Five days of intense action concluded in Jeju tonight with a cast of seven of the undoubted stars of this Triton Series Cash Game Invitational slugging it out one last time. Perhaps “squidding it out” might be a more appropriate phrasing, because this final session brought seven-figure swings across the board, fuelled by the unique Super Squid game format.
As players went in search of the tiny white tokens that can multiply their winnings significantly, the usual torment of the Triton cash game tables became even more extreme. Two players — the barnstorming Frenchman Rui Cao, and the fearless Chinese star ST Wang — walked away from the final session with profit of right around $1 million.
But another tyrant of the Triton tables, Elton Tsang, saw his bankroll take a seven-figure hit, while it was a return to the misery of losing ways for two of yesterday’s big winners, Wiktor Malinowski and Tan Xuan.
It was, however, just one more amazing feast for poker fans, tuning in in their thousands to the Triton live stream.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the biggest and most intriguing pots.
Blinds were $1,000/$1,000, with a $300,000 maximum buy-in. The most anybody could lose in a single pot was capped at $600,000. Each squid token was worth $3,000, with multipliers if any player won more than three in a single session 10-squid session.
TWO PAIRS; BIGGEST WINS
ST Wang began proceedings with a raise to $5,000 with 
. Elton Tsang found pocket nines and three-bet to $20,000, but Tom Heung then saw red queens and bumped it again to $75K. Wang folded, but Tsang called in the cutoff, with position on Heung in the small blind.
The flop was dangerously small for Tsang. It came 
and Heung led out for $60,000. Tsang came along to the 
turn, and Heung slowed to a check. If that was a tactic to get Tsang to get aggressive, it worked as Tsang fired out $80,000. Heung called for the 
river.
The pot now stood at more than $430K and Heung checked again. Tsang now found the check behind, with the third diamond perhaps saving him. Still, a decent chunk headed in Heung’s direction courtesy of this over-pair vs. over-pair encounter.
THE SQUIDLESS BATTLE FOR $350K
Elton Tsang put on the UTG straddle and, after Wiktor Malinowki limped from UTG+1 holding 
, Tom Heung was once again busy, raising to $10,000 from the hijack with 
.
Tan Xuan looked down at the pretty 
in the big blind and bumped it up to $48,000. But that only prompted more wildness as Tsang defended his straddle with a “grip and rip”, i.e., a shove for $167,000, holding 
.
Neither Tsang nor Xuan held a squid at this stage and both were making a last-gasp play to pick one up. It helped explain Xuan’s call, seeking that token that would save him from paying out. However, he had a horribly dominated hand and the dealer did not help him out. The board only helped Tsang, giving him two more aces and a pot of nearly $350,000.
WANG OUT-DRAWS XUAN FOR HEAPS
Wiktor Malinowski limped from UTG sitting with 
and Andy Ni, in the cutoff, did the same. ST Wang, who had two squids and was searching for the third to trigger the multiplier, raised to $10,000 on the button, with help coming from his perfectly reasonable 
.
Tan Xuan, in the small blind, found pocket queens — a real hand this time, though his opponents will know he’s capable of making moves without. Xuan made a relatively modest three-bet to $50,000.
The two limpers left the decision down to Wang, who opted to jam it all in for $360,000. The pot suddenly hit $723,000 as Xuan called and they instructed the dealer to run it just once.
That was gross for Xuan. Following the 
flop, the peeled on the turn, giving Wang trip tens. The 
river gave Wang a boat and this monster pot headed in his direction. Xuan took another big hit.
ACE-TEN DOES IT AGAIN, THIS TIME FOR TSANG
The dust had barely settled on the previous hand, where an unsuited ace-ten beat a big pocket pair to win a ton. But Elton Tsang found the same hand on the button and was similarly aggressive — and landed similar results.
Rui Cao began the action, raising to $5,000 from UTG holding 
. Andy Ni found 
one seat along and three-bet to $30,000. Tsang then found that on the button and bumped it to $75,000. Ni only had $208,000 total and was happy to get it in. Tsang made a casual call.
It was a pot of $423,000 and the first four cards from the dealer only helped Ni. They came 
. With the now no good for Tsang, removing a third of his outs, it made the arrival of the 
on the river all the more cruel.
Ni winced as this two-outer gave the lot to Tsang.
XUAN LAYS THE TRAP WITH ACES
Tan Xuan always likes to sit with the biggest stack at the table, and will top up if someone else manages to amass more chips. And in this hand he was also sitting with the biggest hand possible, 
, which he disguised the strength of by just limping from the hijack.
