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.”
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.”
If 2019 was the year of anything, it was the year of the protester. A million people took to the streets of Hong Kong to protest the proposed Fugitive Offenders amendment bill. Algeria’s ‘Revolution of Smiles’ protests continued until President, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, resigned from office on April 2, and the poker community threatened to take up chess if the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series didn’t put on more dazzling events.
Three Triton events captivated the poker community throughout 2019.
2-9 March – Jeju, South Korea.
5-17 May – Budva, Montenegro.
31 Jul – 8 Aug – London, England.
The Triton Poker Super High Roller Series in Jeju had 8-events. The Montenegrin series extended that to 13, before the inaugural visit to London capped things off with an 8-event series, including the record-busting £1m buy-in, Triton Million: A Helping Hand for Charity, and it’s at that event that we begin our round-up of Top 5 Best Triton Moments of 2019.
After countless nights of grinding teeth, yanking hair, and itching armpits, Triton managed to do something unique in the poker world – host, a £1m buy-in No-Limit, Hold’em (NLHE) event with 54-entrants.
The event, held in the Hilton on Park Lane in London, broke several records, notably: largest prize pool outside of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event (£54m), the most significant buy-in (£1m), and the biggest single payout (Bryn Kenney, £16.9m).
The uniqueness of the event saw the pros and non-pros separated for the first six-levels. A non-pro had never won a 7-figure buy-in event that included pros, and that’s one of the things that makes Aaron Zang’s win standout.
Zang began life as a Magic The Gathering champion, and he defeated another former Magic champion, Bryn Kenney, heads-up, to win the title after the pair agreed upon a deal that saw Zang pocket £13,779,491, and Kenney £16,890,509.
When the field was down to five players, Zang, a cash game player, faced the combined might of three of the best NLHE tournament players in the world (Stephen Chidwick, Dan Smith, and Bryn Kenney).
“I don’t know what I am doing!” Said Zang during a break in play. “I just hope for a miracle.”
He’s too kind.
Zang overturned a 3:1 chip deficit, and a vast gap in tournament experience to become the first winner of the Triton Million.
The Triton Million: A Helping Hand for Charity was such a huge event; seven players could have replaced Justin Bonomo at the top of The Hendon Mob (THM) All-Time Money List if results went their way. It was a fact not lost on Bryn Kenney, who began the series in fourth place, needing an $11m score to hit the top spot.
Kenney was the only person singing from the swanky London rooftops that he would win the tournament, and take his rightful place at the top of the All-Time Money List. As the Triton Million: A Helping Hand for Charity tournament progressed, this race became a story within a story.
With four players left, three of them would still hit the top with a win, until Kenney eliminated two of them (Stephen Chidwick and Dan Smith), before eventually falling to Aaron Zang, heads-up.
The reason you see Kenney smiling so much after the event is he and Zang cut a deal that saw Kenney bank £16,890,509, the largest single prize dished out, ever, and a win that saw him reach $55,505,630 – good for the top spot.
Coming into 2019, Paul Phua sat second in the Malaysian All-Time Money List on THB with $5,116,041 in live tournament earnings, trailing his Triton partner, Richard Yong, by $6,232,651.
How long would it take Phua to overtake Yong?
Less than a year.
Despite starting to play poker in his mid-40s, Phua put in a tremendous run of consistency to feature in the money (ITM) 11 times, 16 lifetime, two more than his nearest rival, Jason Koon.
A typically humble Phua said his success boils down to his desire to compete in every single event. When you’re competing against the best in the world, you need more in your arsenal than merely showing up.
Ten of those 11 ITM finishes were final table appearances, finishing in the Top 3 spots on five occasions, with the only blot on his copybook a big fat zero in the registered wins column – a stat that won’t last long.
The most celebrated sportsmen in the world need a platform to anchor them so the whole world can see how great they truly are. For Jason Koon, that platform has been the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series.
Koon burst on the Triton scene when he conquered all in the 2018 event in Montenegro, winning the HKD 1m Short-Deck Main Event for $3.5m, as well as appearing in two of the largest-ever televised cash game pots in history.
Koon would later join Triton as their first brand ambassador, and in 2019, in Jeju, he blew everyone away like dandelion seeds on the end of the big bad wolf’s huff and puff, making four final tables, and winning two while gathering $4.6m in the process.
To date, Koon has won three titles (an honour he shares with Mikita Badziakouski and Wai Kin Yong), has finished ITM 14 times (only Paul Phua beats him with 16), and earned $12,334,232 in prize money.
Bryn Kenney appears for the second time thanks to his outstanding display in Triton’s event in Montenegro. It was a smash and grab performance by Kenney, who flew in to compete in a few games, before moving on to pastures new.
Kenney, who had complained that the buy-ins weren’t high enough for him, won the HKD 500,000 NLHE 6-Handed event, beating 79-entrants to capture the $1,431,376 first prize, before going on to outlast 75-entrants in the HKD 1m NLHE Main Event for $2,713,859.
The two wins came two months after the heartbreak of losing to Timothy Adams in the heads-up stage of the HKD 2m NLHE Main Event in Jeju, where he picked up another $3m. Kenney also finished 4/81 in the HKD 500,000 NLHE 6-Handed event for $500,000.
Nobody has earned more money on the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series than Kenney, with $30,373,405 in prize money accrued over 7 ITM finishes.
