Held in London during 2019, the prestigious competition still holds the record for being the most expensive poker tournament of all time and will now be available for all viewers with an internet connection to enjoy.
Episodes 1 and 2 of the post-produced series will make its digital debut starting Thursday September 23rd, 2021, on the Triton Poker YouTube channel, with the duo of poker legend Daniel Negreanu and television personality Ali Nejad as your commentators.
Triton’s innovative structure pitted an array of the world’s most talented poker players such as Bryn Kenney, Daniel’ Jungleman’ Cates, and Tom’ durrrr’ Dwan against high profile businessmen (and businesswoman) such as Paul Phua, Tony G and Haralabos Voulgaris in one of the richest purses in sports and gaming history.
In the entry fee of £1,050,000, £50,000 was taken from each buy-in and distributed to over 15 charities globally, including the One Drop Foundation, Raising for Effective Giving (REG), and the Malaysian Red Crescent.
The tournament previously aired on television with NBCSports in the United States, Canada’s TSN channel, FreeSports in the UK, Sport 5 in Israel, and across several Eastern European countries.
After previously broadcasting in several regions such as Canada, Israel, and the United Kingdom, Triton has penned a TV deal with NBC Sports to showcase coverage of the biggest televised poker tournament of all time.
The 10-episode series remains one of the most innovative poker tournaments in recent memory, with 54 professionals and businessmen (and woman) creating an incredible prize pool of £54million and a 1st place prize of £19million.
In addition, £50,000 was collected from each participant totaling £2.7million, donated to various charities around the world.
Daniel ‘Kid Poker’ Negreanu and television personality, Ali Nejad, guide you through exclusive behind-the-scenes player testimony and the stunning highs and brutal lows of all the play-by-play action.
Depending on your location, here is the NBC broadcast listing schedule: Wednesdays at 5pm PT – NBC Sports Bay Area Thursdays at 9pm ET- NBC Sports Philadelphia+ Fridays at 10pm CT – NBC Sports Chicago Saturdays at 11pm ET – NBC Sports Boston Sundays at 8pm ET – NBC Sports Washington
Triton Poker has signed a TV deal with FreeSports to showcase coverage of the Triton Million: A Helping Hand For Charity, a £1m buy-in event that took place in London, 2019. FreeSports will spread the Triton Poker love to 22 million homes in the UK through their free-to-air model.
The Triton Poker Super High Roller Series may be on an imposed hiatus, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get your fix of the biggest high-stakes poker tour in the world.
The first of ten episodes will hit UK TV screens on Thursday, October 1 at 10:00 pm, and is available on several UK networks such as Freeview HD channel 64, Sky HD channel 422, Virgin HD 553, TalkTalk 64, and BT Vision channel 64. Additionally, the series will also be available on the FreeSports online player, downloadable at www.freesportsplayer.tv.
The Triton Million remains one of the most innovative and incredible poker tournaments of its time with 54 pros and business people alike creating a £54m prize money, and a £19m first prize, the biggest in the history of the game.
The Triton Million recently broadcast on Canada’s largest sports network TSN, Sport 5 in Israel, and Sport 1 across several Eastern European countries.
Frank Sinatra may have sung it, but it’s a dream stitched into the double helix of everyone ejected into this world, and for most the gestation period continues into the grave.
But ‘most’ isn’t ‘everyone.’
Some buck the trend.
Like the people sending ‘success’ screaming through the ventricles and atriums, radiating and reverberating a reverent YES! YES! YES!
People like Timofey ‘trueteller’ Kuznetsov.
During a tete-a-tete in Jeju, South Korea, a ball of wax must have taken possession of my cochlea, because I swear that he told me that he set the goal to make $1m playing online poker at Paul Hardcastle’s age.
If I’m going to write about it, I had better do my due diligence, so I contacted him.
Kuznetsov did create an ambitious poker goal when 19, and hit it within three-years. Only it wasn’t $1m.
I had missed a crucial zero.
It was $10m.
Kuznetsov grew up in Novosibirsk, on the banks of the Ob River in Siberia, the third most populous city in Russia, and a place of serene beauty according to Kuznetsov, waxing lyrical over his school walks through the vast forestry that blocked out the horizon.
The Russian star describes the people of Novosibirsk as ‘nice’ and calls it a ‘healthy’ place to grow up thanks to the clean forest air. Novosibirsk is home to a sizable scientific contingent. Still, Kuznetsov’s mother was a doctor; his father, a businessman, peddling in music stores, video rentals and toy shops. Little wonder that Kuznetsov would develop a keen fondness for games citing ‘Heroes of Might and Magic 3’, ‘Monopoly’, ‘Alias’, ‘FIFA’, and ‘Chess’ amongst his favourite games, outside of poker.
The University Years
The eldest of three children all born within nine years, Kuznetsov left his home city, moving to Moscow aged 17, to study mathematics and applied theory of probabilities at Moscow State University. To give you a sense of the support Kuznetsov received from his parents at that age, they also moved to Moscow at this time.
The brilliance of Kuznetsov’s mind became apparent very early in life. Moscow State University has one of the most respected math departments in the world, and Kuznetsov was one of the top young mathematicians in Russia at that time.
“I was positive about the future during those years,” recalls Kuznetsov. “I harboured hopes of becoming involved in stocks or hedge funds, and for a time, I entered some consulting competitions, thinking I may end up working for an organisation like KPMG.”
It sounded like a plan.
Plans change.
“A friend won $7k playing online poker in a few months,” recalls Kuznetsov, “I thought that was pretty cool, and as I am competitive, love playing games, and there was money to be won, I thought, why not give it a go?”
Kuznetsov loved poker instantly as it allowed him to combine his passion for mathematics with his love for gaming. Candidly, Kuznetsov wanted to be a high stakes poker player and believed it was possible.
“Many smart people have believed they could play high stakes poker, and eventually went broke,” said Kuznetsov’s close friend and high stakes star, Furkat Rakhimov. “Timofey was different because he had the skills to match his ambition.”
That Ambition
A 19-year-old Kuznetsov began to realise that poker was more than a pastime. It was a way to make some serious money. So Kuznetsov set his first poker goal – to make $10m playing online poker.
An illusion?
Delusion?
A naive sense of confusion?
“I was overconfident in a way, but sometimes overconfidence doesn’t hurt,” said Kuznetsov.
After depositing $25 on partypoker, Kuznetsov began playing 1c/2c, and within his first six months, he broke the $10k mark, a milestone he says was one of his most significant.
By this time, Kuznetsov had decided that he would never work a single day in his life. Poker would be his vehicle for success. At first, his parents didn’t think it was a good idea, especially given how gifted he was.
“They assumed I would have a great career in finance and wondered what the hell I was doing with my life playing cards,” said Kuznetsov.
