Category: 2024

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

“We got a game!” shouted Elton Tsang, flexing his muscles and pumping his arms as the players assembled for the final day of an extraordinary Triton Series Cash Game Invitational at the Maestral Resort and Casino, Montenegro.

Tsang was jubilant because tournament organisers had just confirmed the stakes for this last day: blinds of $2K/$5K with a $5K big blind ante. We had indeed got a game.

For Tsang, the bigger the better. Despite a hiccup yesterday, he has been by far the biggest winner through the previous six days and now here he was with one last shot to boost that bankroll even more.

Tsang was appropriately seated in Seat 1 for the opening exchanges. He’s been in the top spot throughout. But there was no way he was going to have it all his own way, not with the rest of the table filled by yesterday’s big winner, Ferdinand, then other usual suspects Paul Phua, ST Wang, Andy Ni and Tan Xuan.

The two pros as as things got started were Danny Tang and Patrik Antonius, with Adrian Mateos and Brian Kim preparing to join later in the evening.

Suffice to say that we did, indeed, have a game. Here are some selected highlights.

FIRST HAND FELTING FOR ANDY NI

The history that has developed over the previous six days clearly played into the first hand of the final session. In it, Andy Ni, a player of measured aggression, made a crying call with fourth pair on a paired board, for all his chips, and turned $500K into dust in a single hand. Yep. Ni lost his first bullet on the very first hand of the session.

The man to profit was the ultimate Triton wild-card, Tan Xuan, who had the Mystery Hand on the opening deal. ST Wang opened the pot with a raise to $15,000 in the hijack with and Ni, in the cutoff, had black pocket sevens and called.

Xuan was in the small blind and he put in a three-bet to $62,000. Only Ni called.

The board brought two over-cards to Ni’s sevens. It was . Xuan led out for $75,000 and Ni called it.

The came on the turn and Xuan led again, this time for $140,000. Ni now had three cards out there that were bigger than his pocket pair, but he was still an unbeliever. He called. Then the completed the board.

Xuan had bought in for $1 million at the start of play, double everyone else’s $500,000, so when he jammed it was Ni who had the effective stack. Ni took awhile but then tossed in the call, quickly learning that Xuan had for trips.

Xuan therefore stacked up $1.5 million. Ni had to beckon over the chip runner for $500K more.

PRO VS. PRO FOR $1M

It took only another 10 minutes before we saw our second $1m pot of the night, but this time it was a hand that played out between the two pros at the table, Patrik Anotnius and Danny Tang. It took the commentators by surprise, who weren’t expecting to see such apparent abandon from the players whose play tends to be a little more measured.

Antonius had and opened from UTG to $12,000. Tang, one seat over, had and three-bet to $38,000. Their table position pointed to extreme strength and the other players shied away.

The flop was the all-action and Antonius check-called Tang’s $20,000 bet. That brought the on the turn.

Both players now had a pair. Tang’s was bigger, but Antonius had the flush draw too. Antonius checked, Tang bet $90,000 and to the surprise of all, Antonius ripped it in for $442,000. Tang was confused, but decided to call. He was ahead by a significant margin.

They decided to run the river twice, with a blank giving the first run to Tang, but the river earning Antonius half the pot.

PHUA FLUSHES WANG FOR $1M

The session was not even 45 minutes old and the third million dollar pot appeared. This one wasn’t chopped, even though Tan Xuan bizarrely took delivery of a samurai sword from a friend on the rail just at the hand’s denouement.

Xuan wasn’t actually in this hand. Instead, it was Boss Man Paul Phua, going up against ST Wang. Phua had the Mystery Hand to start things off, and he raised to $13,000 with it from the hijeck. Wang, with , was the lone caller, in the cutoff.

Wang hit top pair after the flop. Phua led for $16,000 and Wang called. The turn brought the . Phua now slowed to a check but Wang took over with a bet of $38,000. Phua wasn’t slowing down at all, actually. He put in the check-raise to $125,000. Wang called.

The river was the and Phua jammed for $360,000. That put Wang into the tank. Through the whole week, Phua has been playing pretty cute. He certainly hasn’t been caught bluffing in huge spots on many, if any, occasions. Nevertheless, Wang thought something was up here. He made the call with his pair of aces.

Phua revealed the Mystery Hand. It was . That flush was good enough for a $1,040,000 pot.

ANTONIUS HAS COME TO PLAY

By the standards set early on this final day, a pick-up of “only” around $170K might seem meagre. But the way Patrik Antonius did this one was delightful. Antonius and ST Wang played all the way with not much in either of their hands. But then push came to shove, it was Antonius who pushed hardest.

Wang opened the pot with , making it $15,000 from the cutoff. Antonius looked down at and three-bet to $45,000 on the button. This hand might easily have ended there, but Wang found a four-bet to $105,000. And then Antonius, with the solver-approved hand, called in position.

Wang flopped top pair on a monotone flop of . He bet $50,000. Antonius called. They then both checked the turn.

The river changed almost nothing, but after Wang checked, Antonius saw his chance. He bet $355,000, leaving only $3,000 behind, which put Wang to the test with his second pair. Ultimately Wang decided to let this one go, none the wiser that Antonius had been at it with his ace high.

It’s the power of position. But it’s also the power of Antonius.

Only an orbit or so later, Antonius was back at the bluffing game, this time forcing Tan Xuan and Andy Ni into folding better hands. Xuan opened to $12,000 with from UTG+1 and Antonius called in the cutoff. Ni found in the small blind and squeezed up to $59,000. Both Xuan and Antonius called.

Antonius, for the record, had the mighty .

Nobody hit anything on the flop and they all checked. That took them to the turn, when none of them had anything still. Antonius tried to buy in here with a bet to $750,000. Ni was the first to back down, but Xuan paid to see the river with his flush draw and over-cards.

The completed the board and Xuan’s ace was now the most powerful card out there. But he checked, which allowed Antonius to blast $125,000 at it. The sizing seemed to suggest it wanted a call, which is perhaps exactly why Xuan didn’t do it. He folded, allowing Antonius to get away with another one.

TSANG BUILDING STEADILY AGAIN

Elton Tsang managed to put together another near million-dollar profit before the mid-session interval today, including taking a pot of $600,000 from Danny Tang. This was actually a case of what might have been, but the two campaigners backed down from a big river duel.

Tang opened from UTG+1 with pocket nines. He made it $13,000 to play. Tsang found in the small blind and three-bet to $55,000. Tang called.

Tsang hit one of his over cards when the dealer put the flop out there. Tsang bet $40,000, but Tang wasn’t going anywhere yet. He called to see the turn. Tsang bet another $200,000, having added a flush draw to his pair. Tang called once more.

The completed the board and Tsang took a long, long time pondering whether to go looking for some thin value. He took a good couple of minutes before thinking better of it and checking it over to Tang.

“He’s not checking to fold,” Randy Lew said, in the commentary booth.

Tang didn’t ponder all that long. His nines had showdown value and he checked it back. Tsang’s pair of kings were good and this brought his stack up to around $1.9 million, $900K of which was profit.

NI AND XUAN: GET A ROOM

Yet more shenanigans featuring Tan Xuan and Andy Ni, who have both been superbly entertaining this entire week at the Triton Cash Game Invitational. They can surely be expecting an invitation for the next one.

In this hand, Elton Tsang opened things with , making it $13,000 from UTG+1. Ni found suited connectors, and put in a three-bet to $36,000 from the hijack. But then Xuan found pocket tens in the small blind and four-bet to $115,000.

For the Cash Game Invitational, this was standard.

What was perhaps unexpected was that Tsang folded. Ni, however, made the call and the pair saw the flop of . Tsang would have flopped two pair, but the active players both missed. No matter. Xuan rifled $75,000 at it and Ni called with absolutely nothing.

The only card that could possibly give Ni encouragement was the , and he found it on the turn. Xuan, however, wasn’t done. He took a $100K stab at it. Now sitting with a big combo draw, Ni clicked the all-in button. He had $221,000 in his stack.

Surely Xuan couldn’t call this, with only third pair, could he? He nearly did. But ultimately he let it go and the chips went Ni’s way.

SURPRISE SURPRISE: XUAN BLUFFS AGAIN

Adrian Mateos and Brian Kim came in to replace Danny Tang and Patrik Antonius. The departing two fared slightly differently than each other, with Antonius recording a health profit and Tang licking his wounds.

But the pros had to wait a little while to get involved because ST Wang, Elton Tsang and Tan Xuan, yet again, got involved in the first significant pot. It was the very first deal after they had sat down after dinner.

Wang, who was nursing a deficit of around $1.7 million at this stage, had UTG and he raised to $13,000. Xuan, comfortably in the black for his night, called on the button, but then Tsang found in the big blind. He three-bet to $88,000. Only Xuan called. His cards were disguised from viewers on the stream.

