Category: 2024

The stage of the Salle des Etoiles at the Monte Carlo Sporting Club this evening belonged to Danny Tang.

The popular Triton stalwart took a break from playing the latest event on this high stakes tournament series to accept a trophy and the accolades as the latest winner of the Ivan Leow Player of the Year Award.

Tang, 32, was the standout star during last season’s four stops on the Triton Series, cashing 19 times, making 13 final tables and winning two titles. They were the fourth and fifth of his glittering Triton career.

Tang accepted his award during an awe-inspiring presentation ceremony in which a spectacular new trophy, hand-crafted by London silversmiths Fox Silver, was also unveiled. As fireworks exploded and ticker-taped rained from the sky, Tang hugged his friends and supporters across the room, including Triton co-founders Paul Phua and Richard Yong, who handed Tang the trophy.

Tang thanked them first of all, stating, “Without them, a regular guy like me wouldn’t be able to come here and chase my dreams.”

He described how his Triton journey began five years ago in Montenegro, and about how he could only dream at first of succeeding in fields that are undisputedly the best in the world. Winning the Player of the Year trophy underlined how Tang now belongs in this company.

“In my opinion, it’s the most prestigious award in all of world poker right now,” Tang said.

He went on to pay tribute to his parents and girlfriend KD, admitting that being close to a professional poker player presents unique challenges. “The life of a poker pro can often be selfish,” Tang said. “It’s not easy having a child that decides to take poker as a living. Poker is sometimes a very selfish sport, but I’m thankful I got to meet my crew. They’re very important to me. They’re great people.”

He added of his girlfriend, “She deals with the downswings like I do.”

After again thanking Phua and Yong for “unwavering support since I first set foot through the Triton doors”, Tang once again turned to his great friend and mentor Ivan Leow, after whom the Player of the Year award is named.

“I remembered how Ivan would teach me to have the Triton spirit,” Tang said. “Keep going. We miss you bro. Thank you for looking after us and all of our brothers.”

Tang, from Hong Kong via Wrexham, in the UK, amassed 3,700 points in the POY standings, more than 350 more than his closest challenger, the POY from the previous year, Jason Koon. Tang got the ball rolling with victory in a $60K event in London in 2023 (from five cashes at that stop) and never looked back. He made a further five final tables in Monte Carlo last October, cashed three times in Jeju and then made five more finals in Montenegro in May to seal the deal.

His prize is $200,000, but for all players on the Triton Series, it’s the respect of ones peers that is worth even more, as well as the knowledge that this year of play was even better than every other member of the game’s elite.

This was also a fitting and emotional success for Tang in the contest that honours the memory Leow. The Malaysian pro was not only a founder member of the Triton Series, blazing into global recognition during the tour’s earliest days, but he was also a dedicated and courageous champion of up-and-coming talents, fostering and backing them to play bigger.

Tang was one such passion project for Leow, and the young protege was greatly affected by the untimely passing of his mentor. At the point of Leow’s death, in September 2022, Tang was yet to register a victory on the Triton Series, but channelled his grief into his efforts at the tables — with these startling results.

The latest renewal of the Player of the Year race begins here in Monaco and will include this and the next three stops on the Triton Super High Roller Series.

DANNY TANG’S PLAYER OF THE YEAR PERFORMANCES

MONTENEGRO
$50k Pot Limit Omaha – 7th place, won $146,000
$100k PLO Main Event – 6th place, won $495,000
$100K NLH 8-Handed – 5th place, won $752,000
$50K NLH 8-Handed – 15th place, won $119,200
$40K NLH 7-Handed Mystery Bounty – 7th place, won $114,000 + $100,000 bounty
$25K NLH 8-Handed – 6th place, won $ 180,500

JEJU
$50k Pot Limit Omaha – 10th place, won $92,500
$150k NLH 8-Handed – 11th place, won $ 351,000
$20k NLH 8-Handed – 11th place, won $ 78,700

MONTE CARLO
$50k Pot Limit Omaha – 2nd place, won $664,000
$30k Pot Limit Omaha Bounty – 3rd place, won $298,000
$50k NLH 8-Handed – 1st place, won $1,580,000
$100k NLH 8-Handed – 3rd place, won $1,296,000
$200k NLH Invitational – 6th place, won $875,000

LONDON
$25k Short Deck Ante-Only – 2nd place, won $193,800
$60k NLH 8-Handed – 1st place, won $1,600,000
$200k NLH 8-Handed – 5th place, won $1,247,000
$50k NLH 8-Handed – 9th place, won $134,000
$25k NLH GGMillion$ – 21st place, won $ 44,500

It’s supposed to be difficult to win a tournament on the Triton Super High Roller Series, but nobody told Kayhan Mokri that.

The Norwegian high roller enjoyed one of the smoothest passages to a title ever seen on this elite series, blazing through the second day of this event in Monte Carlo, to wrap up a victory worth more than $1 million. It was only 7.15pm by the time Mokri had his hands on his first Triton trophy, two years after his debut.

“Today was my day,” Mokri said with evident delight, adding, “It’s a momentum thing. I had the best cards today and that’s how it is.”

This takes nothing away from the 30-year-old from Oslo, whose results in high buy-in poker tournaments over the past couple of years reveal a player with bags of talent. He has won tournaments of various buy-in levels across the globe, and managed to translate some excellent form into a Triton win too, a series on which he had previously come up short.

“Now I finally won one,” he said. “Now I can relax a bit more.”

Mokri came into the second day of play in Monte Carlo with one of the shortest stacks in the room. But he quickly doubled up twice to move into contention, then continued a fine run as the tournament got short-handed and shallow.

He came to the final placed ninth of nine, but ended up knocking out seven of those adversaries. The last opponent was Lithuania’s Paulius Vaitiekunas, a player who won a first Triton title in Jeju earlier this year. But in the tournament’s final hand, Vaitiekunas took a stand with a flopped pair of fives and a straight draw, running into Mokri’s flopped two pair that became a flush.

Vaitiekunas won $680,000, while Mokri’s final total hit $1,000,5000.

TOURNAMENT ACTION

While the slow conclusion to Event #1 was playing out late on Saturday night/Sunday morning, Event #2 was motoring through its phases. Registration closed with 144 entries through the gates, and they raced through the bubble which burst when Roman Hrabec was knocked out in 24th. Hrabec had 12 big blinds and raised/called it off with pocket sevens, losing to Zhewen Hu’s .

A jack on the flop sealed Hrabec’s fate and put the remaining 23 in the money.

Kristen Foxen led the late charge to the payouts desk, busting in the same hand as Lun Loon. When the bags came out for the night, 20 players were left, the average stack was only 24 big blinds, and there was every indication that there would be a sprint to the finish line on Sunday.

Hu and Alex Kulev were all but neck-and-neck at the top of the counts, with former Triton champions Andy Ni, Orpen Kisacikoglu, Zhou Quan, Luc Greenwood and Paulius Vaitiekunas also in the top 10. Attention now turned to the final table, but it was far from guaranteed that a seat was reserved for anyone there.

Hu, for instance, tumbled out in 12th. He lost a huge pot with to Patrik Antonius’ , which turned a flush. Vaitiekunas took the last of his chips. The last woman in the field, Saya Ono, made it to 13th before perishing to Kayhan Mokri.