Elton Tsang, in the cutoff, fell into Xuan’s trap and raised to $12,000 with 
. And it got even sweeter for the trapper when Wiktor Malinowski found on the button and three-bet to $30,000. Action made its way through the blinds and straddle to Xuan again, and he went through the motions before raising again to $105,000.
Tsang was done with it, but Malinowski decided to call. He then flopped top pair on the 
board. Xuan led out with his over-pair, putting $75,000 out there, and Malinowski decided to play it fast, moving all in for $444,000 and setting up a pot of $1.114 million, when Xuan called.
They agreed to run it twice, but this time the magic of the ace-ten did not materialise. The bullets survived both boards and Xuan picked up the near maximum in this capped game. Xuan was down significantly before the hand came about, but bounced back to “only” $350,000 in the hole after this. It was, of course, a huge hit to Malinowski who went into the first break around $700K down.
TSANG’S KINGS HOLD
Here’s another hand in which the player with the biggest hand sees two other players go to battle ahead of him, much to his evident glee. Whether or not he’s still happy at the end is usually another matter.
The man with the goods was Elton Tsang, sitting in the big blind with pocket kings. Wiktor Malinowski, under the gun, got things going, however, with a raise to $3,000 holding and Rui Cao then three-bet from the hijack with 
. It was now $10K coming round to Tsang. Tsang four-bet to $40,000 and they lost Malinowski. But Cao called to the flop of 
.
Tang bet $30,000 and Cao got sticky. He called to see the on the turn. Tsang rifled another $60,000 at it and Cao still refused to budge.
The river brought a third barrel from Tsang. His bet of $150,000 finally got it done. Cao folded, with the pot of $414,000 boosting Tsang’s dwindling stack.
WANG AND XUAN CAP IT AGAIN
Pick the bones out of this one if you can.
Rui Cao had and raised to $5,000 from UTG. One seat along, Tan Xuan found and three-bet to $20,000. Action then got to ST Wang in the small blind, who four-bet to $76,000 with 
, all of which meant that Andy Ni binned pocket jacks in the big blind as though they were seven-deuce.
Cao also backed down, but Xuan of course did not. He now five bet to $160,000 and Wang went for the call. It meant the two of them saw a flop of 
and hit top pair (Wang) and middle pair (Xuan), and got the rest of their chips in.
Wang checked, Xuan bet $107,000 and Wang check-raised all in to $440,000. Xuan called and the pot was capped at $1.206 million. They ran it just once and the 
on the turn meant it was over immediately. Wang took another monster, with Xuan nursing wounds once more.
CAO PROFITS WITH THE MYSTERY
Tom Heung put on the $2K straddle and an intriguing hand started simmering ahead of him. Andy Ni was the first to volunteer more chips to the pot, calling from the hijack with 
. Rui Cao found a Mystery Hand. It meant he had something menacing and playable, worth concealing from the viewing public and the commentators in the streaming booth.
Cao also called in the cutoff. Tan Xuan then raised it up to $13,000 from the button holding 
and though Heung now folded, Ni and Cao both called meaning they were three-way to the flop of 
.
Ni had top pair and a wheel draw, but checked. Cao checked too, but Xuan bet $14,000 in a bid to pinch it. Ni called, however, but Cao now raised it up to $65,000. Xuan was convinced that the check-raise meant his jacks were beaten. He folded. But Ni called to see the on the turn.
With three clubs now on board, both players checked. The landed on the river. Ni checked again. His hand was now just a pair of aces with a small kicker. Cao applied the pressure with a bet of $125,000. Ni decided he was done with it. He folded. But was he right?
Cao’s hand was now shown to the viewers. He had 
— a speculative holding pre-flop that flopped a wheel. Ni danced away as Cao took down a $312K pot.
HEUNG’S QUEENS PAY OFF CAO’S ACES
Rui Cao is notoriously impossible to read, which is why he can make so much money with hands of all strengths. Give him aces, as the dealer did in this pot, and he’s almost certain to win heaps.
The unfortunate benefactor in this pot was Tom Heung, who had pocket queens and saw a board full of cards lower, tempting him into a river shove. It didn’t work.
Wiktor Malinowski actually began the hand, limped from UTG with black pocket fives. Heung saw those queens in the hijack and raised to $10,000, and Cao just called from the small blind, taking both others to the flop of . None of the pocket pairs flopped a set.