The flop was and Tsang check-called Xuan’s bet of $38,000. They then both checked the turn. The river still didn’t connect with Tsang’s hand, but he put out a bet of $5,000 — in this game, only one big blind.

If this was meant to be a blocker, it didn’t quite work. Xuan put $160,000 forward. Tsang had the ace-king to go with the sevens on the board, but couldn’t quite find the call. He would have been good if he’d managed it. Xuan had for one more bluff.

MATEOS TAKES HEAPS; WANG WITH BRILLIANT FOLD

ST Wang ended today’s session with a loss of more than $1.1 million. But it might have been even worse for him had he not trusted his instincts in a pot against Adrian Mateos and Paul Phua in which he dumped the second nuts, and was right to.

This was an incredible fold, which came about in a hand that began with a raise to $15,000 from UTG from Mateos and a call from Paul Phua in the cutoff. Mateos’ hand only became known to viewers of the stream at the end, by which point all his chips were in the middle. Phua, however, had and Wang, who also decided to call in the big blind, had .

The flop brought top pair and a straight draw for Phua, with Wang picking up a flush draw. It was . Wang checked. Mateos checked. Phua bet $31,000 and Wang now put in the check-raise to $100,000. Both Mateos and Phua called.

The turn helped nobody and all three players checked. That brought the on the river, which filled everything. Phua now had his straight and Wang now had his flush. But after Wang checked, it was Mateos who took over. He broke cover with a shove for $385,000.

Phua took a moment but he called. And that put the decision back on Wang. He had the king high flush, but reasoned that the action before him suggested he might be beaten. He made a startling fold, especially given how deep in the hole he was.

Phua showed his straight, but Mateos revealed his for the nut flush. He took down the $1.12 million pot, with Wang saving himself an additional $300K.

MATEOS PULLS TRIGGER AGAIN; TSANG PONDERS FIRING BACK

Adrian Mateos won another big pot with the best hand here, but it was a case of what might have been for Elton Tsang. Tan Xuan played a bit-part, with an opening raise to $12,000 from UTG sitting with . Tsang called the cutoff with and Mateos, in the small blind, found . He three-bet to $65,000.

Both opponents called, meaning three players looked at the flop of . Mateos bet $65,000 with his ace high and the betting lead. Only Tsang called with his flush draw.

The turn was the and Mateos bet $200,000 at it. Tsang called again, taking them to the river. Mateos now bet $310,000, essentially bluffing with the best hand. Tsang could not call with his junk, but he pondered a long time whether he could potentially jam and get Mateos to fold.

Mateos had about $266,000 still behind, with Tsang covering that. It seemed that Tsang had smelt a rat and perhaps thought he could push Mateos away, claiming the $1.045 million pot for himself.

In the end, Tsang either reasoned he couldn’t get Mateos to fold, or he just thought better of the plan. He folded, allowing Mateos to take it. But Tsang’s senses are strong. He seemed to know something was up.

NI FELTS G IN OLDEST COOLER

Tony G took Paul Phua’s seat for the last frame of the night, the last frame of the entire festival, but he couldn’t make it until the end. That’s because he got his entire stack in pre-flop with pocket kings but rammed them into Andy Ni’s pocket aces, and the dealer did not deliver any more drama.

Tan Xuan actually started the action in the hand, raising to $13,000 with from the hijack. Tony G, in the cutoff, saw his kings and made it $50,000, but then Ni saw his aces in the big blind and four-bet to $155,000.

Xuan folded quickly, and it didn’t take all that much longer for Tony G to announce that he was all-in, for $636,000. Ni snapped him off, and Tony G quickly sensed the worst. “Aces?” G asked. Ni nodded.

There was a hasty conversation about whether to run it once or twice, but Tony G wanted the pain over quickly. “Once,” he said.

Players and friends and spectators crowded around the table to see the dealer deliver a dry board. Tony G hastily made his exit as the $1.242 pot went to Ni.

****

With that, the inaugural cash game festival drew gradually to its conclusion. It delivered everything that had been expected: enormous hands; enormous swings; massive pots; massive profits. One suspects this will not be the last of these.

DAY 7 PROFIT/LOSS

UP

Ferdinand: +$426,000
Patrik Antonius: +$413,000
Elton Tsang: +$259,000
Adrian Mateos: +$174,000
Andy Ni: +$153,000
Paul Phua: +$118,000
Brian Kim: +$112,000

DOWN

Danny Tang: -$42,000
Tan Xuan: -$179,000
Tony G: -$500,000
ST Wang: -$938,000

Photography by Drew Amato

Many of the usual suspects of the Triton Super High Roller Series returned to the Maestral Resort in Montenegro on Friday night to play the penultimate session of the inaugural Triton Cash Game Invitational — and it was every bit the incendiary showdown we have come to expect.

Elton Tsang, the man whose Triton Series account has swelled by seven-figure amounts this week, again pulled up a seat, alongside fellow cash-game crushers Andy Ni, Tan Xuan and ST Wang. But, for once, this was a night to forget for those high rolling recreationals. The pros finally got some revenge.

Four of the absolute elite had two frames each in the cash game hot seats, and each of Phil Ivey, Dan “Jungleman” Cates, Patrik Antonius and Adrian Mateos this time emerged with their reputations intact. Furthermore, they were all in the black when things were finally done.

That’s not to say everything was predictable. Far from it. There was a return for the man known only as Ferdinand, and he managed to lay everyone to waste. Paul Phua finally got his festival moving in the right direction too. As for Handz, the mysterious American crypto investor, well, he’ll be needing to dip back into his portfolio before returning to the Triton Series.

Here’s a selection of some of the biggest and best hands from the night. This time they were playing blinds of $1,000/$2,000 with a $5,000 big blind ante and a minimum buy-in of $500,000. Oh, and a mandatory straddle of $4,000.

TSANG COOLERS XUAN

The first significant pot of the night had a very familiar feel to it. That’s because it ended with $840,000 heading in the direction of Elton Tsang. His benefactor was Tan Xuan, who can consider himself pretty unlucky to land on the wrong side of this one.

It all started so passively. Tsang, Phil Ivey and Andy Ni all limped pre-flop and Xuan, in the straddle, checked. That meant four players saw the flop. Xuan’s meant he now had an open-ended straight draw, and he bet $20,000. Only Tsang, playing the Mystery Hand, made the call.

The turn was the . That was bingo for Xuan. He now bet $35,000, but Tsang seemed happy too. He raised to $100,000. Xuan thought about it for a bit, but put in calling chips and the dealer delivered the river.

That now completed the flush draw, but Xuan still thought his straight was good. He bet $130,000. However, Tsang gave him cause for thought. Tsang moved all in for $289,000, setting up the first potential felting of the night.

Xuan, with the marginally bigger stack, eventually decided to call. Tsang did not have the flush. But his was a pip bigger than Xuan’s straight and earned him this big one.

HANDZ CLIPS NI DOWN

Andy Ni had been one of the biggest winners of the week, but he took an early and sizeable dip tonight when he turned top pair into a bluff and slammed into the nuts. C’est la vie. The beneficiary was Handz, who padded his stack to the tune of $1.13 million and sent Ni looking for an early rebuy.

Handz picked up in the cutoff and opened the pot, making it $10,000 to go. Paul Phua was on the button wit pocket eights and he called, with Ni then seeing in the big blind. Ni made it $80,000 to go.

Both his opponents called, which meant they were three way to a flop of . Ni bet $80,000 with his top pair, Handz called with his flush draw, and Phua judiciously binned his eights.

The flush came in right away. The turn was the and Ni now slowed to a check. Handz opted not to play it cute. He bet $130,000. Ni called.

The river was a total blank and not the fourth heart Ni probably needed to save himself. Ni didn’t hang around to be put in a tough spot by Handz. He simply jammed all in for $260,000. Handz couldn’t be beaten and called immediately. That’s how you make $1.13 million in the blink of an eye.

XUAN BLUFFS INTO JUNGLEMAN’S NUTS

The director of the cash game broadcast gave Tan Xuan the Mystery Hand for the following pot, although that is kind of par for the course for Triton’s most unpredictable player. His opponent, Dan Cates, would have been less concerned than anybody what Xuan was actually sitting with because he turned the nuts and simply need to sit there and let Xuan bluff into him for as much as he could.

Th hand began with Paul Phua making it $10,000 to go UTG+2, with pocket sevens. Xuan called in the hijack and Cates, in the straddle, also called with . The flop brought not much for anybody; it came , which was a gutshot straight draw for Cates.

Cates and Phua checked, but Xuan bet $17,000. Only Cates came along, and he hit gin on the turn. It was . Cates checked again, Xuan bet again, this time $35,000, and now Cates decided to raise. He made it $125,000.

