series’ unique appeal: in exchange for the highest regular buy-ins in world poker, and a line-up of players on a break from the boardrooms of the major business capitals of the region, you have to play the game that the businessmen want. Short Deck means more big hands and a higher volatility, which suits the thirst for action among many of the recreational players.

Naturally, the established professionals are still going to fancy their chances in this environment, and when you look at the line up of superstars here in Jeju, they have every right to back themselves. This is without question one of the densest concentrations of poker talent ever assembled, with almost all of poker’s elite either already on the ground or confirmed incoming.

Among the players in their seats for the first deal of the day were Justin Bonomo, Isaac Haxton, Sam and Luc Greenwood, Stephen Chidwick, Jason Koon, Seth Davies, Ben Lamb, Mike Watson, David Benefield and Daniel Dvoress. All of Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan, Daniel Cates, Bryn Kenney, Mikita Badziakouski, Dominik Nitsche, Steve O’Dwyer, David Peters, Erik Seidel and Dan Smith are confirmed as en route.

“Every name is a big name,” said Luca Vivaldi, Triton tournament director.

But it’s not only north Americans and Europeans who will have legitimate claims on some of the huge prizes on offer this week. Triton founder Richard Yong is considered one of the game’s elite players, and he’ll play every hour he can this week.

CAPTION: Richard Yong, centre, arrives to the tournament area as Jason Koon, second right, chats with Ivan Leow

Similarly over the past few years, all of Ivan Leow, Wai Kin Yong and Kenneth Kee have won on the Triton Series, while Michael Soyza has put together a strong string of results too. All of the above are here, and they have brought friends. In the hour prior to the beginning of the tournament, a contingent of at least 15 Asia-based players assembled in the poker room, and they are now ready to cross swords with the players who made their names elsewhere.

This is a two-day event, with today’s schedule calling for 12 40-minute levels. (There’s a 15-minute break at the end of every three levels.) All the action is being live streamed, with expert commentary coming from Lex Veldhuis and Randy “nanonoko” Lew.

WATCH THE LIVE STREAM FROM JEJU

The full plan for the week is as follows:

#1: Sat 2 Mar – HK$250K — Short-Deck, Ante-Only (Two-day event)**

#2: Sun 3 Mar – HK$250K+250K — Short-Deck, Ante-Only Bounty (Two-day event) **

#3: Mon 4 Mar: HK$500K — No-Limit Hold’em 6-Handed (Two-day event)**

#5: Tue 5 Mar: HK$1m — Short-Deck, Ante-Only (Two-day event)*

#6: Thu 7 Mar: HK$2m — No-Limit Hold’em Main Event (Three-day event)*

#7: Fri 8 Mar: HK$1m — No-Limit Hold’em Refresh (Two-day event)**

* Indicates a 2 pm local start time

** Indicates a 4 pm local start time

Day 2/3 resumptions begin at 2pm

DOWNLOAD THE TRITON JEJU EVENT BROCHURE

Effective Poker Plays That Will Up Your Game – The Squeeze Play

题目：压迫打法-助你提升牌技的有效策略

压迫打法在牌桌上绝对是种实用策略，如果使用得当，你的盈率就会朝着你想要的方向噌噌地涨。

下面我们就向那些想要将压迫打法添到他们武器库的玩家划划学习这种策略的重点。

使用压迫打法的原因

压迫打法其实是种诈唬，使用场合是在翻牌前，一位范围松的玩家选择开局加注，另一个同样是范围松的玩家决定跟注。

你的“压迫”在这时候就可以上场了，出场方式就是做一个大的3-bet，逼两位松玩家弃牌。

在对付哪类对手时可用上压迫打法？

观察和记住对手打法风格对于提升我们自身牌技是很重要的，当我们在决定使用压迫打法时，观察就派上了用场。

在观察时，我们要找的对象是以下这两类玩家：

松/凶派的开局加注者，也就是开局加注的频率高出正常值很多的玩家。
喜欢在跟注价格很便宜时跟注进入翻牌圈的且打法偏弱/被动型玩家。
这两类玩家成为针对目标的原因是，松/凶玩家经常会用很宽的范围开局加注，而玩得较弱且被动的玩家，他们往往会仅仅是因为跟注的价格很便宜，所以就用很宽的范围去跟注。
多数情况下，当你对这两类玩家做一个大的3-bet时，他们的牌力都不会强到足以让他们跟注。