Kuznetsov won $40k playing online cash games, and decided to continue with his university studies, but turn his back on the planned summer school position with KPMG. It was a decision that his parents supported.
$5/$10
Then came Kuznetsov’s first big challenge.
$5/$10.
After cruising through the menu of delicacies available at $2/$4 and $3/$6 establishing a 5bb/100 win rate, Kuznetsov kept donating it through $5/$10 shot taking.
“Bad luck is always a part of it,” said Kuznetsov, “but that time, I was unknowingly lucky that I didn’t run good right away.”
Kuznetsov is pointing to the problem of running so good that when you stare at your reflection, you see Phil Ivey. You don’t put in the work because you think you’re the nuts. The $5/$10 walls forced Kuznetsov to study, and that’s where Phil Galfond enters the fray.
“I studied hard, and during this time, I stumbled across Phil Galfond’s old No-Limit videos, which opened my eyes on a couple of key thinking patterns in poker,” said Kuznetsov.
After four months of $5/$10 driving a stake through his heart and countless nights of seeing the spectre of Phil Galfond standing by the side of his bed, Kuznetsov got lucky – his exams forced a clean break from the game.
Deprived of the one thing, he loved, at this critical juncture in his career, turned out to be life changing.
The Break
The story of the poker player refusing to return to school to concentrate wholly on poker is a well-trodden path, but not for Kuznetsov. The Siberian native finished the full five years of his maths degree even specialising in probability theory.
Once the exams were in the bag, Kuznetsov returned to poker, and “something had changed,” said Kuznetsov.
Upon returning to the tables, Kuznetsov had a $40k bankroll. He made $70k EV and $40k profit in his first month back. By the end of the second month, Kuznetsov had earned another $100k, and that happened again in the third month. By the end of the year, Kuznetsov’s bankroll had risen from $40k to $1.7m playing mostly 25/50 cap games – quite the soufflé.
“My subconscious finally had a break to decompress, analyse and properly encompass the missing parts of the puzzle I’d received from Phil’s videos.” Said Kuznetsov. “It was the second year of my poker career, and I thought it couldn’t go any better, but turned out I was wrong.”
By this time, Kuznetsov’s online avatar’ trueteller’ had become recognised as one of the best, if not the best, short-stack poker player during that period.
“The action never seemed to die,” said Kuznetsov. “I had people playing me every day at 50/100 -200/400 mostly, some 500/1k. I couldn’t believe how much money I was making and took a total of two days off poker in the next year and a half.”
By the time Kuznetsov had reached his 22nd birthday, he had achieved his $10m goal.
Mathematical Olympiads
Is poker a game of nature or nurture?
It seems Kuznetsov leaned more towards the nature side of that complicated question.
Here’s his good friend Furkat Rakhimov to explain.
“Timofey competed in Math Olympiads, which are high-pressure global competitions, which test your creative thinking skills. It makes your mind very adaptable and capable of thinking about new subjects deeply on a time limit and is very good for poker.”
And if you wondered ‘how good?’
“Recently, we discussed a short deck hand, questioning if 89s is better against AK or AQ on AQ7 board with a backdoor,” said Rakhimov. “It took Timofey two seconds to tell me that there are 16 runouts against the first hand, and 15 runouts for the second to win. I was like holy moly! How does he do that?!”
The International Math Olympiad is the most prestigious math tournament in the world. Aimed at pre-college students, it’s the oldest of the International Science Olympiads stretching back till 1959. It’s that prestigious, in the former Soviet Union and other Eastern European countries, the schools would select the teams years in advance, and specially train the kids to compete.
Kuznetsov not only learned to improve his mathematical dexterity, but he also learned how to compete, and he loved it.
“I won my first math contest when I was seven,” said Kuznetsov. “I recently found letters to my grandparent bragging about the results. Hard evidence that those tests were deeply important for me from the start.
“I did the team and individual contests; normally the concept is that you have about 4 hours for 4-8 problems and they are very hard, sometimes crushing hard. The feeling of cracking one was the highest I felt during ten years I participated. I’ve travelled to several cities in Russia and twice to Kazakhstan to participate. My biggest achievements are a bronze medal in the final of the All-Russian Olympiad and silver in the Asian Pacific Mathematics Olympiad both in 2008. I was and still am very proud of those results.”
So Kuznetsov accrued his mathematical knowledge early doors. The kid was a smart cookie, but what about the sugar?
“I was very much inside my head until very late on,” said Kuznetsov. “I would say I was very introverted until 21/22. It was at this time that I realised that being introverted didn’t make me happy. I didn’t reflect emotionally. I didn’t feel. I was lonely.”
Kuznetsov worked on this aspect of the game of life, ultimately conquering his emotionally intelligent end bosses, but his process came at a price.
“People aren’t aware of how hard it is to manage emotions and play well when you’re losing, especially live and big. As I became more social and emotional, I started to feel more, and realised for the first time what tilt was. I had to face it, and fight it, and that’s been one of my biggest challenges.”
“Live”.
“Big”.
When did that happen?
The Transition to Completeness
In 2014, Kuznetsov began feeling contemptuous towards the No-Limit Hold ’em cash games and started playing 2-7 Triple Draw, PLO, and other mixed games on Full Tilt.
Here’s Rakhimov to reminisce on the 2014 Full Tilt era.
“For those who don’t know, that year, the action on Full Tilt was crazy in all the games – 400-800nl deep with ‘MalACEasia’, 2-7td 1k-2k, O8 1k-2k, mixed games, always jumping in the highest stakes games right away with no preparation and learning on the fly.”
It’s during this ‘crazy’ time that an opportune moment arose for Kuznetsov – one that sent his career on a whole new trajectory.
“I was playing triple draw online, and with Gus {Hansen}, and one-week ‘Samrostan’. And we all lost a lot, and the game stopped,” reminisced Kuznetsov. “For a few weeks there was no action above $10/$20 No Limit, and I was stuck a lot. It hurt. I needed to find big action, and nobody was willing to play big. Then I heard about the Macau thing and said, “Let’s go!”
The Phil Ivey Game
If you want proof that Kuznetsov learned and earned plenty in Macau, then have a listen to this little tale.
After some time playing live, Kuznetsov had the idea to compete with Phil Ivey in a mixed game match.
“For all of us young players, Ivey was like a god of poker,” said Rakhimov. “There were no programs that would help you get ready for limit games, and also Timofey is kind of an intuitive player that always prefers practice. After practising mostly in PLO, and heads-up HORSE on his phone with his friends during live Macau games, he decided he was ready.”
The match started in late 2015, and Rakhimov remembers railing the game intensely because “I admired a guy who took his chance to play a Phil Ivey who had been at the top of the food chain for 20+ years.”