Xuan, however, was not afraid. He put in a three-bet to $320,000, which Cates was only too happy to call, leaving himself with far less than the pot in his stack.

The river seemed entirely immaterial. Cates checked it again. Xuan emptied the clip, firing $495,000 at it, which covered Cates’ $389,000 stack. Cates called immediately. He was, at worst, chopping it. But Xuan eventually tabled for a pure bluff.

Cates gratefully took the $1.49 million pot — and soon after dusted down his “Trident: Lord of the Seas” costume he once wore during a tournament series. It got the conversation started, if nothing else.

HOW XUAN DOES IT

If you think you might fancy playing in one of these Triton cash games, you’d need to be ready to get involved in hands like this one. It wasn’t the biggest pot of the night, far from it, but it just shows the kinds of cards these guys play.

Andy Ni opened the pot pre-flop with a raise to $11,000 in the hijack, holding . Tan Xuan called on the button and Wang called in the big blind. They had and , respectively.

The flop came , which means both Xuan and Wang had a pair. A tiny pair, but it was a pair. Ni and Wang checked. Xuan bet $20,000. Wang raised to $65,000, which persuaded Ni that he was done with the hand. However, Xuan responded to the check-raise with a three-bet, making it $180,000 to play.

Even Wang decided to give this one up. That’s what you have to face if you’re playing Tan Xuan.

TWO-OUTER BUILDS IVEY’S STACK

Phil Ivey doesn’t tend to need much help from the dealer to profit in any environment, but he got a huge slice of good fortune in a hand against ST Wang that gave the American great a $1m+ pot.

Ivey was in the hijack and picked up . He raised to $10,000. Wang was one seat over but his hand was even better. Wang had the aces. He three-bet to $35,000. With everyone else getting out of the way, there was no reason for Ivey to slow down. He four-bet to $105,000 and Wang decided to lay the trap with a call.

Wang’s tactics seemed to have worked beautifully because the flop left Ivey thinking he still had the best of it. Ivey bet $100,000. Wang raised enough to cover and Ivey called all-in, for $406,000.

The attention of most people in the room suddenly turned away from this $1,034,000 pot because Jungleman arrived, dressed in the costume of his sea god alter-ego Trident (or something like that). Jungleman pranced around the table waving his three-pronged weapon and talking about the fishes.

Meanwhile, Ivey and Wang agreed to run the turn and river only once. Wang was looking just fine after the turn, perhaps hoping to avoid a five that would have chopped it. Instead, the landed on the river, the two-outer that Ivey needed.

It was all Wang could do to stop himself grabbing Jungleman’s trident and stabbing himself through the heart. It was a gross way to lose more than half a million bucks. Ivey silently took the gift and carried on.

WANG WRIGGLES FREE

Here’s another pot that wasn’t the biggest, but goes to show that there’s more discipline in these players’ games than many give them credit for. ST Wang had been on a bit of a losing streak, but he managed not to tilt off even more.

Andy Ni found pocket sevens in the hijack and raised to $11,000. Wang found in the big blind and bumped it up to $45,000. Ni called, with everyone else leaving them to it.

The flop hit Ni hard, and Wang got a piece of it too. It was . Wang led out for $35,000 with his pair of aces, and Ni opted just to call.

The turn was the and Wang slowed to a check. Ni took over and bet $70,000, which Wang called. It bought them the river. Wang checked again and Ni now fired $160,000, believing his set still to be good.

Wang figured out that he was behind and let it go. It was a shrewd and disciplined laydown.

That brought an end to the second frame, and meant the end of both Jungleman and Phil Ivey. Although Jungleman had been the more active for his $646,000 profit, Ivey also left the stage with $522,000 more than he arrived thanks to that sick hand against Wang.

Patrik Antonius and Adrian Mateos filled their seats.

ANTONIUS FINDS QUICK DOUBLE

Even the best players get big hands sometimes, and Patrik Antonius hadn’t been seated all that long before he looked down at black pocket kings. Lucky for him, Andy Ni had , a big enough hand to warrant him going to pre-flop war as well.

Ni got the first raise in, making it $11K from the button. Antonius was in the small blind and made it $40,000. Then Ni bumped it to $170,000. Antonius had $453K total in his stack and jammed it in. Ni made the call.

The pot hit $997,000 and they opted to run it twice. But there was no sign of an ace on either run-out and the kings held to give Antonius a significant early boost.

BOSS TAMES TAN

Paul Phua sure knows how to lay on a cash game invitational, even if his guests don’t always allow him to win. It’s been a rough few nights for the man they call Boss, with Phua unable to take down many big pots, even though he has been at the table for almost as long as anybody. That all changed in this one, however.

Phua had the Mystery Hand when he limped UTG+1. Adrian Mateos and Handz paid the extra from small and big blinds, respectively, but it was Tan Xuan who got the inflation going, raising to $24,000 from the straddle with . Only Phua called.

The flop was meaning Xuan now had top pair. He bet $35,000, which Phua called. The came on the turn. Xuan now bet again, this time for $50,000, but Phua clicked it back. He min-raised to $100,000.

If that set alarm bells ringing, Xuan allowed his top pair to muffle them. He called and the fell on the river. Xuan slowed to a check, but Phua put $225,000 over the line.

Xuan went into the tank. Could he fold top pair? Not this time he couldn’t. He paid the extra and Phua showed him his pocket fives, for a flopped set. Phua took this pot of $781,000 down to put himself in healthy profit for the night.

TWO HUGE FOLDS AFTER MASSIVE SET-UP

How much money do you think goes in the pot in a Triton cash game when Elton Tsang gets pocket kings, Paul Phua gets queens and Tan Xuan gets ace-king? You’d be forgiven for thinking it would be somewhere in the region of a few million bucks. But you’d be wrong. Instead, you’d learn only that these players have very good spidy-senses.

Here’s how this one went down: Tsang raised to $12,000 from UTG+1 with those kings. Xuan found in the big blind and made it $31,000 and then Phua, in the straddle, put in a cold four-bet to $105,000 with queens.

Everything reeked of strength, which is why Tsang’s five bet to $250,000 was mighty indeed.

Xuan realised he could be in a world of pain with his specific hand and let it go. And then Phua went deep into the tank. It clearly hurt him to his core to be forced to fold those queens, but he did indeed give them back to the dealer, not before asking for a rabbit hunt.

Phua should know that his fold was excellent. However, he was furious when he saw a queen on the dummy flop. He slammed the table in disgust, losing the minimum, but angry he could have won so much more.

MORE FOR PHUA AS FLUSH DRAW MISSES

Ferdinand replaced ST Wang and played a small part in the following pot, which profited Paul Phua once again. It was Handz, however, who took the biggest hit, and his session was unravelling at a fair old pace.

Handz found UTG+1 and raised to $10,000. Phua had spades too with his and he put in the call. Action then moved to Ferdinand on the button, who looked down at . If he’d been contemplating a squeeze anyway, he certainly now had enough ammunition. He made it $40,000 to go.

Both opponents decided to come along and the three saw the flop. All three players checked. The turn improved nobody, but after Handz checked, Phua decided to bet his top pair. He made it $55,000 to play. Ferdinand had seen enough and folded, but Handz saw a good spot for a check raise. He made it $260,000 to play. Phua paid.

The river gave Phua top two and, most importantly for him, it did not fill the flush. HAndz checked and Phua pushed his whole stack in, around $430K. Handz had nothing but ace high and quickly folded. Phua added another $652,000 to his stack.

HANDZ GETS CREATIVE

The fourth and final frame of every session so far has been the one where play gets a little crazy, and also where Handz really starts to play. Here’s a great example, with Handz getting creative and getting Elton Tsang to fold the best hand — even if Tsang had got involved with junk and put himself in a tough spot.

Handz opened to $10,000 from the cutoff with . Tsang was on the button, and felt like was a good three-betting hand. He made it $35,000 to play.

Handz called, which meant they went to a flop of . Both players checked. The turn was the and Handz checked his open-ended straight draw once again. Tsang, with second pair, bet $35,000. That’s when Handz jumped into action with a check-raise to $140,000. Tsang called.

The river changed nothing, but Handz had to go for it if he wanted any chance of winning. He bet big. His $250,000 stab brought the pot total to $612,000, and it gave Tsang a lot of thinking to do.

Credit Tsang with giving it plenty of thought. He had only second pair but was clearly very tempted to pay to see. However, after spending at least four time-bank chips, he let his hand go. Handz’ bluff with ace high took this one down.

FERDINAND MAKES BRAVE AND CORRECT RIVER CALL

Ferdinand walked away from today’s table as the biggest winner, and most of his profit came from this one hand against Elton Tsang. Ferdinand had only but it turned into a flush and he was brave enough to back his judgment to make a big, winning call on the river.