Mokri edged his way into the final, which lined up as follows:

Orpen Kisacikoglu – 5.175m (35 BBs)
Marius Kudzmanas – 5.1m (34 BBs)
Patrik Antonius – 4.575m (31 BBs)
Paulius Vaitiekunas – 3.525m (24 BBs)
Alex Kulev – 2.85m (19 BBs)
Krasimir Neychev – 2.325m (16 BBs)
Dimitar Danchev – 2.025m (14 BBs)
Zhou Quan – 1.9m (13 BBs)
Kayhan Mokri – 1.325m (9 BBs)

The average stack was only around 25 big blinds, which meant this one was going to be turbulent. China’s Zhou Quan, who considers himself more of a PLO expert than hold’em, resultantly knows all about the ups and downs of tournament poker, but it was a speedy downward ride for him at the final.

His stacked slipped to the smallest at the table, and he then got it all in with against Mokri’s . A queen on the flop was the decisive card for Mokri and ended Zhou’s tournament in ninth. That was worth and even $100K.

Things were looking up for Mokri and he also found himself in a lovely spot to double once more. After action folded to Dimitar Danchev in the small blind, the Bulgarian player (one of three at the final) moved all in. It was a standard move, even though he had only .

Mokri woke up with , and called. There was nothing unusual on the board and the coup left Danchev with fumes. He lost his last chips with pocket tens. Orpen Kisacikoglu’s turned a king.

Danchev’s eighth place earned him $125,000.

One Bulgarian on the rail quickly became two. Krasimir Neychev first appeared on the Triton Series at our last event in Montenegro, where he reached the money once from five attempts. This time, he had progressed further than ever before, but became the latest person to run into a resurgent Mokri.

Neychev’s graph had slipped steadily downward since landing at the final, and with only seven blinds, it was a standard shove with pocket sixes in the big blind after Mokri opened from mid-position. Mokri was lurking with aces, and that was the end of the day for Neychev. He won $171,000, the most so far on the Triton Series.

Mokri and Kisacikoglu were now rubbing shoulders at the top of the counts, with the average now not quite 20 blinds. Meanwhile, pocket sixes continued to be something of a bogey hand: Marius Kudzmanas found it next and was knocked out by his Lithuanian countryman Paulius Vaitiekunas.

Kudzmanas is another player who is making his first appearance on the Triton Series here in Monte Carlo and after a whiff in the opening event, got himself comfortably into the black numbers in the second. Sixth place earned him $231,000, locked up after he three-bet shoved those sixes over Vaitiekunas’ raise. But Vaitiekunas’ kings held.

Pressure was now building on everyone, including even Kisacikoglu who lost a massive chunk of his chips with the dreaded pocket sixes. It was a huge skirmish with fellow big stack Mokri, and Mokri’s won the race.

Kisacikoglu clung on with a handful of blinds as Mokri turned his attentions to Patrik Antonius. The Monaco resident was playing his customary flawless game, but he got into a race against Mokri and became the latest to lose the flip. Antonius’ pocket fives lost to Mokri’s . It gave Antonius a payout of $298,000 and left Mokri with a sizeable chip lead over his three remaining opponents.

Three rapidly became two as Kisacikoglu’s final chips left his possession. They went, of course, to Mokri, whose beat Kisacikoglu’s . The two-time champion from Turkey, via London, hit the rail in fourth for $371,000.

Mokri had more than half the chips in play and could continually torment his two opponents, for whom ICM pressure was now painful. There was a $230K payjump between third and second, with another $320K up to first. Vaitiekunas found a double, though, turning a straight with to beat Mokri’s .

It left Kulev feeling the heat the most and, worse, he ran into Mokri with a pocket pair of aces. After yet another Mokri button raise, Kulev jammed for 11 big blinds with only to find out that Mokri had .

The bullets faded backdoor draws and Kulev was dusted in third, taking that $454,000 prize.

They reset the table for heads up play with Mokri sitting with 47 blinds to Vaitiekunas’ 25. Mokri was a clear favourite, but it was far from a foregone conclusion.

After early jostling, it all came down to two hands. In the first, Vaitiekunas limped with and Mokri checked his . That took them to a flop of . Mokri check-raised to 1.8 million after Vaitiekunas bet 500K. Vaitiekunas called.

The came on the turn and Mokri now bet 1.7 million. Vaitiekunas called. Mokri then jammed after the river and Vaitiekunas found a fold.

That left Mokri with a lead of 40 big blinds to 17 and it wasn’t long before the skirmish that ended it.

Vaitiekunas again started with a limp, holding . Mokri checked with his . The flop had plenty of opportunities for both players and it was no suprise that all the money went in.

Mokri checked, Vaitiekunas bet 500K, Mokri raised to 2.2 million and Vaitiekunas jammed for 10 million. Mokri called and the turn followed by the river ended it all.

The TV crew gave Mokri a few minutes’ break while they polished his new trophy. “I like gold,” he said, which is lucky. Much of it has come his way this year.

EVENT 2: $30k NLH 8-HANDED
Dates: November 2-3, 2024
Entries: 144 (inc. 47 re-entries)
Prize pool: $4,320,000

1 – Kayhan Mokri, Norway – $1,005,000
2 – Paulius Vaitiekunas, Lithuania – $680,000
3 – Alex Kulev, Bulgaria – $454,000
4 – Orpen Kisacikoglu, Turkey – $371,000
5 – Patrik Antonius, Finland – $298,000
6 – Marius Kudzmanas, Lithuania – $231,000
7 – Krasimir Neychev, Bulgaria – $171,000
8 – Dimitar Danchev, Bulgaria – $125,000
9 – Zhou Quan, China – $100,000

10 – Samuel Mullur, Austria – $84,000
11 – Andy Ni, China – $84,000
12 – Zhewen Hu, China – $73,500
13 – Saya Ono, USA – $73,500
14 – Wai Kin Yong, Malaysia – $67,000
15 – Artur Martirosian, Russia – $67,000
16 – Luc Greenwood, Canda – $60,500
17 – Dan Dvoress, Canada – $60,500
18 – Juan Pardo, Spain – $54,500
19 – Webster Lim, Malaysia – $54,500
20 – Dan Smith, USA – $54,500
21 – Fedor Holz, Germany, $50,500
22 – Lun Loon, Malaysia, $50,500
23 – Kristen Foxen, Canada, $50,500

The closing stages of the first event of the Triton Super High Roller Series’ second trip to Monte Carlo ended with a heads-up duel that underlined the breadth of this tour’s immense appeal. At one end of the table, after more than 100 others had departed, was Brian Kim, fresh from the final table of the World Series Main Event and featuring at his ninth Triton final. At the other, Enrico Camosci, a young Italian of enormous promise, playing his first ever event in this revered environment.

They were short stacked. They had both been on the brink of elimination before. And this might easily have gone either way. But when the final card was dealt at around 2.40am local time, it was Kim finally reaching for the trophy and the $941,000 first prize, while Camosci had to settle for the runner-up spot and a $634,000 consolation prize.

Kim has come so, so close before, and he puffed out his cheeks in evident relief at finally managing to get over the line. He really had to dig deep, eventually taming the aggressive and unpredictable talents of Camosci, whose time will surely come again.

“It’s elusive,” Kim told Marianela Pereyra in the post-game interview, referencing his numerous near misses on the Triton Series. “With all these great players, it’s possible I could have been coming to Triton for another seven years and not winning one.”