Rakhimov remembers that the game never seemed to end with the pair competing for 25-30 hours straight, and then back on it after a few hours of sleep. After months of fighting, and with Kuznetsov leading, the game came to an end.
How did Kuznetsov feel about beating the best in the business?
He told Rakhimov that he felt like he had played Mortal Combat for five straight years, eventually beating the End Boss ‘Shawkan’.
A Bump in The Road
After Macau, Kuznetsov took his game to Bobby’s Room in Las Vegas, one of the most famous high stakes poker rooms in the world.
“It’s the toughest poker game by far in the world,” said Rakhimov. “The difference of this mix is that limit games turn into pot-limit games, which makes it way more complicated. Timofey had no experience in those games at all!”
It showed.
After losing $750k on the first night, Kuznetsov continued dusting every single session until the regs gave him a special VIP seat. For the first time since he began competing, trueteller looked around the room and couldn’t find the sucker.
That year, Kuznetsov lost ‘a lot,’ but his competitiveness drove him to practice like a banshee, competing in games such as pot-limit Badugi, pot-limit 2-7 triple draw, BigO, etc.
Within a year, the Bobby’s Room regs had removed the name of ‘trueteller’ from the VIP seat.
Today, he’s one of the most formidable players in that game.
The Best Player in the World?
It’s challenging to rank cash game players, in terms of the best in the world, but his peers believe Kuznetsov is right up there.
Wiktor ‘limitless’ Malinowski called him the ‘Messi of Poker.’
Rui Cao said he is ‘the smartest person I know. He’s fearless and deserves everything he has now. I was always cosy and overconfident, and he humbled me.”
Daniel’ Jungleman’ Cates calls him one of the ‘best professional gamblers there is.”
Rob Yong called him a ‘modest’ guy; ‘humble’, and always willing to help other people – a ‘natural born wizard.’
Phil Galfond, the man who Kuznetsov credited with ‘filling in the blanks’, said, “I have nothing but positive things to say about Timofey. Despite how incredibly tough he is as a player, his kindness, intelligence, and sense of humour make him a pleasure to have at the table.”
And his good friend Furkat Rakhimov?
“Not only is he the best player in the world, he’s also the best friend, the kindest person – a true genius.”
As poker players, amateur and pro, we’ve all spent a few orbits in the presence of greatness, but when that presence is Jason Koon, it never really leaves your orbit. Many of us spend our time doing, doing, doing – not Koon. Triton Poker’s Ambassador epitomizes how one should live one’s life, not from the act of finishing your sentences (that’s not his style), but through his sheer ‘being’.
A great man.
A fantastic poker player.
And one day.
A loving father.
And that’s where we’ll begin.
The silhouette that would become Jason Koon first hit a blood-soaked blanket, 35-years-ago, in Charleston, West Virginia. Koon had a tough childhood, beaten by a father bereft of the boyhood love that all of us crave from the XY presence in our life.
“My relationship with my father is non-existent,” said Koon. “I’ve done a lot of work around forgiveness, and I don’t hold resentment in my heart. The experience negatively fuelled me to get to where I am. Anger can be an incredible motivator.”
Koon’s father left when he was aged 8 or 9, a period of his life that he calls ‘chaotic’, but free of mental and physical abuse. His mother moved the family to Lewis County, where he grew up in a small hollow in the mountains, spending hours upon hours figuring out the theme of his life from the middle of a lake.
“We lived in a small farmhouse, the neighbours had chickens and horses, but we weren’t farmers,” said Koon. “As a kid, I used to go to the lake and fish. Despite growing up poor, I never felt freer or happier.”
Swinging and Sprinting
It wouldn’t be long before Koon exchanged the rod for a baseball bat and mitt, and he harboured hopes of playing in the minor leagues. As he grew, Koon developed a turn of speed and joined the track team. Lacking the financial funds needed for college, the track and not baseball became Koon’s likeliest route to a scholarship, and so that’s where his focus turned.
It’s at this time that Koon’s legendary competitiveness shone to the fore. Nobody in his family had ever gone to college, and despite not being turned on by academic success, it was a milestone he wanted, badly.
“I wanted to say I did it,” said Koon.
And he did.
Naturally strong, and athletic, Koon put everything he had into being the finest physical specimen he could be. Still, there was a sacrifice, but also awareness.
“It didn’t occur to me until after uni, how much I respected the liberation that comes with knowledge and thinking,” said Koon. “When that clicked, I started to develop my mind.”
The Hip
The opportunity to develop his mind came during a moment of tragedy. A hip injury meant that Koon couldn’t compete for the first time in his life. Fortunately, for him, his friend turned him to online poker, and the rest, as they say, is history.
“I always felt like I had some value, something bigger than what I was that moment,” said Koon. “That confidence helped me retain the drive to learn and to improve. Going through walls has always been easy for me. Because I have always had it in the back of my mind that I can do it.”
Meeting Bianca
It wasn’t merely his competitiveness and physicality that Koon found on the track – he also found the most important person in his life.
“I met Jason in 2007, my freshman year of college,” said Bianca Armstrong Koon. “I was 18, and Jason 22. We were both attending West Virginia Wesleyan on a track scholarship. My first impression of Jason was that he was a bit intimidating. He was known for getting into altercations at the local bars and could often be spotted walking around campus in a cut-off. It was obvious, Jason was a confident guy with a lot to prove, and he was also very giving.”
Poker
Only, he didn’t have a lot to give.
Koon’s hip problem and college tuition had created a $115,000 hole, but that didn’t deter him. With $7k in his bankroll and a fabled stubborn persistence, Koon quit a job that had the capability of a six-figure annual income to give himself a shot at being a pro poker player.
“I was broke and in debt, but I knew I could make it,” said Koon.
How many of us would have taken the path of least resistance; took the job, and killed our dream.
Not Koon.
“You need the courage to decide what you think is best for you,” said Koon. “You have to value yourself and not rely on the judgment of others. I knew there was a chance I could fail and that people would mock me. I was terrified of that, but not enough to accept it.”
Koon was about to create a new path of least resistance leading to $31.1m in live tournament earnings, and who knows how many millions more playing in the highest stakes cash games in the world.
With the deck beckoning, many factors led to Koon’s success, and one of them was the courage to choose to make his stamp on the world, and not settle for Stud Terkel’s ‘Monday to Friday sort of dying’.
“Many people are happy in that structure,” said Koon. “It’s not a bad thing to be in that spot if you can do it with a smile on your face and feel good about your life. It’s not for me.”
The Grind
After turning his back on convention, Koon stared at the wall that was poker and ran through it. Getting to the top, and staying there takes persistence, drive and a propensity to graft, qualities that Koon has in droves.