Action folded around to Ferdinand on the button and he made a raise to $11,000. Handz called in the big blind with , with Tsang also calling in the straddle.

The flop came and after two checks, Ferdinand bet $15,000 with a straight flush draw. Handz called, but Tsang now raised to $50,000. Ferdinand called, Handz folded, and the turn was the .

Ferdinand now hit his flush, but this was still a scary board. Tsang checked, Ferdinand bet $75,000 and Tsang again found the raise button. He bumped it up to $150,000. Ferdinand called.

The river was the . Tsang now fired again, shoving $400,000 over the line. Ferdinand’s $373K was the effective stack. His flush wasn’t exactly enormous. And there was definite possible full houses out there. But Ferdinand likely reasoned that the bare eight was also a possibility and he stuck in the call.

It was the right decision. Tsang showed and this $1.2 million pot went the way of Ferdinand. Tsang was in the red for the night.

ANTONIUS SHOWS ALL THE TRICKS

Patrik Antonius left it until very late in the day to pull off one of the best bluffs of this entire cash game invitational, leaving Andy Ni licking his wounds after folding pocket kings. And being wrong to do so. This was amazing.

The hand started when Handz limped from the cutoff with . Action folded around to Ni in the big blind, who peeked down and saw . He raised to $20,000. Antonius was in the straddle and he called this raise, with the broadcast director concealing his holding as a Mystery Hand.

Handz called too and the three of them saw the flop. Ni bet $27,000 and only Antonius called. That took them to the turn. Ni bet again, this time $77,000. Antonius called again, bringing the on the river.

Ni still had that big over pair and he bet big. He put $265,000 into the middle. But Antonius moved all in for $730,000, which covered Ni’s bet plus the $430K he had behind.

Ni had amassed around eight time-bank chips through the session to this point and he burned through all of them pondering what to do. With only two seconds left on his clock he tossed away his hand. Then and only then did we learn that Antonius had for absolute air.

Antonius had picked up a flush draw on the turn, but had potentially been planning this move all along. Ni was a believer, although he’s not going to be very happy when he finds out the truth.

DAY 6 PROFIT/LOSS

UP

Ferdinand: +$796,000
Dan “Jungleman” Cates: +$646,000
Phil Ivey: +$522,000
Patrick Antonius: +$497,000
Paul Phua: +$258,000
Adrian Mateos: +$7,000

DOWN

Elton Tsang: -$173,000
ST Wang: -$237,000
Handz: -$440,000
Tan Xuan: -$784,000
Andy Ni: -$1,096,000

Photography by Drew Amato

It was another night and another Elton Tsang clinic at the Triton Series Cash Game Invitational at the Maestral Resort in Montenegro. Not content with two sessions in which he has won round about $1 million apiece, Tsang became the first player to break the $2 million for a night on Thursday, tightening his stranglehold on a festival featuring only the very best.

Remarkably, Tsang found himself on the wrong side of an aces versus queens cooler within the opening exchanges on Thursday, losing all but loose change of his first $500K buy-in. But Tsang ran as pure as the driven snow from that moment on, barely putting a foot wrong as he built the biggest stack of anyone at any time this week.

This was another night of staggeringly deep-stacked poker, from which Andy Ni emerged with a near million-dollar profit as well. Recent WSOP seventh placed finisher Brian Kim made his cash-game invitational debut and padded his bankroll by another $300K, but it wasn’t quite such easy going for Patrik Antonius, who ended in the red.

It was, though, another great night of entertainment for the thousands watching the stream on Triton Series’ online platforms. Tan Xuan, Ferdinand, Handz, Elizabeth Chen, ST Wang and Triton co-founder Paul Phua all played their part in the fireworks. There was even a late glimpse of Phil Ivey, who arrived to give Phua a break after a very difficult evening.

Here are a few of the standout hands from another exceptional night.

A COOLER, AN OUTDRAW AND A REDRAW GETS THINGS GOING

“This deck is choosing violence early,” said Ali Nejad in the Triton commentary booth. The day was only about eight minutes old and Tan Xuan had already taken a few hundred thousand from Andy Ni with kings against ace-jack when the dealer set up an even more chilly cooler.

This time, Ferdinand found a pair of pocket aces at the same time as Elton Tsang found queens. And it wasn’t even either of those who put in the opening raise.

Handz had pocket fours and made it $10,000 from UTG+1, the first to speak in a straddled pot. Ferdinand laid his trap with a call from one seat over, and Tsang was there to topple into it, raising to $40,000 with his .

Handz made a quick call. He was going to set-mine with his low pocket pair. But Ferdinand now decided he would break cover. He raised to $130,000. Lucky for Ferdinand, Tsang had that big pair of his own and he jammed for $509,000. Handz now folded but Ferdinand snap-called and, just like that, there was $1,052,000 in the pot.

They decided to run it only once. And it was a decision that Ferdinand perhaps regretted as the dealer put the on the turn. However, the came on the river for an amazing re-draw, and just like that Ferdinand had the first seven-figure stack, while Tsang readily reloaded.

ANOTHER COLD-DECK; BOSS CHILLED

Any thoughts that the deck might be warming up quickly evaporated as Paul Phua and Ferdinand again both found big pairs in their hands. This time, Phua — aka Mr Paul, or just Boss in the Triton world — picked up pocket kings and raised to $11,000, only for Ferdinand to find pocket queens and three-bet to $35,000.

Phua found the four-bet to $100,000, which Ferdinand called, and he was quickly rewarded by the sight of the flop. For the second time, pocket queens became a set.

Phua bet $75,000 and Ferdinand opted just to call. That brought the on the turn, as blank as a card could possibly be. Phua shoved for $313,000 and Ferdinand snapped him off, setting up another pot of close to $1 million. (It was $988,000 to be precise.)

They arranged some kind of insurance deal before the undramatic river. Phua got a small amount back from the deal, but Ferdinand took the vast majority in another tense early cooler. It had been a fine, fine start for Ferdinand.

ANTONIUS WANTS TO BE A HERO

In most other circumstances, this hand would have gone nowhere. But in the Triton Series streets, there’s no such thing as straightforward.

Action folded all the way around to Patrik Antonius in the big blind, who had only Elton Tsang, in the straddle, still with cards. Antonius looked down on and raised to $16,000.

Tsang’s straddle hand was also the Mystery Hand, hidden from viewers on the stream. Tsang called and it’s safe to say he could have absolutely any two cards. The flop fell and Antonius whiffed. Tsang bet $15,000, but Antonius was not going anywhere just yet. He raised to $45,000, likely to try to extract a bit more information what he was up against.

Tsang called and the pair saw the on the turn. Antonius led out for $125,000, continuing to tell his story. But Tsang wasn’t buying it. He called, with the now completing the board. Antonius checked, but Tsang fired $300,000.

Antonius had nothing but ace high, but he has played with Elton Tsang a lot. He clearly felt as though this was a spot he might possibly be good. He agonised for a good while before letting it go, but maybe should have trusted his instincts. Tsang had only , for a gutshot and overcards that didn’t connect.

Tsang’s bluff earned him this one, with Antonius taking a small hit.

FERDINAND TAKES A HIT

Ferdinand’s excellent start earned him the first seven-figure stack at the table. But Elton Tsang had designs on it, and managed to snaffle a huge chunk.

The hand began with a raise to $11,000 from Andy Ni, sitting with . Ferdinand, whose hand was concealed to viewers of the stream at this point, called from the button, which moved action over to Tsang in the straddle with black pocket nines. Tsang three-bet to $55,000. Ni folded.

Ferdinand, however, called, which took the pair to a flop of . That meant a set for Tsang. He put out a tiny bet of $30,000, which only prompted Ferdinand to bump it up. He raised to $85,000.

Tsang now three-bet to $170,000, but Ferdinand ripped it in. He had the covering stack, meaning Tsang’s $589,000 was effective. Tsang called.

Ferdinand had flopped top pair and a monster combo draw. He had , which meant any diamond or any ten or five would give him better than Tsang’s top set.

In a spot where many players might have run it two, three, four times, these two played it straight. One turn and one river. And the followed by the missed Ferdinand on both occasions.

With that, Tsang won a $1.3 million pot and was back in business.

XUAN TAKES HALF A MILLION WHEN HE HAS IT, FOR ONCE

One of the joys of this festival format for cash games is that players have been able to develop reputations and reads on the same opponents, which is making even the most mundane pot seem so much more complicated. Take this one between Tan Xuan and Andy Ni, two of the players who have put more hours in than most, with it being far from certain what either of them could be playing.

ST Wang got things started, raising to $11,000 from UTG+1 with . Ni, one seat over, called with and everyone else cleared out the way until Xuan peeked at in the big blind and raised it to $57,000.

