Ivey, Koon, Robl Bag Big in Triton Poker Short Deck Event, Tang Leads

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May 18, 2018 3 min read Last updated Oct 17, 2018

The high stakes tournament action in the Triton Super High Roller Series did not conclude with Mikita Badziakouski��s Main Event victory, but ratcheted up to new heights as the HKD $1-million (~$132,000) Short Deck Ante Only Event got underway.

Some of the game��s biggest names fought it out at the felt, with 50 entries (including 18 re-entries) anteing up and getting involved in only the second-ever public tournament of this type ever held. With all deuces through to fives removed from the traditional deck of 52-cards, the game plays with a deck of 36, flushes beat full houses, and jack-ten plays like ace-king.

The tables did not run over six-handed, allowing a great deal of aggressive play and, dare we say it, quite a bit of gambling. The action was high tempo from the start, with players quite willing to get all the chips in at a moments notice. Frequent multi-way all-in showdowns were seemingly the norm, at least while the re-entry period remained open �C which it will until the end of level 9 on Day 2.

Players began with a 300,000 chip stack, split up into three 100,000 bullets which players could take all at once, or one at a time �C which appeared to be the more popular option �C and played seven 60-minute levels.

While 50 players entered, only 13 survived the carnage that ensued once game time began with players of the caliber of Phil Ivey, Jason Koon, Dan ��jungleman12�� Cates, Richard Yong, two-time Triton SHR Champion Wai Kin Yong, Paul Phua, and Winfred Yu just some of the familiar faces showcasing their short deck skills.

This may be a new game, but Ivey already has the form, having taken down the HKD $250,000 Short Deck Ante Only opening event earlier in the festival for a $600,000 payday.

While it took him two attempts, Ivey climbed near to the top of the counts once again, bagging up 1,083,000. However, it's Hong Kong��s Devan Tang who topped the counts with a massive 2.3-million-chip-stack, which took him just a single 100k bullet of his initial entry.

Tang is well practiced at the Short Deck Ante Only format though and is a regular in the monster cash games that take place in Macau. Tang is also pretty good at tournaments, with over US$4.3M in live tournament winnings, putting him at third on China's All Time Money List.

US pro Jason Koon also enjoyed the rub of the green, concluding play with a stack of 1.81 million. Koon climbed to the top of the counts early after playing a massive pot against fellow countryman Gabe Patgorski, with the pair playing a 750,000-chip pot on just the second level of the day.

Other notables to lock up a Day 2 berth included China��s ��Shanghai�� Wang Qiang (1,490,000), Canadian pro Peter Jetten (1,451,000), Jaime Kaplan (1,401,000), and Andrew Robl (750,000).

While it took him multiple attempts, Patgorski made it through with a stack of 750,000 and endured a rollercoaster ride of a day, dusting off a huge stack to Tang that saw the latter shoot to the top of the counts and the former re-enter for the third time. The pair got all the chips in on the 10?10?9? flop, and while Patgorski��s flopped full house was leading his opponent��s Q?J?, Tang spiked a spade on the river to win the monster pot with a flush.

Amongst those to hit the rail were Dan Cates, Russia��s Mikhail Smirnov, Triton founder Richard Yong, Wai Kin Yong, Main Event finalist Rui Cao, and 2016 Monte Carlo One Drop Extravaganza Champion Elton Tsang.

Triton Poker HKD1,000,000 Short Deck Day 2 Draw

• Tags Andrew Robl Jason Koon Peter Jetten Phil Ivey Randy Lew Triton Poker
• Related Players Phil IveyRandy LewPeter JettenJason KoonAndrew Robl