“I often find myself overworked, and when that happens, I become tired, and my weaknesses become exposed,” said Koon. “That’s when anger surfaces and stress builds.”
The universe didn’t hand Koon his vicissitude of fortune. He earned it through sheer blood, sweat and hard work, as witnessed by his friends.
“Fortunately for me, Jason and I rarely cross paths at the poker table because we specialise in different games,” said Phil Galfond. “I think part of the reason he has excelled at the game is that he believes if he doesn’t outwork everyone else, he won’t be able to compete at the highest levels. He’s much more naturally gifted than he gives himself credit for, but that attitude has served him very well.”
Ben Tollerene agrees.
“One thing that stands out to me about Jason as a poker player is how insanely competitive he is. He has a level of intensity and effort that is unique to him, and while I think it causes him a lot of pain, due to how often you experience losing in poker, it also makes him great.”
Koon understands the price, but it’s one he’s willing to pay because the opportunity costs of not playing now are too high.
“I want to have kids, and when that happens, everything will slow down,” said Koon. I need the discipline to stick to that idea. I have to make sure that happens. The biggest problem is always working on the balance of letting off the throttle, and working on the damage that I carry.”
Standing Next to Every Great Man
Koon is a talented man, but he’s going to need some help if he wants to be a father, and that’s where we return once more to the person Koon credits as being the most influential person in his career – no, scratch that – in his life.
Bianca.
“When she came into my life she started calling me out on things I didn’t know I was doing wrong. She would say that’s not socially acceptable, cussing, spouting negative energy. She kept me in check, and was so supportive, always making sure I have everything I need.”
Bianca’s value etched in his tournament results. When they met, Koon was known as a fair to middling tournament player with $2.5m in earnings. Today, he is one of the greatest, with more than $31.1m.
The Koon’s friendship blossomed into romance in 2015, when the pair met in Napa with Jason buying Bianca a case of wine, asking her to keep on to it for their’ future anniversaries.’
“He moved into my apartment the next week,” said Bianca. “You get to know someone very quickly living in a 400 sq ft apartment. I learned about Jason’s childhood trauma and how he handled hardship.
“You could see the struggle of someone who worked so hard to succeed at poker; fitness challenges, perfecting nutrition, being a great partner, but couldn’t shake the inner turmoil from his childhood when dealing with his emotions.
“After many long talks, the walls started to come down for Jason. Maybe for the first time, he felt safe. He became less defensive and more aware of how he was reacting to situations.”
Team Koon
While Bianca may be the captain of Team Koon, she is by no means the only member. Koon has surrounded himself with some of the smartest minds on and off the table, and he still pinches himself, today, when he looks around at his compadres.
“I never thought I would get to the level I did in poker,” said Koon. “When I started, I didn’t have the right group around me. Luckily, I found mutual value with the best people and players, developing strong relationships, and over a decade, we’ve all gotten better. Poker is the thing that we all love and dive into, and some of my buddies are the best poker players in the world and much more gifted than me. They’ve put me on their back and pushed me to the level I am at now. It’s surreal.
So how did it happen?
Fate?
Magic?
The Poker Gods?
You’ll find the answer in service.
Service
“I want to create comfort and safety for everyone I care the most about,” said Koon. “I want to impact their lives, so it’s a net positive for everyone, not just financially, not just emotionally. I want to grab the people who have looked after me, and I want us all to move forward together. To be of deep value to the people I am closest with and be in line with what’s best and fulfilling for me.”
Koon’s desire to take care of those who have shown up for him is not a feeling confined to his mind. It shows in his actions and is witnessed by those he loves.
“I would describe him as a man, as a great friend who truly cares about bringing up those around him, truly cares about others around him having success and having a good life,” said Koon’s good friend, Seth Davies. “You’ll hear or sometimes see people who have a lot of jealousy even with their friends even with people they like, but he doesn’t have that at all he truly wants everyone around him to have success and be happy, and he’s not jealous of that.”
“It’s essentially impossible to speak about Jason’s character without sounding like a Hallmark card,” said Phil Galfond. “Beyond the friendly and positive guy everyone sees, he consistently goes out of his way to put other people before himself. He has done 5-10 times as many favours for me as I have for him. I can’t keep up. He’s as caring, supportive and thoughtful a friend as you could hope for.”
“When I think about Jason as a friend: loyal and genuine are the two words that come to mind,” said Ben Tollerene. “He’s always there for his friends in a way that is sincere and lets you know he truly cares about you. He also can bring people together to create memorable, shared experiences. I’ve always appreciated that about him.”
And from the person who’s known him the longest?
“I think Jason’s a completely different person than when I met him in college’ said Bianca. “He has nothing to prove at this point. He prefers to stay out of the public eye: the less flash, the better these days. And I love that! He still radiates intensity, especially when he’s in work mode. He’s also dramatic, and that leads to lots of laughs.
“I admire him for his work ethic and stamina to play the games he plays. He’s great at optimising his entire life. From morning routines to sleep cycles. He has zero leaks and has little time for people that aren’t moving in the same direction.”
He is also an impressive figure when he busts out those old cut-offs.
So what does the future hold for Koon?
“Something shitty happened to me as a kid,” said Koon. “My dad fucked me over in so many ways. So I want to be the full time all in dad. There is a balance that happens in life. Maybe, I would be this lazy, unmotivated spoiled brat if my father had treated me better. Who knows, but what I do know, is I will be a great dad as a result of this.”
Triton Poker have secured several more key TV markets for their 10-episode ‘Triton Million – A Helping Hand for Charity’ tournament from London 2019 after joining forces with Protocol Sports Marketing.
Following the successful release on Canada’s largest sports network TSN, the biggest poker tournament of all time will broadcast on Sport 5 in Israel and Sport 1 across several Eastern European countries.
During the Triton Super High Roller Series London 2019 poker festival, the feature event was the ‘Triton Million – A Helping Hand for Charity’, with the tournament buy-in no less than a staggering £1,050,000 for entry.
54 invited participants, divided by half professional poker players and half wealthy businessmen, fought it out for the chance to win a massive 1st place £19,000,000 payout, the biggest in poker history.
Triton Poker was created by Seng Chen “Richard” Yong and Wei-Seng “Paul” Phua back in 2016 with a distinct ethos and identity, catering to poker’s high rollers.
“Our vision for the Triton Poker brand has always been about bringing the world’s best players and providing them with the opportunity to play the highest stakes imaginable while also giving back to charity,” says Paul Phua. “We are finding that this vision is resonating with major media platforms, leading to coverage on some of the world’s biggest channels.”
Protocol Sports have also hinted that the Triton Million series will enter even more markets in the near future, with the United States’ and the United Kingdom’s broadcasters interested.