Was it a squeeze, or did he have it? Wang decided he couldn’t pay to find out, but Ni put the extra in and they went to a flop of .

Xuan flopped top pair but, of course, he could have flopped absolutely anything or nothing. His check gave nothing away, and Ni checked back. The turn was the . Xuan now bet $60,000, which kept Ni interested, and the dealer showed them the river.

Xuan cut out a bet of $150,000 and Ni, still none the wiser as to what Xuan could be playing, stuck in a call with third pair. It earned Xuan $555,000. He actually had the ace this time.

NI’S MYSTERY COSTS HANDZ

Andy Ni has been another absolute revelation this week in Montenegro, repeatedly heading home with a tody profit after playing near flawless cash-game poker. Handz became Ni’s latest victim in a pot that actually might have got even bigger in other circumstances.

Ni had the Mystery Hand when he raised to $11,000 from the cutoff. Handz was in the straddle with and was Ni’s only customer, flopping what looked pretty good. The board came .

Handz checked his top pair, with Ni c-betting $9,000. Handz called, keeping things small. The turn appeared to change nothing, with Handz checking again. Ni bet $38,000 and Handz made another call. The completed the board. Handz checked again. His top pair was completely disguised. But Ni rifled out another $115,000.

Handz continued with the established pattern and made the call, bringing the pot total to $354,000. Ni, however, had him crushed. His hand was revealed to be pocket jacks for a flopped set and this big one went in Ni’s direction.

NI VERSUS HANDZ AGAIN

A little bit more than an hour later, Ni and Handz played another fascinating pot against one another, closing out the second frame of the night with another win for Ni. Paul Phua played a bit part in this one, limping from the hijack with . Ni then raised to $28,000 from the button with and Handz found to call in the straddle. Phua cleared out the way.

The flop hit Handz more than Ni. It landed and Handz check-called Ni’s bet of $24,000. The now brought a flush draw for Ni and a wheel draw for both of them, but left Handz’ second-bottom pair still best. Handz checked and Ni checked too.

The river filled that flush for Ni. It was the . Handz checked again and Ni dipped into his stack for a bet of $140,000.

Handz still only had fourth pair, but he was just too interested to be able to fold it. He paid the extra, learned the bad news, and headed into the break more than $400K down for the session.

That was enough for Handz, who left for the day. Elizabeth Chen took his seat, with Brian Kim taking over from Patrik Antonius in the pro’s hot seat. Antonius’ debut on the Invitational’s streamed table ended with a $550,000 deficit.

CHEN STRAIGHT AT IT; TSANG AGAIN IN HER WAY

Elizabeth Chen wasted no time at all in getting involved in this huge game, as has been her way since day one. She won a small pot from Elton Tsang on the first deal, but didn’t find things quite so easy a few hands later, when she squared off against Tan Xuan.

Chen found and raised to $12,000 from the hijack. Xuan was in the cutoff with a pleasant looking and his three-bet to $35,000 cleared out everyone else. Chen was the only caller.

Chen flopped top two when the dealer showed them the , but Xuan also now had a flush draw. Chen checked, Xuan bet $27,000 and Chen called. The turn gave that flush to Xuan straight away.

Chen checked. Xuan piled in $67,000. The river was inconsequential. Chen checked again and Xuan sized up to $218,000. It was a gross spot for Chen, but she made a crying call with top two pair. Xuan duly bagged the $706,000 pot and Chen’s stack took a big hit.

PHUA TAKES ON TSANG

Sitting with a Mystery Hand, Paul Phua opened to $11,000 from UTG+1, first to act pre-flop because of the mandatory straddle. Brian Kim found pocket sevens and called, which then persuaded Elton Tsang, who was in the straddle , to call too with his .

Tsang flopped well. The dealer showed them the . Tsang checked, Phua bet $14,000, Kim binned his sevens, but Tsang called with his two pair.

His hand became even better after the turn, but Tsang checked again. Phua checked behind. That then brought the on the river.

Tsang now bet $65,000 and surely watched with glee as Phua raised to $225,000. Tsang maybe felt he could be beaten here, though, and just called instead of going for some more value. When Phua showed his pocket fours, for a rivered boat, Tsang perhaps realised he could have made even more than the $517,000 that headed his way.

NI PUTS THE POWER MOVE ON XUAN

Andy Ni and Tan Xuan have been playing their own game for a few days, and here’s another brilliant chapter. Ni was playing the Mystery Hand and it bamboozled Xuan into a fold when a call would have earned him close to $800K.

The pot began with a raise to $11,000 from Paul Phua UTG+2. Boss had the suited one gapper, with . Ni called in the cutoff, but Xuan three-bet to $70,000 also with a suited one-gapper, this time .

Phua thought better of it, but Ni called and the pair saw a flop of . Xuan’s check allowed Ni to take control of the betting lead and slide out $35,000. Xuan called it, and saw the turn. Xuan now had top pair, but checked again, and Ni continued with his line. He bet $145,000. Xuan called to push the pot past $500K and to see the on the river.

Xuan checked again, and Ni emptied the clip. He put $350,000 over the line. The board and the bet was too scary even for Xuan, who let his hand go. Ni quietly gave his back to the dealer, having pulled off one of the bluffs of the night.

MORE FOR NI IN ANOTHER MYSTERY HAND

The Andy Ni show continued, with the TV director giving the stream viewers a bit of a heads up that something was brewing by giving Ni the Mystery Hand again. It started innocuously, with a raise to $10,000 from Paul Phua, sitting on the button with and Ni called in the big blind. ST Wang came along from the straddle.

The flop brought three checks, then the turn from the dealer. Ni now led out for $29,000, only for Wang to raise to $90,000. Wang only had second pair, but Phua had potentially better. He had third pair and the nut flush draw. He called.

Ni, however, was not a fan. He squeezed out a three-bet, putting $250,000 into the middle. Wang had seen enough, but Phua decided to see if he could hit. He called. The river gave no further encouragement to Phua, but Ni now jammed, comfortably covering the $252K Phua had back.

Phua was in agony, but talked himself into a call. Ni thus showed his pocket fours to everyone, a turned set, and with it, the $1.1 million pot was his. It was especially grim for Phua, who was felted with the hand that he had a little while ago, but ran into a bigger boat that time.

XUAN’S FOURTH PAIR IS GOOD

Although the stakes are enormous in these Triton cash games, the table chat is invariably good natured. These guys are friends as well as rivals, and they absolutely love some of the nonsense situations they get themselves into.

In the last pot of the third frame tonight, ST Wang, Elton Tsang and Tan Xuan all went chasing a flush. But they were all after the same one, with Wang’s against Xuan’s and Tsang’s .

Everyone missed everything on the turn. But they all got some hope after the turn. The river still didn’t fill the flush, but it gave Xuan fourth pair — and that turned out to be good, for a pot of $439,000. Cue: much finger-wagging and table chatter.

TSANG TAKES MORE FROM XUAN

As they went into the final frame of the day, Phil Ivey took Paul Phua’s seat, meaning for the first time there were two pros at the table. Even Ivey couldn’t do too much to salvage a difficult session for Phua, but he did get a ringside seat for some more shenanigans from the players with the biggest stacks: Elton Tsang, Andy Ni and Tan Xuan.

In this pot, Xuan found and raised it up to $11,000 from UTG+1. Elton Tsang had a Mystery Hand, but like it too. He made it $38,000 from the hijack. Xuan just called to take the pair of them to a flop of .

Xuan checked, but quickly faced a bet of $40,000. He called, seeing the turn. Xuan still hadn’t connected so checked again, but Tsang fired out $65,000. Xuan still stuck around.

The finally gave him top pair, and it prompted Tsang to have another look at his own holding. Xuan checked, but Tsang tank-bet $250,000. Xuan now had a very tough decision. He had called all the way and finally hit his card, but Tsang showed no sign of slowing down.

Xuan couldn’t resist and made the call, quickly learning some bad news. Tsang had for a turned straight. This near $800K pot headed into Tsang’s already very healthy stack.

EVERY POT IS $500K+

By the time play enters the final frame, even seemingly small pots weigh in at more than $500K. Here’s an example, with Elton Tsang and Andy Ni again exchanging more than half a million.

Ni had black pocket fives and raised to $11,000 from UTG+2. Tsang was in the straddle and paid the extra with . He was glad he did when the flop fell . Tsang checked, Ni bet $13,000 and Tsang raised to $35,000. Ni called.

The turn was the and Tsang bet $75,000. Ni called and the pot hit $250,000. The river gave Tsang a boat, but it also seemed pretty good (i.e., not scary) for Ni. Tsang bet $175,000, which was sized just big enough to earn a call from Ni.

That’s how you build a $600,000 pot and take it down.