压迫打法只可用于能下大注的游戏

我们应该只考虑在锦标赛或无限德扑游戏中使用压迫打法，因为只有在能下大注的情况下我们才能对对手进行施压。这个术语本意有压迫的意思，但限注游戏是没法让你利用大的加注来压迫对手弃牌的。

使用压迫打法前需再三思量的几点

跟注的玩家和开局加注的玩家，你应该先确定他们在牌桌都是松的形象。
为了可以打出弃牌率，你要正确判断出开局加注玩家和跟注玩家的范围都是很宽的才行。
如果没准备好用大注逼迫对手弃掉他们手上中等牌力的牌型，那就不要使用压迫打法，一旦确定使用压迫打法，你3-bet的数量至少得是最初加注者加注数量的5倍。
压迫前同时要考虑坐在你后面的玩家，在你后面未行动的玩家越少，你成功的几率越大，当在你后面行动的玩家非常少的时候，你使用压迫打法的成功率是最大的，因为如果你后面未行动的玩家越多，他们中有人跟注你3-bet的可能性就越大。
另一个加分项是，如果你后面未行动的玩家中有紧人，那他们就不太可能会用很松的范围去跟注你的反加。

要时刻谨记你自己的牌桌形象

你在打牌的时候应该时刻留心你在那个时段里是如何打牌的，而你的表现和行动又在对手们心里留下了什么样的形象。

你打得越紧，你在使用压迫打法时对手弃牌的几率就越大。

这手牌局演示了何为压迫打法

Poker Tells That Can Indicate Whether Your Opponents Have Strong Or Weak Hands

题目：暴露对手是好牌是弱牌的牌桌马脚

在德州扑克游戏中，识别出对手打法中的“马脚”，这会让你在打法上有了优势，但大家其实也无需把这话就当成是绝对的真理。

今天文章的主题讲的是暴露对手牌力是强是弱的常见马脚，但在细数这些马脚前，我们先来说一说牌桌上最值得参考的马脚模式是什么？

下注方式的马脚

目前为止，牌桌上最值得参考的可透露马脚的信息是玩家的下注方式，这既包括他当时的下注方式，也包括他之前的下注方式。

通过研究对手的下注方式，我们可以从中洞悉一个对手是如何玩一手强牌或弱牌的。当洞悉对手玩弱牌和强牌时表现出的不同时，这对于我们在一手牌中决定是否下注、过牌或弃牌会更有帮助。

肢体马脚

我们在电影里都见过玩家身上泄露的肢体马脚…虽然电影把这些马脚弄得很夸张很戏剧化，但它们却给你指明了可关注的方向，而且，关注对手的肢体马脚，关注不同对手身上所作出的不同反应，也能给你在牌桌上增添些乐趣。

众多异常

人之天性所故，牌桌上的马脚也因玩家的不同而不同，有些人拿到大牌时会表现出很具体的肢体马脚，有些人会在诈唬时因为身体泄露了马脚，但有些玩家却会故意释放出一些虚假的马脚信息。

从这你也可以看出，“识别马脚”要猜的东西也是虚虚实实的，因此平时多观察才能够帮助你锻炼出一种好习惯，而这种习惯能够帮你从众多马脚信息中去其槽粕留其精华。

在识别马脚时，我们应该记住下面几点：

第一眼得到的马脚信息往往是真实的。
转瞬即逝的马脚信息往往是最可靠的。
很明显且出现时间很长的马脚信息往往是伪装的，原因是对手要花时间去伪装，花时间去思考如何迷惑你。
通识：弱往往意味着强，强往往意味着弱。
重要的是你该如何明确地分析一种马脚信息

强牌与弱牌对应的常见马脚指南

马脚信息多样，但这里我们只说强牌与弱牌对应的马脚信息，而这些信息中，我们分别总结了常见的10种，如果把下面的内容记住，那你在识别对手马脚上也就又多了些好帮手。

强牌对应马脚信息

双手颤抖（这是很难装出来的）
不停地说话
放松的双唇
大大的笑容
眼神停在翻牌的时间较长，随后飞速偷瞄对手一眼
突然对牌局变得更专心起来
突然靠回椅背，下注或跟注时动作更放松
慢慢将筹码放入底池中，或是用一种小心翼翼地方式放入
不耐烦，由此可见他们很希望下注
眼睛大睁，眨眼频率变少