“There is much more to come,” says Protocol Sports Marketing President Lowell Conn. “We have numerous broadcast partners and sponsors that are expressing interest in Triton Poker, and we expect to very soon announce deals in more major markets, including the United States and the United Kingdom.”
The Triton Poker Super High Roller Series London 2020 festival scheduled for July 29 – August 13 2020 has been cancelled due to the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
We are experiencing unprecedented feelings of uncertainty in our personal and professional lives due to the global Coronavirus outbreak. With this in mind, the Triton team believe it’s crucial to lessen this uncertainty, giving you advanced warning of the cancellations and resumption of Triton events.
It’s vitally important to us that we provide you with a safe environment, not only to play the game you love but to travel to and from the incredible locations that host Triton events. We don’t believe we can offer you this safety in the current climate, and so we have cancelled The Triton Poker Super High Roller Series planned for London Jul 29 – Aug 13.
The London event was the last Triton event scheduled for 2020, meaning the next time you hear from us we hope to be bringing you good news!
On Friday, 3 July 2020, ‘Triton Million: A Helping Hand For Charity’ makes its dazzling debut on Canada’s The Sports Network (TSN4) with the first of ten hourly episodes airing prime-time 7 pm – 9 pm (GMT-4).
In 2019, Triton Poker created the most expensive tournament in the history of the game, with a £1.05m buy-in, £54m in prize money, £19m for the winner and £2.7m donated to charity.
Canada’s own, Daniel ‘Kid Poker’ Negreanu and television personality, Ali Nejad, guide you through exclusive behind the scenes player testimony and the stunning highs and brutal lows of all the play-by-play action.
Triton’s innovative structure pitted an array of the world’s most talented poker players such as Bryn Kenney, Daniel’ Jungleman’ Cates, and Tom’ durrrr’ Dwan against high profile businessmen such as Paul Phua, Tony G and Haralabos Voulgaris in one of the richest purses in sports and gaming history.
The tournament will air on TSN every Friday starting 3 July and ending 31 July.
One minute you’re a broke high school student, playing Magic The Gathering (MTG), parents bailing you out, and then in a blink of an eye, you’re a billionaire competing in GBP £1,000,000 buy-in poker tournaments.
From the daily grind of low stakes online poker games to competing against the top pros and wealthiest entrepreneurs around the world, the story of Aaron Zang is incredible.
It’s a new story because, for most of the poker world, Zang has been a ghost – a fact that changed in the summer of 2019.
Triton Million: A Helping Hand For Charity
The final duel of the Triton Million event in London was a scriptwriters dream. At one end of the table sat Bryn Kenney. Win or lose, the New Yorker would become the All-Time Money List leader with more than $30m in live tournament in the money (ITM) finishes.
Aaron Zang stared done his barrel. An unknown entity in the popular poker press. If Kenney was the chalk, then Zang was the cheese having invested tens of millions on tournament buy-ins gaining nothing and failing to rank in top 100 on China’s All-time Money List.
East v West.
Professional v Amateur.
Extrovert v Introvert.
The winner would receive the lion share of GBP £30.6m, and there was only ever going to be one winner.
Kenney not only had the edge in experience and skill, but he had momentum and a massive chip lead. Fans of Kenney believed it a foregone conclusion, passing around expensive bottles of whiskey in pre-triumphant salutes.
How did this make Zang feel?
“Their behaviour fell within my tolerance range,” said Zang. “There were no personal attacks. After all, our desire for victory is different. His desire to win is stronger. Poker means more to him. He has spent more than ten thousand honing his craft, compared to my mere few hundred hours. So, I think his behaviour and that of his rail is normal.
“The experience of competing against these top players during the tournament made me realise that the technical aspect of poker is extremely high. In my judgment, the value of recreational players is only about 30%. In comparison, the pros are as high as 170%, which may not be so accurate, but the point is – the technical strength gap is huge. I have never even read a poker book, so I lag in terms of strategy. Also, I have spent most of my time, in recent years, focusing on my business.”
No poker books.
Strategy deficits.
Lack of experience.
It didn’t matter.
On this day, the Poker Gods were on the side of Zang. He turned the chip deficit around and won the title and £GBP 13.78m (RMB 125m) in prize money.
On Magic The Gathering
After Zang had beaten Kenney pandemonium ensued. As the press clamoured to stick a mic under the nose of Kenney, Zang staggered around in a state of shock and awe, full of adrenaline, and nowhere to dump it.
By the time he sat down with us, there was no expression of outward excitement. Instead, we witnessed the quiet demeanour that Zang had carried throughout the tournament. A calm sense of power radiated from him, and everyone around him could feel it.
“When I played the Magic The Gathering (MTG), I won the national championship,” Zang reminisced. “Right now, I feel like I did back then. Something unexpected happened. The experience at that stage has a significant impact on me now.
“I was just a high school student at that time, with no money, so what should I do? Play MTG. This game was not acceptable to everyone in the traditional environment of China at that time. Once I participated in a tournament and successfully went into the last eight, but since I was a high school student, they disqualified me. Nevertheless, the organiser finally gave me the prize. I have always been very grateful for that.
“Compared to the game itself, the more essential things are the friendships I made back then. They helped my life tremendously. At the time, my outlook on life and my values swayed. They helped me to establish correct concepts in life. Without their guidance or had I met terrible people at the time, my current thoughts and attitudes may be completely different.
“Most of a person’s knowledge and information is obtained from the outside world, such as your teachers, your living environment, various media and friends around you. I can only say that I am relatively lucky. At the critical node of my life, I received a set of survival ideas and values about this society that is more suitable for me.
“Books have also been important to me. “Defeat the Dealer” in particular inspired me. It enables me to establish correct concepts early in the game. It teaches me how to win, how to stand on the winning side, what should be done and what should not be done. Some things don’t seem to suffer much, but in the long term, they will make you lose everything. Some things seem to have only a little advantage, but through slowly accumulating, then you can’t lose. So, I think reading some good books will be very helpful in your life. ”
On Macau
In 2005, a 23-year-old Aaron Zang graduated from university. In a confused state of not knowing what to do, he followed a friend named Zhao Jie onto a poker table.
“I was really smart at that time,” said Zang. “I searched the Internet for how to play poker and deposited on partypoker. What a coincidence, today, I am playing poker with its boss! A lot of things connect in the unseen world. At that time, my parents regularly gave me pocket money, and I deposited it online to play. Most of the time, I lost it. But I think this game is quite suitable for me because I can always win in the live game. But back to online, I still saved and lost. Until New Year’s Day in 2006, my mother and I went out to pay New Year’s greetings. An uncle gave me 1,000 yuan as a gift, and I deposited it again. I started winning and turned 1,000 to 400,000 yuan. That was the first pot of gold for me, and I can finally get rid of living off my parents and live on my own.