This curtain raiser in Monte Carlo was named the WPT Global Ultimate Slam, recognising the Triton Series new title sponsor. Its $25,000 buy-in was the smallest of the week, but the 170 entries put $4.25 million in the prize pool and the players wrung every inch out of it.

It concluded in one of those finals where it sometimes felt it would never end, each player sitting with far fewer blinds than used to be considered possible. But they play a careful, measured, ICM-savvy game in these parts, and they fought over every last blind.

The final hand only came about after the pendulum had swung both ways heads-up, with each player doubling up when under threat. But eventually, Camosci had to shove his last six blinds in with and Kim called with . The dealer had no more tricks.

Kim said: “I’m just so happy to be here and talking to you. I never knew if I would have one of these conversations. I’m going to take the trophy home and put it somewhere special.”

TOURNAMENT ACTION

From a starting field of 170, only 34 players came back for Day 2, with China’s Xu Liang a massive leader. Liang had 93 blinds, with his closest challengers sitting with only 50-ish. No lead is ever fully secure, but this was bigger than most and it allowed Liang to play the tournament bully. That helped everyone else get through the money bubble, the presence of which dominated players’ thoughts for the opening exchanges.

Only 27 places paid in the tournament, meaning seven still had to leave before anyone was guaranteed some money. After Pieter Aerts lost with queens to Elton Tsang’s aces, the stone bubble featured a single double up — Aleks Ponakovs’ jacks holding against Roberto Perez’ deuces — plus a chopped pot, before Liang laid a tough beat on Jeremy Zouari to end the Frenchman’s short-stack struggle.

The last of the chips went in with Zouari in good shape. He had against Liang’s , with the flop showing . The turn enhanced Liang’s chances of coming from behind, and the river sealed the deal.

That was a straight for Liang and a very nasty 28th place finish for Zouari.

As attention now focused on the final table, the inevitable torrent of eliminations swept away players including Ike Haxton, Nacho Barbero, and Artur Martirosian, the latter of whom had survived through the bubble with a tiny stack but who found doubles at the right time.

Liang and Tsang briefly jostled for supremacy at the top, but Liang’s amazing run began stuttering as the tournament structure caught up with the stacks. The average stack hovered around the 30 big blind mark, which meant a couple of missteps could bring about the end. Liang ended up on the rail in 13th.

By the time they got down to the last nine, there was a new leader, Alex Theologis, and some stacks that looked like this:

Alex Theologis – 9.325m (47 BBs)
Brian Kim – 8.075m (40 BBs)
Roberto Perez – 7.575m (38 BBs)
Tom Fuchs – 5.75m (29 BBs)
Dominykas Mikolaitis – 3.725m (19 BBs)
Aleks Ponakovs – 2.325m (12 BBs)
Enrico Camosci – 2.3m (12 BBs)
Elton Tsang – 2.05m (10 BBs)
Ranno Sootla – 1.375m (7 BBs)

Elton Tsang needs little introduction to the hordes who watch the Triton Series cash games, but he is also an excellent tournament player with more than $24 million in documented live earnings. He had been flying high through much of this event, but was forced into a big fold during the run-up to the final table, when he four-bet Roberto Perez, but then faced a five-bet jam.

It left him with 10 big blinds and when he found pocket nines during early exchanges at the final, it was clearly good enough to get the last of his chips in. However, Theologis had aces, made a mandatory call of Tsang’s shove, and sent the Hong Kong great to the rail in ninth. Tsang starts this festival with a $95,000 score.

There were, as ever, a few drastically short stacks at this stage, but Ronno Sootia and Enrico Camosci both doubled to survive, and left Aleks Ponakovs and Tom Fuchs in danger. However, they clung on as well, which swung the finger of doom back towards Sootia and he became the second consecutive player to get knocked out by a pair of aces.

Sootia, playing his first ever event on the Triton Series, three-bet jammed with and slammed into Ponakovs’ aces. He flopped some chop outs but missed and had to make do with $115,000 for eighth. Still, plenty of players visit the Triton Series for years and don’t trouble the cashiers. Sootia did it immediately.

With seven players left, we were now looking at a 20 big blind average and the tournament organisers ready to trim the levels down by five minutes when one more player was knocked out. These kinds of threats are intended to speed things up, but it can often have the reverse effect as play becomes especially cagey.

A few blinds moved here, then they moved back again. And then Ponakovs, who was responsible for the most recent elimination, became the next man onto the rail. He picked up pocket eights and saw Roberto Perez make a raise ahead of him. Ponakovs pushed all in, but Perez had a real hand. The pocket queens revealed by the Spaniard stayed best. Ponakovs could make it to bed by midnight if he wanted, with $159,000 more in his Triton account.

Tom Fuchs was another player at this final who had never cashed on the Triton Series, but unlike the two debutants alongside him, Fuchs had played before. Ten times, in fact. This cash therefore shook one monkey off his back, and he would obviously have liked to have registered a win from his first in-the-money finish.

He was the short stack six handed, but found a double up with pocket sevens. Such was the nature of the tournament now that it pushed him into third place in the counts, and it also revealed a chink in Alex Theologis’s armour. His loss in the coup, with resulted in a tumble down the leader board.

Dominykas Mikolaitis dipped below 10 big blinds now and he got a little unlucky to find Enrico Camosci holding a real hand when action folded to Mikolaitis in the small blind. Looking at , Mikolaitis shoved. However, Camosci had pocket nines and snapped him off. Mikolaitis couldn’t find a queen and busted.

This was a third career cash following two in Jeju. This one was for $218,000.

Enrico Camosci has been playing poker for more than a decade, but in recent years has taken his live tournament game to a new level. His arrival on the Triton Series comes on the back of a career-best result in a tournament in Barcelona in September, and he immediately seemed to feel at home in this rarefied company.

Camosci made the final table in his first ever Triton event, and he was sitting with the chip lead in what had now become incredibly shallow. However, he doubled up former chip leader Theologis with losing to . And that then gave Theologis the chips to dispense with Fuchs from this final.

Theologis jammed his button with and Fuchs undercalled with . There was nothing dramatic on the board and Fuchs took the walk, picking up $284,000 and his maiden cash.

None of the last eight players had ever previously won on the Triton Series, but with only four now left, the prospect of a famous victory was real for all of them. Theologis was back in front, the only player with a bigger than average stack, but one double up, or equivalent, could change everything.

Brian Kim found that other way. He four-bet over Perez and Camosci to pick up a big chunk. Then he opened and four-bet jammed again over Camosci to push himself into the lead, all without seeing a flop.

That gave Kim the chips to start making a few moves of his own, and he got lucky to eliminate Perez in fourth. Perez, a cash-game specialist, was running deep again in a Triton event but had been the quietest of everyone in the late stages tonight. However after Kim shipped from the small blind, Perez was content to risk the last of his chips with , which was well ahead of Kim’s .

However, a five on the flip swung things in Kim’s favour and sent Perez out the door. We were left with three players, while Perez earned $356,000.

The crowd had thinned slightly by this point, but spectators had been urging players to “show the bluff” whenever they got a bet through on the river. In one hand, Theologis was able to turn to the onlookers and accurately state that he had shown a bluff, but it was only because Kim had called it, was right to do so, and left Theologis in real peril as a result.