小贴士：

虽说很多专家建议你盯着对手的眼睛看，但也别忘了留意他们的双手，一般来说，一只颤抖的手往往意味着手的主人拿了强牌，当然啦，这个主人如果平时就是个手抖的人，那情况就另说了。

弱牌对应马脚信息

屏住呼吸，身体一动不动
说话声音更高，语速更慢或说话时显得不自然
动作很大地往底池推入筹码
死盯着你看（上面提过，强其实是弱）
翻牌后有意识地查看底牌
对自己底牌的照看很随意
嘟嘴或舔嘴唇
很明显地用嘴呼吸
有意识地遮住自己的嘴巴
眨眼速度更快

研究对手马脚能够提升你在牌桌的专注度

文章之前已经说过，牌桌上的马脚是各种各样的，我们希望这篇文章能够让大家觉得马脚是一种有趣的内容，进而对其产生学习兴趣。

在研究马脚的过程中其实还有一个额外的好处，通过研究对手的马脚，这种做法是能够提升你在牌桌上的专注度的。

而且，大家想必也都清楚，专注可是提高我们在牌桌胜率的一大法门！

题目：传奇扑克有幸签约Jason Koon为品牌推广大使

传奇扑克很荣幸向大家宣布，我们已签下Jason Koon作为传奇扑克超豪系列赛品牌代言人。Koon是这个圈子声誉很好且实力很强的一位牌手，一直是全球各种最高额买入锦标赛和常规桌的座上宾。

2018年，Koon的线下比赛奖金累计12,478,538美元，这些成绩包括在传奇扑克超豪系列赛黑山站和济州岛站闯入的4个决赛桌成绩，这包含了他在黑山站100万港币买入的前注短牌赛中的冠军成绩，那次比赛一共累计103次报名，Koon凭借冠军斩获3,579,836美元奖金，当时，那是他第二次参加短牌赛事。

签约后，Koon表示：

“加入传奇扑克的团队对我而言是一个想都不用想就可以作出的决定，我自己本身就一直是这个品牌赛事的忠实拥趸。玩家从传奇扑克的赛事中所体验到的服务是其他比赛不可比拟的，很高兴自己能加入这个团队。传奇这个品牌为玩家所创造的是一种很纯碎的扑克游戏环境。在他们这里，玩家可以玩到全球最高额的常规桌和锦标赛。我个人很喜欢玩高额桌，很享受那种很刺激紧张的打牌体验。”

Koon在团队中的角色是向全球推广传奇扑克这个品牌和传奇扑克超豪系列赛，以及向亚洲喜欢玩高额桌游戏的玩家推广扑克这个游戏。签约后，Koon将会参加传奇扑克在2019年每一个站点的比赛，第一场就是3月2日-9日在韩国举办的济州岛站赛事。

Koon说：“济州是一个很美丽的地方，坐落在这个岛屿上的蓝鼎度假式娱乐场很壮丽，可以照顾到每一个客人的需求，那里是我在2018年最喜欢的站点之一。”

2019年济州岛站的赛程包括6场赛事，较之2018年多了一场，这一次的最后一场比赛是买入200万港币（合255,000美元）的传奇扑克超豪系列赛主赛，Jason Koon去年在这场比赛中拿了第5名，奖金1,079,443美元。

2015年，马来西亚商人/慈善家/扑克发烧友Richard Yong创办了传奇扑克这个品牌，在这个品牌创立之前，这个市场缺乏一个可让商人玩家和顶级牌手在高雅环境中以慈善之名切磋牌艺的舞台，于是Richard创建了传奇扑克来填补这片空白。在过去几年间，传奇扑克所筹集的善款帮助了包括粉红项目及红十字会在内的各慈善组织。

曾在传奇扑克系列赛中夺冠的玩家包括：Manig Loeser、 Fedor Holz、 Daniel ‘Jungleman’ Cates、 Koray Aldemir、 Stefan Schillhabel、 John Juanda、 Dan Colman、 Jason Koon、 Phil Ivey和Mikita Badziakouski。

如需了解更多信息，请联系info@triton-series.com。

Ivan Leow Wins The Triton Poker Super High Roller in Russia For $1.3m

A woman barges past me in the queue. I put a firm hand on her shoulder and tell her to get the fuck. Never underestimate the power of non-verbal communication, something I have learned sitting at the poker table.