Cao and Malinowski checked. Heung bet $15,000. Cao check-raised to $50,000 and Malinowski folded. Heung called with the over-pair.
The turn was the 
and Cao was now in pot-building mode. He bet $65,000. Heung called for the river. The board now had a flush and a straight draw on it, but Cao continued with a bet of $125,000. Heung couldn’t get away, and made the call. Cao raked in a pot of $511,000.
UNREADABLE MALINOWSKI WINS BOAT-OVER-BOAT
Wiktor Malinowski had the Mystery Hand and raised to $20,000 from the small blind pre-flop. To give him credit, this was only after three limps: Rui Cao, from UTG+1 holding , Tan Xuan in the cutoff with and ST Wang, on the button, with .
Cao called the big raise, but the other two let their garbage go.
The pair saw a flop of 
and Malinowski bet $15,000. Cao still stuck around. And then the 
turn gave Cao a full house. Malinowski bet another $52,000 and Cao called again, with the completing the board. Malinowki bet $135,000 — around three quarters of the pot — and Cao took only about a minute before calling for this huge chunk.
Malinowki had and had extracted the maximum, thinnest value out of the smaller boat.
“That was a nice hand,” said a stunned Hall of Famer Brian Rast in the commentary booth.
WANG CATCHES XUAN, PICKS UP $7000K MORE
Tan Xuan with the Mystery Hand is always something of a tautology. Pretty much any time he enters a pot, it’s a mystery. There’s certainly no guarantee that if he’s playing it fast, he’s holding the goods. ST Wang knows that as well as anybody, and was able to pick up a $675,000 pot thanks to this knowledge.
The pot in question began with a raise to $5,000 from Rui Cao in the cutoff with . Xuan, with the official Mystery Hand, three bet from the small blind to $32,000, but Wang, in the big blind, had 
and four-bet to $85,000.
Cao left them to it, but Xuan called and they saw a flop of 
. Xuan check-called Wang’s bet of $50,000. The turn was the and both players slowed to a check, bringing the on the river.
Xuan blasted $200,000 at it, nearly full pot, and Wang went into the tank. Pondering the polarising bet, he decided it represented the bottom end of Xuan’s range, namely a bluff. Wang made the call with his top pair.
Xuan was forced to show his , or ace high, and $675,000 more went to Wang.
CAO AND NI FOR $972K
This one was fairly grim, especially for supporters of Andy Ni. He got Rui Cao-ed in the most brutal fashion — but knows it could have been much worse.
Ni had and raised to $5,000 from UTG+1. Cao then three-bet to $17,000 from the hijack, holding only . Ni didn’t want to play it cautiously at this stage. He four-bet to $75,000, but Cao thought he’d pay the extra a see a flop, hunting a third squid of this particular round.
The dealer put the on the board, giving Ni top pair but Cao an open-ended straight draw. Ni did now show some caution and checked, but called after Cao bet $50,000.
The turn added a flush draw to Cao’s hand. Ni was still a three-to-one favourite for it, but checked. That drew a huge shove of $360,000 from Cao. Way to apply the pressure.
Ni pondered his options and emerged with the call, meaning the pair were going to see a river for a $972,000 pot. But they tried to reduce the variance and decided to run it twice. That was lucky for Ni.
The on the first run-out gave Cao a straight, guaranteeing him the squid and half the pot. Perhaps fearing the very worst, the river on the second run-out was OK for Ni’s top pair. They chopped it up as Ni breathed a sigh of relief.
CAO VS. NI TAKE 2
Perhaps inspired by Rui Cao playing any two and profiting, Andy Ni tried the same in another late pot against Cao. But it didn’t go so well for him.
Ni had and limped from the cutoff. Cao had and raised to $10,000 from the button. Ni sensed revenge and three-bet to $60,000 with his tiny holding. But Cao was going nowhere.
Cao hit middle pair on the flop of 
and Ni bet $75,000 despite not connecting. Cao called. The turn was another over-card for both of them, but gave Cao a better draw.
Ni didn’t give up, however. He bet $172,000. “This is the craziest play of the day in many ways,” said Brian Rast. Cao wasn’t convinced by the bet. He jammed all in for $365,000 and Ni had no option but to fold quickly. The pot of $800K (including Cao’s jamming amount) went back to the Frenchman’s stack.
CAO SNIFFS OUT TSANG’S BLUFF
Elton Tsang had the Mystery Hand and played it fast. But Rui Cao, with the nut no pair, sniffed it out and made a big hero call for a $663K pot.