Theologis had only and played through all the streets as the dealer slowly put the board on the table. The bad news for this spirited bluffer was that Kim had and called all the way with his boat. Theologis was left with only about two big blinds.

He found one quick double, but got his stack in again soon after. This time Kim made a priced-in call and turned a straight with his to best Theologis’ . Theologis won $436,000 for third.

Heads up play began with Kim ahead by a handful of blinds, but there was near parity for the first time today. Another five minutes were trimmed from the levels and they settled down to play with about 40 blinds between them. Kim moved into a lead, but Camosci’s pocket tens beat Kim’s to put the Italian ahead. But then Kim got maximum value from his , which flopped top pair nines. He was back in the driving seat, and Camosci’s resistance was broken.

“It’s insane,” Kim said at the end, revealing that his wife had been the driving force behind his quest for a Triton trophy. He has one now to bring home, and it may end up being the first of many.

EVENT 1: $25K WPT GLOBAL ULTIMATE SLAM
Dates: November 1-2, 2024
Entries: 170 (inc. 63 re-entries)
Prize pool: $4,250,000

1 – Brian Kim, USA – $941,000
2 – Enrico Camosci, Italy – $634,000
3 – Alex Theologis, Greece – $436,000
4 – Roberto Perez, Spain – $356,000
5 – Tom Fuchs, Germany – $284,000
6 – Dominykas Mikolaitis, Lithuania – $218,000
7 – Aleks Ponakovs, Latvia – $159,000
8 – Ranno Sootia, Estonia – $115,000
9 – Elton Tsang, Hong Kong – $95,000

10 – Matthias Eibinger, Austria – $81,000
11 – Zhewen Hu, China – $81,000
12 – Xu Liang, China – $71,000
13 – Thomas Boivin, Belgium – $71,000
14 – Hossein Ensan, Germany – $64,000
15 – Emilien Pitovy, France – $64,000
16 – Roland Rokita, Austria – $57,000
17 – Frederic Delval, France – $57,000
18 – Benjamin Chalot, France – $51,000
19 – Konstantin Maslak, Rusia – $51,000
20 – Artur Martirosian, Russia – $51,000
21 – Isaac Haxton, USA – $47,000
22 – Nacho Barbero, Argentina – $47,000
23 – Tobias Schwecht, Germany – $47,000
24 – Sirzat Hissou, Germany – $43,000
25 – David Yan, New Zealand – $43,000
26 – Ian Bradley, UK – $43,000
27 – Dimitar Danchev, Bulgaria – $43,000

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

The Triton Invitational cash game is no place for the faint-hearted. In order to secure that coveted invitation, you’ve first got to be the sociable sort, but secondly you have to be prepared to put both your money and your reputation on the line.

They don’t come much more sociable than the Danish pro Henrik Hecklen, and he is rolled for these kinds of stakes thanks to some superlative tournament performances. But after a punishing session on Day 3 of this cash game at the Landing Resort, Jeju, Hecklen might be pondering whether he wants to come back.

Of the eight players who set foot on the streaming stage today, seven walked away with a profit. By the blunt mechanics of this zero-sum game, that meant that the eighth player had to pay them all. That man was Henrik Hecklen. His was the only name in the red letters.

Of course, Hecklen wasn’t the only one playing big pots. With the likes of Rui Cao, Tan Xuan, Elton Tsang, ST Wang, Andy Ni, Wai Kin Yong and Wiktor Malinowski also at the table, how could he possibly be? Ni in particular made today’s stage his own, and ended up with the biggest profit.

Let’s take a look at how some of the big ones went down. They were playing blinds of $1,000/$2,000 with a $2,000 big blind ante.

NI THE MYSTERY AGAINST CAO

Things had been going fairly smoothly in the opening exchanges, with only Tan Xuan’s stack having taken an early hit. Then the Mystery Hand landed in front of Andy Ni and viewers of the stream will have known something was brewing.

Wiktor Malinowski opened to $5,000 from the hijack with and Rui Cao called on the button with pocket sixes. Ni was in the small blind and bumped it up to $25,000, with only Cao calling.

The flop was the and Ni bet $21,000. Cao wasn’t scared of that. He called again for the turn. The pot was a little over $100,000 at this point, but Ni then rifled everything he had at it. It was a bet of $147,000, which covered Cao’s stack by only a couple of thousand.

Cao didn’t take very long to call with his sixes, forcing Ni to sheepishly table his for nothing but over-cards.

They ran it only once, and that was not enough for Ni to catch up. Cao took down this $391,000 pot with a boat after a third four landed on the river.

NI AT IT AGAIN, THIS TIME FARES BETTER

Andy Ni had clearly come to play, and he managed to profit in full from his earlier bluff when he picked up pocket aces and scored a full double up through Tan Xuan, who had and flopped a double belly-buster on the board. Ni’s hand held, and Ni was back in business.

He had the Mystery Hand again not long after and went to work once more. Ni quickly raised to $5,000 from UTG+1 and Wiktor Malinowski, with , was the only caller. Malinowski flopped very well when the first three cards out were . Ni bet $10,000 and Malinowski just called.

The turn was tricky. It was the . Ni led $24,000 and Malinowski took his only option, which was to call. That took them to the river. Ni found an enormous bet now. It was $84,000, the full pot. Malinowski took some time as he pondered what had become a very tough decision, and eventually decided to let this one go.

Ni slid his cards back to the dealer, but the viewers now got to find out what they were. Ni had been bluffing all along with and pulled off a worldie here. His impudence bought himself a $167,000 pot.

XUAN TRIES IT ON WITH FIVE HIGH

ST Wang had the solid and raised to $5,000 from UTG+1. Tan Xuan, from the hijack, three-bet to $18,000. He had the Mystery Hand, which put even the viewers in the same position as Xuan’s mystified opponents.

Wang liked the flop. It was but he checked it over to his aggressive opponent, and duly saw Xuan bet $18,000. Wang called, allowing Xuan to keep the betting lead.

The turn was the and Wang checked again, and Xuan went big. He put $53,000 in the middle, taking the pot to $130,000. Wang called again, with the completing the board. Wang checked for a third time, and Xuan bet for a third time. It was $165,000, a sizing that sowed some doubt even in the mind of Brian Rast, from the commentary booth.

Wang’s call put the pot up to $513,000 and Wang knew immediately it was coming his way as Xuan snap-mucked his . Despite his best efforts, five high was not winning this one.

HECKLEN NEEDS A KING. GETS TWO

Henrik Hecklen lost his first $200,000 buy-in before the first break in play, mostly when he ran pocket 10s into Wai Kin Yong’s pocket aces, but reloaded to return for the second frame and grew a narrow profit. However, he then found pocket kings at the same time as ST Wang had pocket aces and…well, no.

This actually *isn’t* the hand where Hecklen lost it all.

In fact, despite them getting it in pre-flop and running it twice, Hecklen somehow scored a full double-up this time — plus a little, as Tan Xuan had also been involved with pre-flop, before the two big pocket pairs got busy four, five and six-betting.

With Xuan out the way and all the money in the middle, the first run-out gave Hecklen a king on the turn to secure him half the pot. And the case king appeared on the turn on the second run-out too. This pot was worth $561,000 and it all went Hecklen’s way.

At this point, Hecklen had amassed a tidy profit.