Down below there is a sculpture of a Titan throwing a javelin, and in between the rushing taxi cabs I see his great big iron balls and tackle, and wonder why it is that we see this as art and the same thing in a magazine is pornography?

I am wondering about a lot of things this morning.

Why is the aesthetic beauty so crucial to Koreans?

How do you grow rice?

Who is the best Malaysian poker player?

I don’t know how Ivan Leow makes his money, but he’s either very good at what he does or comes from a well to do family. The 36-year-old Malaysian who plays poker for fun has taken down the R 6,000,000 (USD 94,000) buy-in Triton Poker Super High Roller at partypoker MILLIONS Russia, iron tackle and all.

It completes an incredible couple of weeks for Leow, who made three final tables at the Triton Poker Series in Jeju, including winning the HKD 500,000 (USD 64,000) Short-Deck, Ante-Only event for HKD 8,470,000 (USD 1,079,367).

It hasn’t been all cute kittens for Leow. There have been a few dead pussies in the mix. He bubbled the HKD 2,000,000 (USD 255,000) buy-in Triton Poker Jeju No-Limit Hold’em Main Event (he was in for USD 1,000,000), and he also bubbled the first event in Russia a few days back.

Things were different on this day.

A million out.

A million in.

Another day in the life of a high stakes poker player.

Let’s see how Leow took it down.

How Leow Took it Down

Day 1 ended with nine players remaining from fourteen, with Manig Loeser in charge.

1. Manig Loeser – 782,000
2. Timothy Adams – 558,000
3. Phil Ivey – 517,500
4. Chin Wei Lim – 378,000
5. Abraham Passat – 337,000
6. Niall Farrell – 316,000
7. Johannes Becker – 276,000
8. Seng Ying Tang – 186,000
9. Leong Chan Wai – 158,000

Ivan Leow was one of the early birds seeking a few worms during late registration on Day 2, and he doubled through Phil Ivey 77>AQo early doors to give him a solid footing during the first ascent up the mountain he would eventually conquer.

With Leow climbing, Ivey kept slipping, this time doubling-up Koray Aldemir. Ivey held pocket jacks in a three-bet pot against the pocket queens of the German and called Aldemir’s shove on the 8h7h3d3s board.

Then our soon to be crowned champion suffered a blow when his pocket kings ended up on the floor for the count of ten when all-in against the AQo of Konstantin Uspenskii. The deck spat the second ace on the flop to give the Russian the double-up.

At times the field resembled the German High Stakes Poker Championships, and one of them had an early visit to the cash desk. Johannes Becker and Wai Leong Chan got it in pre-flop. Both of them held pocket nines. However, with a split pot looming, Chan hit runner-runner-runner-runner-runner spades to eliminate the German in a bad beat story at the bar kind of way.

Becker’s second bullet was a dud.

KK versus the AK of Dietrich Fast and Becker was a goner for the second time, before loading his third bullet into the chamber.

We lost Timofey Kuznetsov when the Russian moved all-in with 13 big blinds and pocket fours, only for Abraham Passet to wake up with pocket jacks. The call came and five community cards later, the Russian hit the rail. Then a 15bb shove followed the 13bb shove as Philipp Gruissem moved in holding A7cc, only to be flogged by the superior A9o of Leow.

We were down to the final two tables.

Here were the Top 5 chip counts.

1. Dietrich Fast – 1,282,000
2. Wai Leong Chan – 803,000
3. Manig Loeser – 745,000
4. Abraham Passet – 536,000
5. Wai Kin Yong – 468,000

Leow sat in ninth with 349,000.

Timothy Adams eliminated Aldemir when the pair battled it out for stacks in the blinds. Aldemir held 86dd; Adams A6ss, and ace-high held at the end of the flop, turn and river nonsense.

Becker would have to finish fourth to break even, but that seemed unlikely after losing a flip against Ivey 9999.

And then we lost Richard Yong.

Firstly, Passet’s ATdd took a chunk out of Yong’s stack beating pocket treys to the punch, and Loeser made it a German left and right hook when his ace trash beat pocket fours, all-in pre-flop.

Ivey doubled again, this time through Farrell KJo>33.

And then Loeser took the lead he last held at the end of Day 1.

The former Triton Poker Montenegro Main Event winner opened to 45,000 with AQdd in the first position, Fast called in the cutoff holding pocket sevens, Passet squeezed to 160,000 with KQss from the small blind, and both players called.