MORE NI HEROICS, SHAVES PROFIT FROM FERDINAND

Until tonight, the most impressive part of Andy Ni’s game had seemed to be his solidity. He had repeatedly made the correct plays — including folds — in all the major pots he’d entered, winning the maximum and losing the least. But tonight he showed another dimension to his game: just how good he is at finding a bluff.

In a late pot against Ferdinand, Ni put in a three-bet from the straddle after Ferdinand had opened the button with . Ni made it $48,000 to go.

Ferdinand called and the flop was . Ni c-bet $43,000 and Ferdinand called. The turn was the , which gave Ferdinand a pair. Ni checked and Ferdinand put $85,000 out there.

Ni now check-raised to $250,000. And that was enough to get Ferdinand to lay down his queens. What did Ni have? He had of course.

ONE LAST WIN FOR TSANG

It wasn’t the biggest pot of the night, but it was one that encapsulated a lot of what this cash game invitational had been about. It was a late one, and it ended with players standing up, putting bets in and taking them back, looking at each other’s cards, etc., etc. In general, goofing around despite several million bucks being at the table.

Tan Xuan called the $4,000 straddle amount pre-flop with . Elton Tsang came along with , Elizabeth Chen called with and Phil Ivey checked his option with .

Ivey bet $12,000 after the flop of turn, taking them to the river. Xuan checked and Tsang now threw $100,000 over the line, basically playing the board. Xuan and Tsang exchanged a smile, Xuan chatted through a lot of his options. Tsang joined in the conversation.

Xuan seemed certain to fold, so much so that Tsang pulled his bet back. Xuan then did toss his cards at Tsang, before reaching out to see what the hand was that beat him. He learned he’d been bluffed, but didn’t seem to mind. That’s just how this game has been all week.

DAY 5 PROFIT/LOSS

UP

Elton Tsang: +$2,009,000
Andy Ni: +$925,000
Brian Kim: +$360,000
Tan Xuan: +$182,000
Ferdinand: +$2,000

DOWN

Phil Ivey: -$47,000
Handz: -$445,000
Elizabeth Chen: -$479,000
Patrik Antonius: -$550,000
ST Wang: -$681,000
Paul Phua: -$1,306,000

Photography by Drew Amato

After multiple high six-figure swings during the first two days of the Triton Cash Game Invitational at the Maestral Resort in Montenegro, there was only one thing for it: it was time to raise the stakes.

For Day 3, players on the televised table needed to pull up at least $500,000 to play and they’re going to be posting blinds of $1,000/$2,000 with a $5,000 big blind ante. To the surprise of no one, every seat could have been filled several times over.

As it was, Phil Ivey returned for another few hours in the coveted Hot Seat, reserved for a poker pro, with Danny Tang subbing in halfway through the day. Meanwhile, the conquering hero from Day 1, Elton Tsang, returned to the scene of his enormous early plunder. Could he do it again?

If you scroll to the bottom of this post and look straight at the profit/loss section, you’ll quickly learn the answer to that. But if you can deny yourself that instant gratification, let’s take a look at how some of the major hands played out first.

Alongside Ivey, Tang and Tsang, the following all took a seat: Rob Yong, Tan Xuan, Handz, Paul Phua, ST Wang and Andy Ni. If you’ve been following closely over the past two nights, you’ll know that’s a combustible line-up. And there were indeed plenty of fireworks.

Strap in.

—-

PRE-FLOP AGGRESSION WINS IT FOR XUAN

It didn’t take long for Elton Tsang to get involved in the action, but despite what we saw earlier in the week, it doesn’t always go his way. He played a small part in a hand that showed just how powerful it can be to get your chips in no matter what the action ahead of you.

Handz got things going with a limp from under the gun with . Tsang then raised to $10,000 from the hijack, sitting with . Paul Phua, in the cutoff, looked down at and felt the time was right for a three-bet. He made it $35,000.

Tan Xuan was on the button and the uber-aggressive Chinese player looked at pocket jacks. Even with all the action ahead of him, he put in a four-bet, making it $85,000 to go. Handz, whose limp had made the ensuing action so weird, quickly folded. And Tsang took a while, but also decided to get out of the way. Phua was similarly tempted, but eventually binned his hand as well. Xuan therefore took down about $100,000 without having to see a flop.

IVEY ISN’T AFRAID

Action folded all the way around to Handz in the small blind and he called the $4,000 straddle amount with his . Phil Ivey, in the big blind, had and he decided to raise it up to $16,000.

Tsang, in the straddle with seven-deuce, chucked it away. But Handz stuck around.

The flop was absolutely beautiful for Ivey. It fell , giving him a straight and a straight-flush draw. Handz, meanwhile, had middle pair, top kicker. Handz checked and Ivey checked too. The completed Ivey’s flush, but both players just checked it. That brought them to the on the river.

Handz now thought he might as well take a stab. He bet $10,000. Ivey bumped it up to $40,000, even though he was sitting with only the third nuts. Handz folded.

XUAN AND WANG GO AT IT

Tan Xuan was the real source of most of yesterday’s action, even if things didn’t quite work out for him. But he only knows one way to play, which is why he opened to $7,000 from UTG+1 sitting with . ST Wang has had a great couple of days in Montenegro, and was enough for him to put in a three-bet, making it $25,000 to go.

These two had plenty of skirmishes yesterday, and Xuan wasn’t backing down today. He bumped it up to $100,000. And Wang was convinced. He let it go. Xuan therefore won pre-flop with five high.

But that wasn’t the end of it. Shortly after, Xuan found and raised to $7,000 again from under the gun. Wang this time had and three-bet to $23,000. Everyone else left these two to it again.

Xuan again found the four-bet. Again it was to $100,000. Wang again decided to get out of the way. Was this the long game?

WANG PICKS OFF NI TO LAND BIGGEST POT YET

This time, Tan Xuan was in the straddle, which left Andy Ni, UTG+1, to open things with a raise of $11,000. He was in the Mystery Hand, so we didn’t know initially what he was sitting with. ST Wang, in the hijack, had a real hand. He raised it to $35,000 with and that persuaded everyone else out of the way.

Ni, however, called and saw a flop of . They both checked, but then the turn gave even more potential to Wang’s hand. Both players checked, however.

The river was very interesting. It gave Wang the nut flush. But it was Ni who led out, putting $52,000 into the middle. Wang bumped it up. He wasn’t scared. He made it $135,000 to play. But there might have been an element of regret as Ni now jammed for $447,000. Could Wang really think about folding this top flush?

He certainly thought about it. He took his time to ponder his options. Eventually, however, he found the call and learned at the same time as the rest of us that he had made a very good decision. Ni was at it with and the flush was indeed good.

This $976,000 pot, the biggest of the week so far, headed to ST Wang.

XUAN HAS IT FOR ONCE; IT’S WORTH $1M+

When you play as many hands as Tan Xuan, you have a right to expect action when you find a monster. And it was good news for Xuan when he saw Elton Tsang open to $8,000 from the hijack with and then looked down at pocket aces in the cutoff. Xuan three-bet to $25,000 and Tsang called.

Tsang got a piece on the flop and check-raised against Xuan’s $28,000 c-bet. Tsang made it $75,000. Xuan three-bet to $182,000, putting the pressure back on Tsang. Did he believe the ultimate bluffer this time?

Tsang did not believe Xuan. He called. The pair then saw the turn. Tsang checked and Xuan now barrelled $230,000. Tsang responded with a shove, putting his whole $309,000 in the middle, which Xuan covered. Xuan’s call gave us the first seven-figure pot of the week: $1,040,000 to be precise.

They agreed to run it only once and the river was a blank. The aces held and this huge pot went to Xuan, eroding Tsang’s profit from Day 1 in one fell swoop.

YONG FALLS INTO TSANG’S TRAP

Rob Yong showed up slightly late to Tuesday night’s session, but hands like this one probably left him wishing he’d never shown up at all. Elton Tsang was the beneficiary, giving him a brief upturn in fortune.

Tsang picked up pocket fives and raised to $12,000 from the button. Yong looked down at in the small blind and three-bet to $40,000. Phil Ivey let his straddle go, but Tsang went set-mining.

His mining shoved clanked immediately on the ore he was looking for. The flop was . Yong flopped top pair, but Tsang found his set.

Long checked. Tsang bet $40,000 and Yong called. The turn must have seemed like a blank to Yong. He checked again, Tsang sized up to $135,000, and Yong called again.

The pot was now $441,000 and the dealer put the on the river. Yong maybe thought that was a bad card. But it turned out to be good for him. Yong checked and Tsang bet $320,000. The ace allowed Yong to find the correct fold.