NI SOMEHOW WRIGGLES FREE

Three players got to the flop following Wiktor Malinowski’s UTG open to $5,000. They were Henrik Hecklen, who called UTG+1, and Andy Ni who did the same on the button. Malinowski had . Ni had pocket threes. Hecklen had the Mystery Hand.

Ni flopped a set when the first three cards came down . Malinowski, with an open-ended straight draw, checked, but Hecklen bet $5,000. Ni kept his hand strength disguised with a call, and Malinowski called as well.

The turn added a flush draw to Malinowski’s hand but he checked again. Hecklen bet $25,000. Ni, still sitting with a set, opted just to call again, and Malinowski came along too.

The missed Malinowski’s draws and he checked. Hecklen, however, fired out once more. He put $75,000 out there and built the pot to $185,000. Ni had Malinowski still behind him, and clearly wasn’t comfortable with his bottom set. He took a good amount of time deciding what to do, using at least five time extensions. And he then decided to throw his hand away.

Malinowski folded immediately behind him, and we then found out whether Ni had been right. He was. Hecklen had pocket fives for a bigger set, and Ni’s incredible instincts somehow lost him the absolute minimum.

NI BAFFLES EVERYONE, LANDS NEAR-$1M POT

Yet again Andy Ni had the Mystery Hand and he looked around the table and saw Tan Xuan open to $12,000 (there was a straddle this time) from the cutoff. Viewers knew that Xuan had pocket queens, but Ni was obviously not partial to the same information. He three-bet to $47,000 from the big blind nonetheless. The other players all folded, but Xuan called.

The flop was the and Ni bet $60,000. Xuan made the call. The came on the turn. Ni bet another $80,000, a relatively small bet into a pot of $240,000. Xuan called again boosting the pot to $381,000.

The completed the board and Ni found the all-in shove. It was for $273,000. Brian Rast, in the commentary booth, put Ni on a bluff with the ace of diamonds in his hand. Xuan was the man who had to make the in-play decision, however, and after a while in the tank, he made the call.

Ni then rolled over his to confound everyone and haul in a pot of $927,000.

HECKLEN RUNS INTO CAO’S BOAT

Despite some momentous hands in which he had come from behind to win, Henrik Hecklen entered the final frame of the night about $400K down. And things were only about to get worse during the period of play that is always the wildest. He lost a pot of $705,000 to Rui Cao with what we can only assume was a cooler.

Cao was on the button and raised to $5,000 with red pocket 10s. Tan Xuan, with , called from the small blind and Hecklen three-bet to $30,000 from the big blind. There was a slight error with the card reading technology on the table, which meant viewers only knew that Hecklen had the . His other card was unknown. Cao called and Xuan folded.

The flop was and Hecklen bet $50,000. It didn’t shake Cao, who called and saw the best card for him: the fell on the turn. Hecklen was drawing dead regardless of what his second hole card was, but rifled another $90,000 at it. Cao just called behind him. The came on the river.

There was a chance now that Hecklen too had a boat, if he had the case eight in his hand. But his check suggested it wasn’t, and when Cao went for it with a shove for his last $179,000, Hecklen went into the tank.

It was clear now that he didn’t actually have an eight — that would have been a snap-call, almost certainly — but he still had something there he liked. After a good long time in the tank, Hecklen put out calling chips and insta-mucked when shown Cao’s full house. It’s not clear still what Hecklen had, but it was only good enough for a rueful shake of the head.

TOP PAIR NOT GOOD ENOUGH, TWICE

Not long after the hand described above, Henrik Hecklen was again crestfallen when his flopped top pair on a board of in a pot against Wiktor Malinowski. However, Malinowski had pocket queens and took down a near $150K pot.

Top pair wasn’t good enough for Hecklen again soon after, this time when playing Elton Tsang. In this one, Hecklen looked down at and raised to $5,000. Tsang found pocket queens this time — the exact hand Malinowski had above — and three-bet to $17,000. Hecklen called.

The may have looked good to Hecklen, but it was actually pretty terrible. Hecklen check-called Tsang’s $35,000 bet. The came on the turn and Hecklen now shoved for his last $129,000. Tsang snap-called.

They ran it only once but the river couldn’t save Hecklen. He was felted again, and called for another $200K to stay in the game.

Hecklen tried to get things going again in multiple pots during the final hour, but connected with nothing after pre-flop raises. He dwindled all the way to a difficult day of losses.

XUAN GETS OUT THE HOLE AGAINST CAO

As the day drew near its conclusion, Tan Xuan was the only other player at the table in red figures, but he soon managed to haul himself into the black in a big pot against Rui Cao. It wiped out most of Cao’s profit in one fell swoop, but put a smile back on Xuan’s face.

Andy Ni started things off with a raise to $5,000 from UTG with . Cao three-bet to $16,000 with from the cutoff and Xuan, with the Mystery Hand, four bet to $53,000 from the button.

The advantage for Xuan is that nobody believes that he has anything good at any time. He will get his chips in regardless of his holding. While Ni folded, Cao made the call and these two battlers saw the flop.

Cao now had top pair and a draw to the second nuts. His was looking powerful in this spot. However, he checked it, perhaps knowing he’d face a bet from Xuan. It was $35,000 and Cao called. The turn added a new layer of intrigue and Cao check-called an $85,000 bet from Xuan.

The completed the board and Cao checked once more. He had missed his flush draw, but still had top pair. Xuan dug deep into his stack and bet $250,000. Cao thought long and hard and was able to find the fold. It was a good fold. Xuan had , which would have been enough.

Cao did very well to get away.

*****

“One loser game!” said Brian Rast in the commentary booth as action concluded and the graphic showed the profit/loss totals for the day. It seems especially harsh on Henrik Hecklen that he ended up paying off everyone else at the table. He didn’t make many, if any, out and out errors, and he even got kings to beat aces, twice.

“But that’s how it is sometimes,” Ali Nejad added. And Hecklen will know that too.

The players headed off for their dinner (or to another game somewhere) as the broadcast ended for another night.

Two more days to come, so please join us then.

DAY 3: PROFIT/LOSS

Andy Ni: +$235,000
Esti Wang: +$218,000
Tan Xuan: +$144,000
Elton Tsang: +$105,000
Wiktor Malinowski: +$100,000
Wai Kin Yong: +$53,000
Rui Cao: +$20,000

Henrik Hecklen: -$875,000

The second day of the Triton Cash Game Invitational from Jeju welcomed some brand new players alongside some very familiar faces, and once again served up the kind of high stakes action that is unmatched in the world of poker.

There was no time for Wiktor “Iimitless” Malinowski to lick his wounds from yesterday. He took a seat once more. Meanwhile, yesterday’s conquering heroes Elton Tsang and Tan Xuan brought their hard-earned winnings back to the table, where they were joined once again by ST Wang, Andy Ni, Rui Cao and Danny Tang.

But there was also a first glimpse at this invitational of Wai Kin Yong, one of the Triton Super High Roller Series’ most successful tournament players. And Aaron Zang, the winner of Triton’s richest ever tournament took a cash-game chair as well. With fellow newcomers Wai Leong and Taiwan’s Howard also sitting down, this was already certain to be intriguing. And when you add to the mix the player known only as Happy, there was another spectacular line-up, another feast for viewers of the stream.

Could Tsang and Xuan do it again? Would Malinowski bounce back, or would the only thing limitless turn out to be his losses? More importantly, would Happy end the day still happy?