“I started to go to Macau regularly in 2007. It was a great time to be a reg in Macau. It feels like Macau is your home. I stay where I want to stay, eat what I want to eat and buy anything I want to buy. Also, there is a lot of money to win everyday. My parents are very easy on me and support me playing poker full time. They believe in me because I have never done anything beyond the pale since I was a child, although I am in a relatively high-risk occupation. Now that their son has grown up. He can be accountable for his actions. Also, they are old, and their intervention may not be correct.
“Since playing poker, my bankroll management has been particularly good. Over the years, I have never lost more than 30% of my total bankroll. Sometimes your life is made up of all kinds of chances. You just can find what you are good at and then go to do it, as if arranged. Just like some people are good at scientific research, some people are good at painting, and I am good at playing poker, just like a talent. Playing this game for me is always about winning. I can feel that my opponents are worse and more conservative than me.
“Still, many people are afraid of losing. Let me give you the most straightforward example: Why should I buy insurance when playing poker? I have never bought insurance since playing poker. Buying insurance is -EV. This is one of the simplest truths, but why do so many people still do it? Someone has experimented and found that human nature is afraid of sudden bad news when they can make stable money, then they will buy insurance. And conservative people’s attitudes toward money, attitudes toward mathematics, and perceives of EV all have some problems.”
On Bitcoin
“I was still a reg in 2013 when I learned about bitcoin through a friend. After researching it, I was very interested. Then I set up a bitcoin company in Shenzhen. This business has been in succession until now, and I have also made some friends in the currency circle. Later, for many years, I didn’t play poker very much and mainly focused on the financial market, and my principal investment was in the secondary market. That is to follow some market focus, such as the science and technology innovation board. In China, finance is a large sunrise industry full of development potential. At the same time, we are also working on private equity funds. Everything is in order and goes well. All in all, it is an honour to work with my current colleagues. They are all excellent partners.”
On The Flipside of Fame
We ask Zang how much honour winning Triton Million brought to him.
“Nothing to speak of, because I always have a correct attitude toward poker,” said Zang. “I can only say that I happened to be the lucky one in this tournament. I met Tong (the runner-up of EPT) on the way. I told him I was the least afraid of losing in the field because I never thought of winning. The probability is too low as your strength is poor, so your chance of success is particularly low. Brother Sabah has just said that he has known me for nine years and never felt that my tournament play is good, proving that anyone can win this game (laughs).
“What I didn’t expect is as I ran deep, my desire to survive became stronger. When it goes to Heads Up, I even thought about not winning and letting the first place go. I am a very secular person and have no religious beliefs. But my worldview is for less pain in the world.
“If I win the championship, it will be overwhelmingly publicised by the media, which is not suitable for me and not good for many Chinese players either. Many people will think: Wow! This person won so much money; then I don’t want to work hard. I also want to go to Macau to play poker. In the end, it may be bad for their family and worse for all society.
“To be honest, I don’t want poker to be over-promoted in China. Many people can’t figure it out. The competitive side of the brain is not shown. Instead, the bad side of morals has inspired. Over the years, I have discovered one thing: it is particularly difficult to persuade a person, and you cannot expect everyone to have a correct understanding of one thing.In China, poker may not be treated correctly by everyone. This will lead to many unfortunate situations. By then, the pain in the world has increased. This is not what I want to see.
“Perhaps as time goes by, the national policy gradually gets better, people’s ideology gradually improves, and the public’s attitude towards poker will be biased to the good side – like Bill Gates who plays poker as entertainment. So this game is just for relaxation, and it will become a good thing. It just needs to settle slowly.
“For many people, I think I should be kind to them, but the people who hurt me the most in life are none other than those who are addicted. So this thing is also very bothersome to me, because I am a big beneficiary in gambling, and everything I do dealing with numbers is profitable. But it may also be because of this that some of my friends were badly affected, and eventually, we cannot be friends any more, and their families were also hurt. Some truths are particularly simple, but everyone understands things differently. No matter what you repeatedly say, they may not be able to understand.
“For example, I have been working in bitcoin for many years. I have seen many people around me suddenly evaporate, and some even commit suicide. I think the existence of bitcoin aggravates the pain of this world. It inspires the evil side of people. Whether it is hacking the exchange’s, an inside job, friends deceiving each other or using bitcoin for MLM, it’s inspired all kinds of evil. Although it is a great invention like poker, I think it’s not particularly good for the world. It adds a lot of pain to the world. ”
On Getting Old
There is a saying: “The crash of middle-aged people is often quiet.”
We asked Zang to remember the moment when he realised he was no longer young?
“I can tell you very clearly about that moment,” said Zang. “It was two years ago, when I was in the shower, I suddenly realised I had a lot of white hair. At that moment, I knew that it is impossible to change again – I am getting old, which is irreversible. A turning point, a signal appeared.
“Middle-aged people are particularly stressed, with old and young at home, and your annual prosperity is particularly poor. If bad things happen at that time, such as investment failure, family sickness, people are crushed. Middle-aged people have a particularly difficult time in China, especially in Shanghai. Now there are traps everywhere. Everyone wants to make life better, but how? Not everyone has this kind of ability. Some people choose the right path and have the ability to succeed, while some people are perplexed, then they choose the wrong road and may enter a vicious circle.
“The world is cruel. Everyone wants to exploit each other. Everyone wants to reap others. Just like playing poker – you want to win others’ chips. There are too many of these things happening in China, whether it is the financial market, the MLM market, or any other speculative market. And who is suffering in the end? The ones with poor cognition, or those who want to change their lives but do not know the world correctly. What should those people do?If it happens to be a middle-aged person, and also the mainstay of the family, if he lost too much in stock futures, the family will be ruined. The family is the community of society. Only when the family is stabilised will society become better. If the family is unstable, society will not be stable either.
“Moreover, after middle age, everything starts to enter a slow decline process. What does the endpoint look like? Everyone already knows clearly. Your physical power can’t get better and better, and your white hair can’t turn black. Both strength and energy enter a process of spiralling decline. However, the pain and confusion have not decreased, because you find that you are farther and farther away from your previous dreams, and farther and farther away from your peak. I still have this feeling of powerlessness many times now.
“So I think people still have to be more active and work harder,” said Zang. “Only if you work harder can you increase the probability of winning and increasing the likelihood of living better in this society. Thus, don’t complain if you don’t want to work hard.
“When in a bad mood, I recommend that you can do some exercise. Good health is your own wealth. You can see your figure and appearance are getting better and better. At least one aspect is improving. You can find yourself changing.