Cao had a great hand pre-flop, sitting with , and after an early-position limp from Andy Ni with , Cao raised to $10,000 from UTG+1. Tsang, in the hijack, three-bet to $35,000 and though Ni folded, Cao called. His hand was significantly under-repped.
The flop of was dry in the circumstances. Cao check-called Tsang’s $30,000 c-bet. The couldn’t have changed much either. Cao again check-called, this time a bet of $65,000.
The completed the board and Cao checked again. Tsang threw another $200,000 at it, but Cao wasn’t convinced. He hadn’t hit a pair, but made the call, correctly determining that Tsang hadn’t connected either.
Tsang turned over and this one belonged to Cao.
HERO CALL EARNS CAO BIG SQUID MULTIPLIER
Context is important here. For the first time since the Squid Game started yesterday, a player had won five squids in a round. That player was Rui Cao and it meant he would get three times his squid winnings, minimum, with the last squidless player(s) having to pay it. There was one last chance for the two players without a squid, ST Wang and Andy Ni, to earn one.
Cao was sitting pretty, of course, and he picked up pocket fives UTG+1. He just called $2,000 into a pot where Ni had straddled. One seat over, Elton Tsang had and raised to $15,000, trying to get unstuck for the session. Wang was on the button, squidless, and with the Mystery Hand. He called.
Ni didn’t try to defend. He let it go, meaning he was going to have to pay the squid penalty reagardless of what happened now. The dealer put the on board and Cao and Tsang both checked. Wang checked too.
The 
turn brought a bet of $20,000 from Cao, which was enough to get Tsang out of there. However, Wang made the call. The river was the . Cao checked, with the board now showing a flush draw plus four to a straight. Wang, however, bet $105,000.
Cao determined that this might be a simple ploy to lock up the squid and made a call with just fourth pair. And it was right! Wang had only pocket fours.
The near $300K pot went to Cao, along with an unprecedented sixth squid. Wang and Ni had to pay off Cao TRIPLE per squid. In total, he got $108,000 extras from the squids.
ONE LAST MYSTERY HAND
As the curtain was coming down on the session and the week, action was getting ludicrous. There were multiple three and four-bets pre-flop, plus a few jams of stacks north of a million bucks. There was also time for one more Mystery Hand, in the possession of the squidless Tom Heung, who three-bet from the button after Wiktor Malinowski had raised to $12,000 from the cutoff, holding 
.
Malinowski’s open raise was so big because it was a double straddled pot, but both those players, plus the blinds, folded. Malinowski called, taking them to a flop of . Malinowski checked and Heung c-bet $25,000. Malinowki’s call brought them to the turn.
Malinowski check-called the $25,000 bet here, with put the on the river.
Here’s where Malinowski put out what looked like a value bet of $90,000. His blocked some of the flushes. But when Heung raised it up to $295,000, Malinowski now had some second thoughts.
He pondered for a good while before making the call that brought the pot total to $724,000. Heung tabled . He had the flush after all. This was a big one late in the day.
CAO’S POWER PLAY LANDS LAST HALF MILLION
The very last hand of the day, like so many, went to Rui Cao and left Elton Tsang ruefully shaking his head. He had been pushed off a chop by Cao’s aggression.
The pot began with a limp from Andy Ni on the button with pocket fours. (Tan Xuan had put on the $2K straddle.) Cao found and raised to $25,000 from the small blind and Tsang, with the same hand , called in the big blind. Both Xuan and Ni called.
The flop was and all four players checked. The turn was the . Cao checked, but Tsang bet $68,000. Xuan called with his straight draw, but the Cao opted to squeeze. He raised it up to $175,000, a check-raise, that put the pressure right back on Tsang.
Tsang reluctantly folded, but Xuan’s call meant they’d see a river. It was . Now a couple of white flags came out and both player checked, meaning both hands were turned over.
Cao’s nines took it down, and Tsang looked over with barely disguised fury. It was one last “Cobra strike” on a day where Rui Cao dominated.
*****
And with that, this incredible week of poker was in the books. We could have predicted it — huge pots, huge swings, innovative new game-play — but it was once again wonderful to see. The Triton Series returns later in the month for a tournament series in Monte Carlo. Many of these heroes will be back. Make sure to tune in!
DAY 5: PROFIT/LOSS
Rui Cao: +$1,142,000
ST Wang: +$999,999
Andy Ni: +$116,000
Tom Heung: -$107,000
Tan Xuan: -$484,000
Wiktor Malinowski: -$695,000
Elton Tsang: -$1,000,000