As ever, this was an unforgiving session. Let’s take a look at some of the highlights.

CAO COMES ROARING OUT THE BLOCKS

The players made an early decision to switch the blind structure slightly. They reduced yesterday’s $5K big blind ante to $2K. It wasn’t clear what effect, if any, it would have on the action, and certainly neither Elton Tsang nor Rui Cao seemed to alter much, if this first major hand was anything to go by.

Tsang was sitting with red pocket deuces on the button and Cao, one seat to his left in the small blind, received the first Mystery Hand of the night. He three-bet to $45,000. Andy Ni let go in the big blind, and even Tan Xuan, in the straddle, tossed away , allowing these two titans to slug it out.

Tsang called with his deuces and the dealer put the out for them. Cao insta-bet $35,000. Tsang took a few beats longer before calling.

The turn brought the and Cao did not slow down. He now bet $80,000. Tsang called again. The completed the board.

Tsang obviously still only had the smallest pair, but remembering that Cao had three-bet pre-flop, he was in a super difficult spot when Cao moved all-in for $260,000 with the haste of someone on a bullying bluff. Tsang took a while, munched on some salad, bought himself some more time with a time-bank chip, but then tossed in the call.

Cao casually tabled having taken a speculative pre-flop line with a suited face card and flopped trips. This $848,000 pot head in the flying Frenchman’s direction. After a chastening opening session yesterday, it was the moment Rui Cao arrived today.

TANG TAKES ON TWO

ST Wang looked down at black pocket kings in the hijack and raised to $11,000. Danny Tang was on the button, and he looked down on something intriguing. It was the Mystery Hand, but he liked it well enough to make a call. Andy Ni was in the big blind and he came along as well with his .

This quickly became even more fascinating. After a flop of , Ni had trips and Wang had an over-pair. But remember it was Tang who had the Mystery Hand. Both Ni and Wang checked, prompting Tang to bet $14,000.

Ni called, setting a trap perhaps? And Wang was going nowhere. He called too. Then the landed on the turn. Ni checked again, but Wang now bet. He put $27,000 in the middle. Tang called and Ni also only called. The river was one more terrible card for ST Wang’s pocket kings.

Ni checked for a third time. Wang correctly determined that his kings were no longer good (if they ever were) and checked too. But Tang pondered long and hard before firing out $90,000. It built the pot beyond $250,000 and left Ni now with a tough decision.

Ni managed to find a fold. And Wang quickly folded behind him. We now learned Tang’s hand: pocket fives. His flopped boat earned him a quarter of a million in this one.

TANG CAN’T HALT THE CAO MACHINE

The TV director gave Rui Cao the Mystery Hand once again, a sure indication that fireworks were about to fly once more, and Cao did not disappoint. This time his adversary was the Triton tournament crusher Danny Tang, and viewers got a sample here of just how formidable an opponent Cao really is.

Tang found on the button and raised to $12,000. Acting, as always, in the blink of an eye, Cao three-bet to $50,000 from the big blind putting a tough decision back with Tang. He opted to call, buying him a look at the flop. Cao immediately bet another $50,000.

Tang was slightly more measured in opting to slowly call, which took them to the turn. It was still an incredibly dry board, but Cao kept his foot on the gas with another polarising bet of $135,000. Tang still wasn’t convinced and made another call, a quizzical look etched on his face.

The landed on the river and Cao now reached for his remaining tower of white, $25K chips. He bet $400,000. Tang still only had ace high (and only had $377K left in his stack) but this was Rui Cao. Had he hit again, or was he just at it? Tang took a while. Was this worth risking his entire stack? Could he find the most heroic of hero calls?

Ultimately Tang decided to preserve his chips. He let his hand go. He wouldn’t be a hero this time. Only then did viewers get to see the in Cao’s hand. Tang had better, but Cao had blasted him out of it for a pot of $877,000 this time.

CAO PROFITS THROUGH WANG

ST Wang took a near $600K hit in yesterday’s session and Day 2 didn’t quite go according to plan for Wang either. He became the latest player to run into a rampant Rui Cao, with the Frenchman hitting his draw as Wang missed his.

Action folded all the way round to Cao in the small blind and he called with . Andy Ni called from the big blind with and Wang checked his straddle, sitting with . So far, so sedate, and things didn’t seem to change all that much after the flop. After two checks, Wang bet $6,000 with his top pair.

Cao now unveiled his plan. He raised it to $25,000. Ni folded immediately, but Wang ha every reason to think he was good still and made the call. But the turn was gross. Not only did it fill Cao’s inside straight, it gave Wang a flush draw and an inside straight draw of his own. It meant that when Cao bet $40,000, Wang could make a call.

The river missed Wang. And Cao wasn’t going to make things easy on him. He bet $150,000. Wang wasn’t able to find the fold, which meant the pot ballooned to $444,000 before it headed to Cao.

NI COOLERS XUAN FOR $1.4M

Neither Andy Ni nor Tan Xuan is ever shy of getting their chips in a pot, but when they both flopped monsters, the biggest hand of the night was all but sure to ensue. This one was gross — and worth close to $1.4 million.

Wiktor Malinowski got things started with a raise to $10K with from the hijack. Xuan tossed in a casual call from the cutoff with and, after action folded to the big blind, Ni fancied a squeeze with . He made it $45,000.

Malinowski folded, but Xuan stuck around with his pocket pair. And he was rewarded immediately, with the absolute perfect flop for this particular set of hands. Ni flopped two pair and Xuan a set when the dealer put the on the table.

Ni bet $40,000. “Andy has no idea he has just stepped on a landmine,” said Ali Nejad in the commentary booth. Xuan opted to detonate it immediately. He raised to $130,000. Ni still had every reason to think his hand was good and he three-bet to $250,000. Xuan chose just to call. It swelled the pot to $607,000 and, with Ni having only $378,000 behind, there was every chance it was all going in on the turn.

But what a turn it was for Ni. The dealer put the on the table, with Ni now hitting a bigger boat than Xuan. Ni carefully counted out a bet of $200,000 — more than half his stack — and Xuan now found reason to pause. However, he soon emerged from his brief contemplation by shoving.

Ni called instantly and showed Xuan the bad news. Xuan responded with a sober nod of the head and an agreement to run it twice. But Ni had a lock on it. This $1.363 million pot headed in his direction.

—–

At the halfway point in the night, the line-up on the feature table changed, with only Wiktor Malinowski and Andy Ni keeping their seats. They were joined by Wai Kin Yong, Aaron Zang and a player known only by their first name Howard, who was representing Taiwan. After a couple of orbits, a seventh seat was filled by Happy, the first woman to sit down at this second cash-game invitational, and then Wai Leong Chan, of Malaysia arrived too.

Blinds were now $500/$1,000 with a $2,000 big blind ante. Everyone had $100,000 at the start, or 100 big blinds. It was, necessarily, a smaller game now. But the action didn’t stop.

MALINOWSKI’S ROUGH RIDE CONTINUES

Wiktor Malinowski is one of the most respected cash-game poker players on the planet, with huge results both online and in brick and mortar settings. (He’s not a bad tournament player either.) But this week in Jeju has been very difficult for him so far: his big hands keep getting beaten, he can’t get value when he’s ahead, and every now and then he keeps running into it.

That sorry run continued after the resumption today, with Malinowski picking up the powerful on the button, but at precisely the wrong time.