“Besides, you should do more reading. Books are the crystallisation of the wisdom of each author. There is so much information in the society now. You cannot get all the information by yourself. But reading books can use the essence of others, and get some inspiration. You can understand the world only if your cognition improves; then you can appreciate the joys and sorrows, and the operating rules of the world so that you can better deal with it.
“If there is one thing that can make a person love and dedicate his life, it is happy for him. Because so far, I still haven’t found something that I can say I am very passionate about and willing to devote my life to. I can only say that I do a lot of things with some utility, some hobbies, and some actual needs. Of course, the demand is to make money. The utility may be for some fame and doing something for the society, and I don’t hate this thing. But you see, if a person can find something that he loves and be willing to dedicate his life, then he will be the happiest person.
“This era will still reward people who work hard. As long as you have studied things deeply, society will give you fair treatment. Now the information is equal. As long as you are excellent, society will provide you with correct positioning. You don’t need to worry too much for this. As long as you’re on top of a specific field, someone will take you out of the value depression automatically and put you in a place you should be. So try to do what you like.”
Being in the presence of Tan Xuan puts you at ease. The natural sense of relaxation you see when he sits at the poker table follows him into life. It’s not that Xuan’s impervious to challenges – he has them, but his demeanour creates an easier leap. He is not flashy. He slides closer to the introversion end of the scale, and while he never foresaw his poker destiny, his key ideal was to be there, fully-prepared for when it happened.
And it happened.
Xuan is a stick of dynamite on the poker table. Meeting him, he looks immaculate; not a single hair out of place. Then he opens his mouth, and the contrast is startling as he talks in an eclectic mix of Hubei dialect and clumsy Mandarin. You can tell that he finds it uneasy to talk about himself, and the life that revolves around him until you talk about poker. Turn your attention to the table, and he cranes that neck forward and blossoms.
Poker’s standard ‘Hero’s Journey’ doesn’t fit into the Tan Xuan model.
There is no ‘rags to riches’ tale.
He was born a boss.
After graduating from college in 2009, Xuan bought an art and dance school. The incumbents of both affectionately named him ‘President Tan.’ Later, Xuan would shift his focus from the arts to other more robust ways of making money, first entering the steel industry and then the financial arena. In the eyes of his peers, Xuan had a perfect life in his homestead of Wuhan. While people packed like sardines on the local bus commute, Tan hired a driver to get him from A to B. That A to B had begun netting him between 2 and 3 million yuan, per annum.
The Love Affair With Poker
The love affair with poker began in 2014.
“A friend played in the biggest poker club in Wuhan,” said Xuan. “One day, he asked me to join him. When I walked in for the first time, it was an eye-opener. It reminded me of watching the Macau casinos depicted in the movies, and I will always remember hearing the grasshopper chirp of the chips for the first time.
I used to watch ‘Show Hand’ on TV, and I felt poker was similar. I was far too overconfident at first. After playing two games, they suggested that I watch the 25/50 cash game. I got involved immediately, and by the end of my first session I had lost 20,000. Still, poker hooked me, and the next day I returned, and lost another 70,000. I became addicted, and spent the next two months playing and losing, daily.”
Soon, the game not only revolved around Xuan, but the poker room set up a second table where people could play, waiting for an opportunity to take a bite at the newest whale! Five months after jumping into bed with the game he loves so much, Xuan had lost close to 20 million yuan (USD 2.8m).
“Newborn calves are not afraid of tigers,” said Xuan nonchalantly. “I just figured that I was running bad. Then I started asking myself, “how could I lose every session?” It was at this time that I started to analyze my game. You have to realize that when I started playing poker, I thought it was 70% luck and 30% skill. It took me a long time to realize that skill is the determining factor.”
Financial Concerns
At the same time, Xuan began realizing that poker was predominantly a game of skill; the profitability of his businesses began to suffer.
“There was a business that I did together with my friends,” Xuan shared. “I made money, but before I got the money, a leader was caught, and I couldn’t receive the money. I took it on my own and put my money on it. The cash flow gap became bigger. However, I was not a businessman with a greedy copper stink. I only earned what I should have. I would not harm people or friends anyway.”
In just a few months, Xuan lost tens of millions of his fortune.
Xuan’s father is a cadre of the Education Ministry and a very strict parent. When he found out that Xuan played poker, he was disgusted at the thought and heavily opposed to the idea.
“When I was a kid, I loved games,” said Xuan. “Give me a ball, and I would play with it. Give me cards, and I played them well, too. My parents knew that playing cards can lead to either big wins or big losses. But when that child grows up, their parents can’t control him anymore. I used to sneak out and play even when they forbade it.”
The Turning Point
In 2015, understanding the skill-edge of the game, Xuan began monitoring the top players, not only in Wuhan but around the world.
“I started to follow the top players in Wuhan at that time, learning the skills while watching poker games,” said Xuan. “At that time, I watched videos of Tom Dwan and Phil Ivey playing high stakes, especially the high stakes poker series. When I watched it, I thought the way Dwan played, the values, and the amount he put in the pot trying to bluff were similar to my style and way of thinking. Then I began to think such top players were just so-so; I no longer felt that we had a wide gap in poker skills.
“Later, I watched the high stakes online series I, series II, series III to series VII. I saw them all in pieces. At that time, I was able to learn some things. I don’t know how much I got. I had no concept of capital management. I often played a game with all the money I had. For example, it needs 2 million or 3 million for this event, but all I’ve had is 2 million or 3 million. I never thought what would happen if I lost, because I always thought I would win.”
After a year of studying the game more intensely, Xuan went to Shenzhen to play with friends. During that year, he practised his skills and progressed fast. It became the happiest period in his poker career.
“At that time I played a 200/400 game, and it was fierce,” said Xuan. “People were winning or losing a million in a single game. I was also aware of the concept of bankroll. The game consisted of 100% Chinese players. The action was magical, and there were plenty of battles. A few professionals from Yongli Casino in Macau suffered big losses and thought we had rigged the game. But we all know it’s a regular game after playing for so long. But all kinds of magical actions like 3 bet /4 bet and so on, they were beaten, and confused – they all lost in that game.
“Some people say that I am highly gifted. I don’t know. I think I play well at every stage. But after this stage, when you recall the previous stage, you find that there are many shortcomings and leaks in the past. People said my progress was the fastest and the biggest.
Now things have become natural to me. After playing games, the brain will automatically go back to review the previous scene and so on. It has become a habit. There’s no need for things like note-taking. Naturally, you can make progress after playing this game. I don’t know why.”
Life After The ‘Magical’ Game
The magical game in Shenzhen eventually died, and Xuan travelled to Xi’an to compete in a 2000/4000 game, which was big for him at the time. Still, the size of the games has never affected Xuan.