Flop: As6h5s

Passet c-bet 160,000, Loeser called; Fast folded.

Turn: Td

Passet moved all-in with his flush draw and gutshot, and two timebank chips later, Loeser made the call and doubled up when the 8h bricked for Passet.

Farrell eliminated Chin Wei Lin 99>66.

Ivey doubled through Leow A8dd>AQcc hitting runner-runner diamonds.

Wei Leong Chan took a chunk from Fast doubling 55>AA thanks to a five on the turn.

Then Leow made his move.

The man who plays more hands than most woke up with pocket aces at the same time Ivey made his final stand with A5o and Adams did likewise with AQo. Ivey did flop a doubler-gutter, but the outs stayed in the deck, and both Ivey and Adams hit the rail. We had a final table. Leow was the new chip leader

Final Table Chip Counts

1. Ivan Leow – 1,934,000
2. Dietrich Fast – 1,516,000
3. Manig Loeser – 1,474,000
4. Niall Farrell – 643,000
5. Abraham Passet – 639,000
6. Wai Leong Chan – 584,000
7. Paul Phua – 285,000
8. Wai Kin Yong – 173,000

First to go was the short-stacked Yong. His nine big blinds went into play holding Q9o, and Leow snaffled them up with A4o. The second smallest stack followed. Phua moved all-in in a single raised pot holding KQss on Kh7c2h, only for Loeser to call with AQhh. The flush arrived on the turn. Phua’s mission ended in seventh.

Then Farrell suffered a fatal beat.

The Triple Crown winner got it in holding pocket aces against the nines of Passet, and a nine on the flop cut his heart out with a spoon. That hand left Farrell with 64k, and the rest of the table feasted on it like vampires in the very next hand.

Five players remained.

Four would be paid.

Not Fast.

The German star, who remained in the top three spots for most of the day, opened to 65,000 from the cutoff and found a caller in the shape of Leow in the small blind. Fast held two black nines. Leow had KQcc under his fingertips.

Flop: 8c3c2h

Leow checked, Fast bet 125,000, Leow called.

Turn: Qd.

Leow bet 275,000, Fast moved all-in, and Leow made the call.

River: 7s.

Fast was out.

Then we lost the Day 1 chip leader.

Leow opened to 90,000 holding A2hh. Chan called with KQhh, Loeser took a flop with JTss, and Passet took a peek with J9o. The flop was AsJh3s giving everyone a little something. Leow was first to put a chip in the pot – 125,000 of them to be precise – Chan called, Loeser check-raised to 400,000, Passet folded, Leow called, and Chan folded. The turn was the 9h, Loeser moved all-in for 1m, and Leow made the call. The 9d bricked on the river, and the top pair was kind enough to oust Loeser.

Then Leow eliminated the Triton Poker Jeju Main Event runner-up, Chan.

Leow opened to 90,000 on the button, and Chan called in the small blind. The flop was QsJh9c, Chan checked, Leow bet 125,000, Chan check-raised to 350,000; Leow called. The Ad came out of the deck on the fourth street. The money went in with Leow holding ATo for top pair and straight draw. Chan was ahead with QJo for two pairs. However, the Td on the river gave Leow a stronger two pairs, and Chan was out.

Heads-Up

1. Ivan Leow – 4,350,000
2. Abraham Passet – 2,900,000

Passet took the lead after flopping a straight on KT9, holding QJo, and Leow called holding the middle pair. Then Leow retook the lead after a series of aggressive plays, and he never lost it from that point onward.

In the final hand, the pair limped in to see a Jh4h4d flop. Passet checked to Leow who bet 150,000, and Passet moved all-in for 1,395,000; Leow called.

Leow: J5o
Passet: 62hh

Leow had flopped the two pairs, and Passet was all Tin Man seeking a heart.

The 2d gave Passet some possible boat outs, but the Qc wasn’t one of them, and Leow became our champion.

The event attracted 29 entrants (20 unique, 9 re-entries).

Here are the results:

ITM Results

1. Ivan Leow – R 72,000,000 (USD 1,134,000)
2. Abraham Passet – R 47,040,000 (USD 740,880)
3. Wai Leong Chan – R 30,000,000 (USD 472,500)
4. Manig Loeser – R 8,000,000 (USD 283,500)

Leow has now earned $3,610,190 in lifetime earnings. His win in Russia was the third of his career, and his second seven-figure score (all this year).