Andy Ni was in the cutoff and he found pocket aces. That was good enough for a raise to $5,000. Malinowski found that — a hand beloved of poker players these days — and three bet to $14,000. Ni saw no reason to slow down. He four bet to $40,000. Malinowski jammed for just shy of $200K (this is the solver-approved play), and Ni snapped.

The players negotiated to run it twice, but there was not enough on either board for Malinowski. He flopped a pair and turned a flush draw on the first, but missed, and saw nothing of any use on the second. This $375,000 pot headed to Ni as Malinowski reloaded once more.

CHAN’S TURN TO BEST MALINOWSKI

When things aren’t going well, they aren’t going well. And Wiktor Malinowski lost another big pot to Wai Leong Chan soon after. In this one, Malinowski had and opened to $2,500 from the cutoff, only to see Chan three-bet to $10,000 from the small blind. Chan had pocket nines.

Malinowski decided to fight fire with fire. He four bet to $24,000. Chan called to see a flop, which came . Neither player improved, and the over-card might have frightened Chan. He checked. But after Malinowski bet $13,000, Chan refused to be deterred and made the call. The turn was the perfect .

Chan checked again, now laying a trap. Malinowski had the so had outdraw possibilities, fuelling a bet of $41,000. Chan didn’t wait to allow Malinowski to possibly realise his equity and moved all in for $98,000.

Malinowski was now priced into a pot of $272,000. He called and they agreed to run it twice. But the dealer has been no friend to Malinowski this week. Neither of two river cards helped him out and Chan scooped the lot.

HOWARD DOESN’T BELIEVE ZANG (IS RIGHT NOT TO)

Aaron Zang will always be remembered for his incredible victory at the Triton Million in London in 2019, but he has subsequently proved that was no fluke. He’s won another title on the Triton Super High Roller Series, and is a mean cash-game player too.

However tonight’s newcomer, Howard, showed he wasn’t scared to mix it with Zang in a big pot in this second session, catching Zang trying to muscle him out of a pot. Howard had and raised to $5,000 in the hijack. Zang called on the button (he had the Mystery Hand), Happy called in the small blind with and Wiktor Malinowski called too in the straddle/UTG with .

The flop brought the . Happy and Malinowski checked, but Howard put out a $9,000 continuation bet. Only Zang called. The turn was the and Howard bet again. This time it was $22,000. The river was the , which now hit Howard. He had the nut blocker with his along with his second pair.

Howard decided to put out a small bet. It was $23,000. But Zang snap raised, putting $105,000 out there, which was all Howard had left. We don’t know much about this man from Taiwan, but Zang quickly found out he wasn’t to be pushed around. Howard correctly deduced that Zang had bluffs in his range, and he turned over pocket fours to prove Howard right.

Howard won a pot of $292,000 to get his Triton career off to a terrific start.

*****

With that, coverage of this second day drew to a close. The newcomers endured/enjoyed mixed fortunes, while some of the old guard — chiefly Wiktor Malinowski — had nights to forget. Happy’s stack dwindled in small increments, leaving her down $140,000 by the end of the night.

But there were big wins for Andy Ni and Howard, plus the star of the show, Rui Cao. They will all be back for more…

DAY 2 PROFIT/LOSS

FIRST HALF

Andy Ni: +$872,000
Rui Cao: +$843,000

Danny Tang: -$197,000
ST Wang: -$239,000
Elton Tsang: -$360,000
Tan Xuan: -$428,000
Wiktor Malinowski: -$491,000

SECOND HALF

Andy Ni: +$364,500
Howard: +$156,000
Wai Kin Yong: $69,500
Wai Leong: $14,500
Aaron Zang: $3,000

Happy: -$140,000
Wiktor Malinowski: -$442,000

The second Triton Series Cash Game Invitational got started with a characteristic bang in Jeju today, with poker’s superstars doing battle with some of the most fearless high-rolling recreational players and creating a typical flurry of high-stakes action.

Million-dollar pots? Yep. Crazy holdings making unbeatable hands? Yep! Elite pros wondering why they ever decided to play this game? But of course.

At the outset, seven players sat down with $500K apiece, playing blinds of $1K/$2K with a $5K big blind ante. That’s 250 big blinds each, but if we know anything from Triton cash games, that was unlikely to be the only money to make it to the table.

There were seats for three pros at the beginning: Wiktor Malinowski, Danny Tang and Rui Cao. But with “businessmen” players as skilled as Elton Tsang, Andy Ni, Tan Xuan and ST Wang also around the table, this was always going to be tough.

Henrik Hecklen also joined the action at about the half-way point of an eight-hour session, but did they go easy on the Danish tournament crusher? Well, of course not. However, it was far from easy for any of these established greats — as Wiktor “Iimitless” Malinowski will be first to testify.

Here are some of the highlights of a scintillating first day.

CAO’S QUADS DOWN COWBOYS

Wiktor Malinowski found black pocket kings and raised to $10,000 from the hijack. Rui Cao, in the small blind, found something he liked too and tossed in the call. The TV director smelled something brewing and kept Cao’s cards hidden. He was on the Mystery Hand.

Andy Ni came along as well from the straddle, holding , which meant three players saw a flop of . All three checked.

The turn didn’t look like it could possibly change much, but Cao put out a $25,000 bet. Ni immediately let his straight draw and second pair go, but Malinowski called with his over-pair.

The river was the and a focused Cao seemed to sense that this was his time. He bet $125,000. Malinowski’s hand hadn’t improved, but his pocket kings still seemed appealing. He made the call.

Cao delightedly slapped down red pocket eights. He flopped top set and rivered quads, enough for a $337,000 pot to be slid his way.

MALINOWSKI PUNISHED BY WANG’S SPECULATION

Elton Tsang picked up in the cutoff and raised to $12,000. Wiktor Malinowski had another premium pocket pair — this time — and he was done with playing it slow. He raised to $44,000 from the big blind.

ST Wang was in the UTG straddle and he decided to increase his $4,000 pre-flop investment to a mighty $150,000, a four-bet that put even Malinowski’s queens under pressure. At this stage, stream viewers didn’t know the contents of Wang’s Mystery Hand.

Malinowski had a decision. In the commentary booth, Brian Rast thought the queens were far “too much hand” to fold, but admitted that they didn’t play especially well post flop with the effective stack size. Rast thought Malinowski’s call was totally reasonable, and the flop did not seem likely to have changed much.

Malinowski checked. Wang checked back. The turn paired the board. Malinowski now decided to take the betting lead back. He put $80,000 over the line. Wang called.

The river was the and Malinowski pushed out $115,000, a quarter-pot bet. He succeeded in forcing Wang to double check his hand. Silently, as always, Wang took his time but then found a call.

Malinowski tabled his over-pair, but once again it was no good. This time, he had been beaten by Wang’s — his out-of-line four bet turned trips for a pot of more than $700K.

TSANG TURNS LIMP/THREE-BET INTO MILLION DOLLAR SHOVE

Things were getting very spicy very quickly in Jeju and Elton Tsang needed to get involved. When viewers on the stream saw him given the Mystery Hand, they no doubt began rubbing their own hands in anticipation. What could this one mean?

Tsang enhanced the mystery with a flat call from UTG+1. Yet again, Wiktor Malinowski had a premium, however, and he raised to $20,000 with his on the button.