TENSE, SLOW-MOVING FLIP BETWEEN HANDZ AND TSANG

As so often is the case, Tan Xuan got things started with a raise to $12,000 from the hijack. The straddle was on, and an opening raise was usually five figures. Xuan had , but it didn’t really matter. That’s because Handz, on the button, found pocket 10s and three-bet to $35,000. Elton Tsang, in the big blind, found and made it $100,000 to go. We were in six-figures pre-flop once again.

Xuan folded, but Handz counted out his stack and looked at what was potentially at risk. He had $503,000 behind, about half of what Tsang had in his stack. Handz called.

The flop was and Tsang led out. He bet $55,000. Handz called for the turn. Tsang sized up to $125,000, but it still didn’t shift Handz, who called once again.

The river was the , meaning the most obvious flush draw got there. Tsang now slowed down to a check allowing Handz to check behind. A relieved crypto investor took the $587,000 pot as Tsang pondered whether a river shove would have got it done.

TANG GETS TSANG TO FOLD BETTER

Things hadn’t been going well for Elton Tsang, and Danny Tang continued to apply the pressure on his friend. The pair played a pot in which Tsang opened to $12,000 with black pocket nines in the hijack, and Tang picked up one of the favourite hands of the solver generation: . Tang three-bet to $50,000. Tsang called.

The flop brought the and a c-bet of $40,000 from Tang. Tsang called to take them to the turn. Tsang’s hand was now relegated to third pair, while Tang now had a bigger draw. Tang fired out $85,000, which got it done, and added another $200K to Tang’s stack.

PHUA’S DEUCES FIND A WAY TO CRACK ACES

Triton co-founder Paul Phua hasn’t been involved in many of the big pots from the opening few days of this invitational and has resultantly recorded a small loss each night. But he’d have enjoyed this one against Tan Xuan, where the smallest pocket pair prevailed against the biggest.

Tan Xuan picked up pocket aces again. He raised to $12,000 from the cutoff. Phua had the Mystery Hand for viewers on the stream, but we eventually found out it was pocket twos. That meant the flop, which appeared after Phua called, brought something for both of them.

Phua checked, Xuan bet $15,000 and Phua called. The turn was the , i.e., the get-there card for Phua. He checked again and Xuan bet $34,000. Phua found the check-raise to $85,000. Xuan called.

The river made it even more hazardous for Xuan’s set of aces, but it also wasn’t great for Phua’s bottom straight. He checked. Xuan tossed out a tiny bet of $30,000 and Phua made the mandatory call.

A chuckling Phua learned he was good and finally picked up a pot of around $294,000.

YONG’S TURN TO CRACK ACES; GREAT FOLD FROM NI

One of the highlights of Monday night’s play came when Andy Ni had pocket aces, but was persuaded to lay them down on the river by a gutsy bluff from Rob Yong. Tonight they played a near repeat, but with one crucial difference.

Ni had the aces UTG+2 and he opened the pot to $11,000. Yong was in the hijack and he three-bet to $50,000 with what we eventually discovered was pocket kings. This had the potential to get very ugly. Ni four bet to $170,000 and Yong called.

Thus the two biggest pairs went up against one another, with more than $350K in the pot pre-flop. Neither player put any more in the middle after the flop. However, the turn vaulted Yong into the lead and, after Ni checked, Yong bet $175,000. Ni called. The river changed nothing.

Ni checked again and Yong stuck $400,000 over the line. Ni took a long time to think it through, but let this one go. This time he was right.

MORE FOR XUAN AS TSANG’S SLUMP CONTINUES

The night was drawing to its conclusion when Andy Ni put on the mandatory $4,000 straddle. One seat along, Elton Tsang put on the double straddle. And then Tan Xuan, one seat further, put on the triple. That meant there was $1,000 from the small blind, $2,000 from the big blind, plus the $5,000 ante, and then an additional $28,000 in straddles. When Paul Phua wanted to open the pot from the small blind with red pocket 10s, his opening raise was $65,000.

Ni folded his , but Tsang came along with pocket sixes and Xuan called with pocket fours. And there was a four in the window on the flop. After two checks, Xuan bet $88,000 with his bottom set. The jack allowed Phua to fold his tens, but Tsang called. The turn was the . Tsang checked and Xuan bet $200,000 into $382,000. Tsang now got away. At least for a moment.

On the very next hand, Tsang found himself in the $4,000 straddle and encouraged Xuan, to his immediate left, put on the $8,000 double straddle. That meant $20,000 was in the middle on this hand before a card was dealt.

After all players received their hands, Handz picked up pocket threes and opened to $20,000 from the cutoff. Tsang looked down at and called, but then Xuan saw pocket jacks in the bigger straddle and bumped it up even more. It was now $110,000 to play. He must have liked the encouragement from Tsang to put on that straddle.

Handz folded, but Tsang played on. The pair saw the flop. Tsang checked, Xuan bet $65,000, but Tsang now tried some strong-arm tactics. He raised to $175,000. With air.

Xuan did not seem bothered. He made the call as the pot ballooned to $600K. The on the turn was another over-card to Xuan’s jacks. Tsang checked once more, and Xuan checked behind. That took them to the on the river. Tsang checked again. Xuan checked again. The jacks stayed good as Xuan won another, leaving Tsang licking his wounds once more.

*****

Despite winning those last two significant hands, as well as the $1m+ pot earlier in the day, this was still a night that ended in the red for Tan Xuan. The way he plays, everybody knows that it could easily turn around for him very sharply.

Instead, the big winner from this session was ST Wang, who combined quiet accumulation with winning most of the major pots he entered. It gave him the first seven-figure profit of any player in any session so far.

Handz also bounced back from some early setbacks to record a tidy sum, with Danny Tang and Andy Ni (who folded those aces quite excellently) in the black.

At the other end of the spectrum, this was a difficult one for Elton Tsang. He finished more than $1.3 million down for the day. But, knowing Elton, he will be back.

DAY 3 PROFIT/LOSS

UP

ST Wang: +$1,389,000
Handz: +$647,000
Danny Tang: +$346,000
Andy Ni: +$34,000

DOWN

Phil Ivey: -$184,000
Paul Phua: -$227,000
Tan Xuan: -$246,000
Rob Yong: -$436,000
Elton Tsang: -$1,323,000

Photography by Drew Amato

It was Day 2 of the Triton Series Cash Game Invitational, and the hot seat got even hotter. With Linus Loeliger making way, the next pro to step up was a man by the name of Phil Ivey. You might have heard of him.

The table at the Maestral Resort, Montenegro, also found a space for the Lithuanian entrepreneur, politician, poker tyrant Tony G. So while Ivey may do his best work in concentrated silence, the volume around the table was going up.

Four of yesterday’s superstars returned for a second crack too: boss man, Paul Phua, took his customary seat, of course, alongside ST Wang and Andy Ni, both of whom emerged from Sunday’s action comfortably in the black. The same could not be said of Joe Zou, who suffered a barracking from the deck on the first day of the invitational. But Zou came back for more.

Tan Xuan, a Triton Series stalwart, made his first appearance of the week. And Mikhail Petrov, representing Cyprus, also pulled up a chair.

The format was the same as before: $200,000 minimum buy-in, blinds of $1,000/$2,000 with a $2,000 big blind ante. And there were an awful lot of pocket aces making an appearance tonight.

Let the fun commence…

SEVEN FROM HEAVEN PUTS TONY G ON THE UP

It didn’t take long for the first major pot and the first virtual felting.

Tony G found black pocket sevens and put in a raise to $6,000. A few seats around, in the small blind, Tan Xuan looked down at pocket 10s, black as well, and three-bet to $25,000. Everyone else folded, but Tony G called immediately. That took the pot to $54,000 as the dealer put the on the table.

Xuan led out, betting $20,000, and Tony G called in position. He nailed the and the turn and happily saw Xuan bet another $55,000. Tony G called.

The completed the board, making a possible straight for queen-ten. But Tony G didn’t worry too much about that and jammed for his last $95,000, putting Xuan in the blender.

His pocket 10s were a bluff catcher at best, but these two players have history. They have played tons together in Triton cash games. Xuan thought there was still a chance that Tony G was at it in this hand, and he tossed in the call.

“Seven from heaven!” Tony G sang as the $394,000 pot was pushed in his direction. “Good start,” he added.

Xuan reloaded for another $200K.

TONY G CAN’T STOP

The dust had barely settled on the previous hand before Tony G was at it once again. This time, his opponent was Joe Zou, who had but Tony G was playing the Mystery Hand, so we were as clueless as Zou as to what he was making his huge moves with.

Tan Xuan got the action started again, raising to $6,000 from UTG+1 with . Tony G was on the button and called with his Mystery Hand, with Zou then calling too from the big blind.

The flop, followed by two checks, presented an open invitation to Tony G to bet. He tossed out $12,000. Only Zou called, which meant two of them saw the turn. Zou checked again, but called again after Tony G barrelled for $40,000 this time. It took them to the on the river.