“I play a lot better than the average person, that is, the level doesn’t affect me, even if it suddenly rises ten levels, it’s still the same for me.” Said Xuan.
“When I play cards, I either lose the most or win the most,” said Xuan referring to his loose-aggressive style. “I will try to maximize all losses and values. For example, if I play 5000 / 10000, if I play this hand with players like Su Hao, he may lose only 100,000 in his style, and I may lose 1 million in my manner. Similarly, the average person with this hand may win 100k or 200k. Instead, when I’m in the lead, I put my opponent in and empty all his chips at one time. I can win one million and two million. I’ve always played this way, whether it’s 25 / 50 or 2000 / 4000, or even bigger; I just like to tangle with big bosses. “
On Playing The Game
Xuan graduated quickly and soon rose through the cash game ranks competing in games where winning or losing millions of dollars is the norm. During his trials and tribulations, there is one thing about the game that irks Xuan, and that’s the ‘quiet people’ at the poker table, and he’s not talking about their use of the vernacular.
“It doesn’t matter whether you speak at the table or not,” said Xuan. “The deck has its own language. Your action in each round is a story.”
Mathematics forms part of that story, but it’s not a plotline that Xuan pays too much attention too.
“I think the calculation of odds is the most basic thing,” said Xuan. “People who can play cards are generally clear about the odds of win and the loss. Everyone is saying that foreigners do well in math, that is to say, they are more accurate. For example, if a card has a roughly winning rate of 58%, then I can calculate between 55 and 60. I’m just talking about a general winning rate. I won’t say how accurate it is, but I know about it. For example, a pair to an AA, that’s about 18%, that’s it. So I don’t know how important mathematics is in playing cards. There must be some basic mathematics, but we all know basic mathematics.
“As far as I’m concerned, the difference between playing well and playing poorly lies in the comprehensive judgment of all aspects of the game. First of all, what kind of action each hand should take in different positions. That is, what kind of cards you should play before the flop, and then how to play in different positions. Then go in and face the flop. After you finish your action, no matter whether you are checking, betting or raising, you need to guess what actions others will take after each action.
“Each round like a flop, turn and the river will make other people’s cards show slowly and clearly. When you know what cards the other player is holding, you can try to win the pot with a suitable strategy. If you’re right, you win the other side’s chips, and you also win when you lose fewer chips. When you read your opponents’ card, you know that you can’t bluff him or beat him at this time, you can give up, and it can be counted as a victory. When you think he can be hung and beaten by you, and then you can win the chips and make him unable to run, this is the maximum value.
“Then it is to play against the opponent’s style that some of your actions or some kind of betting chips can make him feel that this card is very strange, illogical. This can confuse him and let him fall into your trap, so as to achieve what you wanted. There is also some mind-reading, some habit learning, yeah? All of those mentioned are very important. Poker is not merely a math problem.”
“Maybe math is useful to less than 100 BB. You play for a long time according to the mathematical probability, and it will be + EV. But beyond 100 BB, EQ and reading quotient also serve for certain functions in card playing. Foreigners lack this thing. They have advantages in one aspect, but on the other, they may not be better than Chinese people. Anyway, I don’t think foreigners play much better than Chinese people when all aspects are combined. At the 2000 / 4000 level or above, Chinese professionals are not afraid of foreign professionals, and foreigners can’t take advantage of Chinese opponents as well.
“A poker player must have confidence, when you play at a table, just imagine others are fish. That’s how I am. I have to be confident to play well. It can’t be said to treat them as fish, I will respect every opponent, but I will think that I am better than you, I can hold you down, to play a good game. In China, there are Zang, Abu, Luo, Su Hao, YC, TJ and Elton who play well. In foreign countries, there are Jungleman, Trueteller and Holz who rarely plays cash. Dwan and Ivey play more Short-deck.
“Those who play well are professionals. They don’t agree with each other. Except Su Hao, he thinks foreigners do play better. Others, including me, won’t admit that they are better than themselves. “
Becoming ‘Known”
In 2015, Xuan conquered a field of 1,075-entrants to win the $281,185 first prize in the China Poker Games (CPG) Main Event in Sanya. It was the second time he has competed in the CPG, and he ran hot, leading wire-to-wire.
Suddenly, the name of Tan Xuan was up in neon lights.
“It was easy to play CPG,” said Xuan. “I can steal. It’s not that the opponent is weak, but that they have many leaks. When I should make a value bet, I do it well. When I should bluff them, it’s easy to bluff. At that time, the players who were generally poor were numerous.
“Being reported and becoming famous is not good for my cash game action. In fact, the relationship between the game and cash is not so big. But they’ll reject me for some reason. In fact, this is a circle of interests. When he wants to exclude you, he will always find some excuses. Playing a match is the biggest, the most direct and objective reason they find, saying that you are professional. “
In 2017, the game of Short Deck became more popular throughout the Asian high-stakes scene. It was in a Short Deck tournament, the 1m HKD Short Deck event at the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series in Montenegro, where Xuan’s name became associated with high stakes poker globally (Xuan lost to Jason Koon, heads-up, for the consolation prize of USD 2.8m, and Koon called him one of the best Short Deck players in the world).
Xuan became a ‘boss’, or did he?
“We are beginners. We are the boss. We are professionals. We are not welcome to play,” said Xuan. “The definition of “boss” that we all agree with now depends on what kind of identity you are in the crowd – and on your age. The younger one is not the boss, which is a very symbolic thing, unless it is an undeniable sign, such as running a big business outside, being known by everyone, and breaking away from poker. They will admit that you are a “boss”, the rest are classified as professional. “
It’s not only Koon who has openly waxed lyrical on Xuan’s skills on the felt. The Triton co-founder, Richard Yong, once said that Xuan is the ‘complete player, with equally good skills on both short deck and hold ’em poker.’
“Short deck is easy to play,” said Xuan. “I think it is on the same level as Hold ’em. Poker is like a piece of paper, once you poke it, you will suddenly realize that each kind has the similar rule. You have to be attentive, when you really indulge yourself in the game then you will get it. It’s quite simple.”
And outside of the game?
What does Xuan get up to when he’s not playing cards?
“I’m not an otaku deep inside, but in some cases, you have to be, sometimes you can’t find someone to go out with, and you don’t want to be alone,” said Xuan. “I’m the kind of person who prefers to be single. I don’t want to date a person I don’t like. A lot of people advised me to marry a virtuous wife. But marrying a wife – I don’t want to buy a vase and put it at home. I just like what I like, plus my circle is relatively single, there is no chance to meet girls. My last relationship was with my first love five years ago in college.
“Usually, I would go and take care of my invested businesses. If I don’t play cards in my spare time, I stay at home. Sometimes I smoke cigars and drink tea with friends. It’s almost like an old man’s life.”