Everyone else got out the way, but Tsang now made it very interesting. He three-bet to $80,000 — the old limp/three-bet combo beloved of low-stakes amateurs sitting with aces. But in a game of high-level competitors playing for eye-watering stakes, what could this one really mean?

Malinowski called, taking them to a flop of . Tsang took his time before putting $65,000 in the middle. Malinowski was going nowhere. He called, leaving himself with $242,000 behind. The turn seemed to change nothing.

Tsang burned another timebank chip, before moving all in with a covering stack of more than $1 million. It was the first (of what will surely be many) million-dollar pots of this cash-game invitational, even though technically Malinowski could only potentially lose what he had left: $242K. He nonetheless had a decision for all of it.

Even though he had “only” ace high, Brian Rast in the commentary box explained how Malinowski could easily feel he had a chance here. He was beating plenty of ace-highs with which Tsang could be playing the exact same way.

Although Rast concluded that he might actually call this shove if he’d have been in Malinowski’s shoes, the Polish cash-game crusher thought better of it. He let his hand go. Only now did the TV director show us the pocket kings in Tsang’s hand. He had been playing it like the old school after all.

It put another $302K into Tsang’s stack as Malinowski’s slide continued.

MORE QUADS, THIS TIME FOR TAN

ST Wang got things started in this one with a raise to $11,000 in the hijack. He had , so why not. Andy Ni called in the cutoff with and Elton Tsang also joined the party from the big blind with .

Tan Xuan didn’t want to miss out. He made the call too from the straddle, with .

The flop checked around to Wang, who bet $18,000 with his up-and-down straight draw. Ni, with a flush draw, valued it as a call. and while Tsang folded, Xuan liked his bottom pair enough to call as well.

This turned out to be a great decision. The turn was the , giving Xuan trips, but Wang now blasted out $60,000. Ni let it go, but Xuan was going nowhere. He called. And the river was the , making Xuan quads!

Xuan laid the trap with a check. Wang had nothing and knew only a bluff could possibly win it for him. However, he is a wily competitor. Maybe he sensed something, but he opted to wave the white flag and check it back, allowing Xuan to table his quads.

Xuan won the $224,000 pot, but Wang will likely celebrate not losing much, much more.

NI DRILLS RIVER TO DOUBLE THROUGH WANG

Wiktor Malinowski had surely had enough of playing with premium cards and, after looking down at , raised to $10,000 from the cutoff. One seat along, ST Wang found and called. Andy Ni, with the Mystery Hand, called in the small blind too.

The dealer put the on the table and, after two checks, Wang bet $12,000 with top pair. Malinowski was done with this one, but Ni made the call.

The came on the turn and Ni checked it again. Wang now had the nut flush draw to go with his top pair and he bet $30,000. Ni still liked it, though, and called.

The river improved Wang’s hand again. He now had two pair. However, it was Ni who now suggested he liked things very much, moving all in for $283,000.

Wang was now really up against it, even though his hand had technically got better through every street. Wang eventually put forward the call, but he quickly learned that Ni had rivered the nuts with having flopped a flush draw, turned a straight draw and nailed it on the river.

This $693,000 pot went to Ni (and a huge amount of cred to Brian Rast on comms, who picked his hand precisely).

WANG GETS MAXIMUM FROM NI

ST Wang was once again holding the Mystery Hand, and he liked it enough to raise it to $18,000 in the big blind, after pre-flop action folded all the way round to him. Only Andy Ni, in the UTG straddle still had cards, and he was prepared to call with his .

The flop came , which both players checked (Ni checking top pair), and the turn was the . Wang checked again, but after Ni now bet $15,000, Wang found a check-raise. He bumped it up to $75,000. Ni stuck around to see the river.

Wang had seized the betting lead after his check-raise on the turn, and quickly bet $200K, approximately the size of the pot. Ni still had his top pair, but likely realised it was basically a bluff-catcher, with a blocker.

Ni thought about it a while, but eventually put out calling chips. Wang was able to show his pocket sevens, which had turned a set. This near $600K pot headed over to ST Wang.

MASSIVE HANDS = MASSIVE POT

While most of the most spectacular Triton cash game hands tend to come about when players have unpredictable holdings, some of the biggest pots just mean massive hands. When Rui Cao and ST Wang got involved in a huge pre-flop raising war, it was because both of them had aces. Could either earn a gross outdraw from this cooler situation to land a pot worth $1.7 million?

Cao had red aces in the cutoff and raised to $10,000. Wang had black aces on the button and he three-bet to $35,000. Cao quickly four-bet to $110,000 but now Wang responded with a five-bet to $240,000.

Cao has a reputation for playing aggressively with any two cards, so figured here that he could get away with a six-bet and still sow a seed of doubt into an opponent’s mind. He made it $400,000 to go. Wang wasn’t interested in anything flashier. He seven-bet jammed for his stack of more than $1 million, and Cao obviously made the call to set up this ridiculous monster.

Over to the dealer to determine their fate. They ran it just once and only Cao had an outside chance of taking all of it after the flop. But the turn confirmed the split, with each player successfully both dodging bullets and profiting from them.

XUAN AT HIS BEST TO DESTROY MALINOWSKI

This is the kind of hand the Triton Cash Game Invitationals are all about, with Tan Xuan’s audacious play leaving Wiktor Malinowski wishing he’d stayed at home.

Xuan had the Mystery Hand and opened to $12,000 from UTG+1. Malinowski’s latest premium holding was and he raised to $36,000 on the button. Elton Tsang let his go from the straddle, but Xuan called.

The dealer put the on the table, and Xuan checked. Malinowski bet $32,000, but Xuan came along once more.

The turn was the , pairing the board again, and Xuan decided to take control of the hand. He bet $46,000. Malinowski called. The river was the . Xuan amassed a bet — an overbet — of $280,000 and put it over the line. Malinowski now had an incredibly tough decision. He only had ace high, with the two pair on the board, but knew this was an opponent capable of anything.

After a good while in the tank, Malinowski decided to make the call. Xuan rolled over for the turned boat, and an $800,000 pot headed in Xuan’s direction.

To recap this one: Xuan called a three-bet with small suited one-gappers, flopped a pair, turned a boat. By the end of the hand, he had middled boat, blocked a smaller boat with his otherwise irrelevant kicker, but was still vulnerable to a bigger boat. He still found an overbet, however, and got a call from worse.

We love it.

*****

After all the incredible fireworks of this brilliant opening session, there was just time too for Henrik Hecklen to lose his entire $500K stack in a pot against Malinowski. He had a little less than $300K of that starting stack left when he found and got it all in as a four-bet after Malinowski had three bet with pocket queens.

The two pros ran in twice, but the pocket pair held up to give a $620K pot to Malinowski and end Hecklen’s session prematurely. It was a welcome boost for Malinowski, who still ended the day furthest in the red.

Elton Tsang was once again the day’s biggest winner, with the unstoppable Tan Xuan not far behind. That’s a wrap for Day 1. Four more to go!

DAY 1 PROFIT/LOSS

Elton Tsang: +$1,140,000
Tan Xuan: +$866,000
Danny Tang: +$94,000
Rui Cao: +$13,000

Andy Ni: -$281,000
Henrik Hecklen: -$500,000
Esti Wang: -$596,000
Wiktor Malinowski: -$736,000