Zou checked again, and Tony G snap-jammed for a stack that comfortable covered Zou’s $146,000 chips. Zou thought a while before folding his pair of eights. That allowed Tony G to triumphantly declare “Made it!” as we saw he had for a total airball.

ZOU GETS SOME BACK FROM TONY G

Tony G had been steamrollering the table. Until he wasn’t.

In this pot, Tony G got things started with a raise to $6,000 with . Joe Zou called in the cutoff and Paul Phua also called, with in the big blind. Zou was playing the mystery hand, so only he knew how well he had connected with the flop.

Phua, of course, had flopped the nut straight and he checked it, surely hoping for someone else to bet into him. Tony G had top pair, but he checked too. That just left Zou, who also checked.

The turn meant Phua still had the nuts. He fired out $10,000. Neither of his opponents went anywhere.

The river was the and Phua’s hand was now not certain to be the best. He checked it for pot control. Tony G now had a straight too with his queen and he bet $30,000. It put Zou into the tank. Zou emerged with a hefty raise. He bumped it up to $91,000.

Phua was now in a tough spot. He’d flopped the best, but could hardly be sure he was still good given the action. Phua found an incredibly disciplined fold, but Tony G couldn’t let his straight go. He paid the extra, learning that Zou’s had him beat.

The $233,000 pot went to Zou.

DISCIPLINED IVEY REFUSES TO PAY XUAN

Phil Ivey’s relatively quiet start ended hastily when he managed to felt Tan Xuan for a second time, with queens holding against pocket nines. That one was straightforward, but Ivey faced much more of a test in the following hand, again against Xuan.

Action folded to Xuan on the button, who raised the $12,000. Ivey was in the $4,000 straddle with and he called the single raise. Xuan, by the way, was again on the mystery hand.

The dealer put the flop out there — two pair for Ivey — but both players checked. That brought the on the turn. Ivey checked again, then called Xuan’s $53,000 bet. The river completed all the draws, and Ivey checked again. Xuan sensed an opportunity and bet $200,000 into a $165,000 pot.

Ivey was now put to the stern test for almost all of his chips. He eventually resisted the urge to pay to find out what Xuan had and, true to Ivey’s form, the fold was the right decision. Xuan’s hand was revealed to be the , for a rivered flush. Xuan dug himself out of a bit of a hole, but Ivey got away with losing the minimum.

XUAN HAS THE GOODS AGAIN

There’s pretty much no way to know what Tan Xuan has when he puts in an opening pre-flop raise, but in the following hand it just so happened that he had the best of it: . He made it $6,000 to go from UTG+1. Andy Ni, in the cutoff, decided to play back at Xuan, holding , and made it $18,000. Bad timing alert.

Xuan four-bet to $52,000. He wasn’t playing it cute. But Ni was undeterred and called with arguably the best hand to do some damage to aces.

The flop came and Ni now had middle pair with a gutshot to go with it. Xuan led out for $58,000. Ni called, so they went to the turn with $225,000 in the middle already. Xuan bet again, this time $75,000. Ni wasted very little time before jamming for $206,000.

Xuan snap-called and had a big advantage for a $637,000 pot as they decided to run the river twice. The first was the , which kept Xuan ahead and locked up half the pot. But that was all he was getting. The gave Ni a winning three-of-a-kind. They chopped it up.

WANG PUTS JUNGLEMAN UNDER PRESSURE

The cash game line-ups change as the night of play progresses, and Paul Phua made way for Rob Yong at the first break, while Elizabeth Chen again came in for Joe Zou. Meanwhile Dan “Jungleman” Cates subbed in for Phil Ivey. Fans were no doubt disappointed to see Ivey depart (with a profit of $80K, it should be added), but Jungleman quickly showed that he could bring the fun.

Cates opened to $5,000 from UTG+1 with . ST Wang three-bet to $17,000 from the cutoff. He had the Mystery Hand, which we eventually learned was a handsome pair of red pocket aces. But by that time, there was more than $1.2 million in the middle and Cates in the blender.

Back to the chronological report: Cates got frisky and four-bet his king-high to $51,000. Wang opted just to call, and the flop of was good enough for a $25,000 bet from Cates. Wang called for the turn.

Cates now slowed down to a check, but Wang didn’t want that. He bloated the pot with a bet of $65,000. Cates still found reason, with his top pair, to make the call. The river was the .

Cates seemed to want this to slow down now and checked again. But Wang, who had $937,000 in his stack, pushed the whole lot into the middle. Cates only had $270,000, so he was playing for all of that. But after a long, long thinking time, Cates ditched it. Wang had to make do with only $287,000 for this one.

YONG’S MYSTERY HAND TAKES ON ACES

Andy Ni had black pocket aces. There was no mystery about that, and he raised to $5,000 from UTG+2. Rob Yong and Tan Xuan called in the blinds, but we only knew the in Xuan’s hand.

The dealer put the flop out there, and after a couple of checks, Ni bet $10,000. Only Yong called. The came on the turn.

Yong led out now, putting $26,000 out there, which Ni called in an instant. The river made this a hazardous board for aces.

Yong took his time before betting $85,000. At this stage, we had no greater idea than Ni about what Yong was hiding. Ni didn’t want to pay to find out. After a long time in the tank, he tossed away his cards, surrendering the $174,000 pot to Yong. Was he right to fold? Yong actually had for a flush draw, with a gutshot, that didn’t improve. But Yong’s gutsy bluff took it down.

CATES VERSUS ACES AGAIN

Shortly after the final break of the day, during which Tony G and Mikhail Petrov both left the table, meaning a return for Paul Phua and Handz, those pocket aces came out to play once more. This time they were in ST Wang’s hand, and he saw Dan Cates open to $10,000 in the hijack ahead of him. Cates had the Mystery Hand.

Wang, in the big blind, three-bet to $40,000 and Rob Yong, in the $4,000 straddle, let his go. Cates called, meaning two players saw the flop of . Yong did very well to keep quiet. He would have flopped top two.

Wang bet $32,000 with his aces and Cates called. The turn was another bad card for Wang’s hand, even if he now had a gutshot. But he was undeterred and counted out a small bet of $41,000. Cates called once more.

The was another card to complicate matters for the aces, albeit turning one pair into two. Wang came out firing once again, tossing $155,000 into the middle, and leaving Cates with another decision.

Cates had $280K behind. After spending a time-bank chip, he shipped it all in. Wang found a fold. It was another very shrewd play to ditch the big one. Cates had pocket jacks and had flopped a set.

Cates took the profit that was his, but Wang wriggled away.

CATES LAYS MORE PUNISHMENT ON XUAN

Tan Xuan was playing tons of hands and, even if he wasn’t winning them all, he was always topping up his stack whenever anyone else earned chips. He wanted to have the biggest stack at the table.

If things had gone slightly more favourably, Xuan would have ended the session with an absolute heap. But the deck did not help him out at all. In one such pot, Dan Cates opened his button to $10,000 with and Xuan called from the big blind with . Elizabeth Chen folded her straddle.

Xuan flopped top pair. The first three cards out were . Xuan check-called Cates’ bet of $12,000. The turn helped both of them, making two pair for Xuan and giving Cates both a wheel and a flush draw.

Xuan checked again, and Cates bet $52,000, a full-pot bet. Xuan just called. The was brutal for Xuan, and he checked. Cates then put $107,000 over the line.

Xuan didn’t like it. He knew something was up. However, he couldn’t resist calling and Cates won the $369,000 pot, denting Xuan again.

THREE-WAY SET UP AS DAY DRAWS TO CLOSE

There was just time left in this one for one massive set up between the three players in the three blinds. Andy Ni was in the small blind with and he opened to $15,000.

Dan Cates was in the big blind, with and he three-bet to $51,000. But then Handz, in the straddle, looked down at . He put in the cold four-bet to $135,000.

Ni knew he was up against strength, but his queens were too strong themselves. He jammed for $482,000. Cates now folded, but Handz was priced in for his last $400K.

They decided to run it three times, just to make sure someone actually won the hand. And it turned out to be Ni, who won the first and the third run out, sandwiching Handz claiming a third of the pot in the middle. It capped a very good day for Andy Ni.

DAY 2 PROFIT/LOSS

UP
Andy Ni: +$543,000
Dan “Jungleman” Cates: +$228,000
Tony G: +$130,000
Phil Ivey: +$80,000
Mikhail Petrov: +$51,000

DOWN
Elizabeth Chen/Joe Zou: -$28,000
ST Wang: -$70,000
Paul Phua: -$122,000
Handz: -$124,000
Rob Yong: -$221,000
Tan Xuan: -$467,000

Photography by Drew Amato