Can This Poker Player Fold a Full House in $2.4 Million Cash Game Pot?
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The Triton Poker cash game streets were as savage as ever, with some of the biggest pots in televised poker history playing out over the weekend in Montenegro.
The buy-in was $400,000, and the blinds were an eye-watering $2,000/$4,000 with a $4,000 ante. And to make things even juicier, $8,000 straddles were regularly on the table, and the 'squid game' was also in play.
Tan Xuan found himself put to the test with a full house in a $2.4 million pot, while Handz found himself in the blender holding trips. Did they make the right moves? Read on to find out.
What is the Squid Game at Triton Poker?
It’s a variation of the stand-up game designed to increase action. When a player wins a pot, they earn a “squid” token. Players who fail to win a pot during the squid game must pay a penalty to those who did.
Can Xuan Fold His Boat?
With the under-the-gun straddle on, Wayne Heung K♣5♣ was the first to act and put in the call as did Esti Wang 6♣6♦ from the hijack. Wang Ye looked down at Q♣10♣ and made it $40,000 from the cutoff before Tan Xuan, on the button, three-bet to $130,000 with the speculative 7♠4♠. Heung and Wang got out of the way before Ye matched the bet and what makes this even more wild is that Ye and Xuan already had already won squid tokens, so they were not at risk of paying out any fines, so to speak.
Both players made pairs on the K♥Q♥7♦ flop, and Ye check-called a bet of $105,000 to swell the pot to $504,000. The 7♥ turn improved Xuan to trip sevens and made him a 96% favorite to take down the pot. After Ye checked a second time, Xuan sized up to $280,000. Ye stuck around, and his two-outer came in as the Q♦ completed the board to give him the better full house.
Ye got sneaky and checked his queens full, with Xuan firing a third barrel of $450,000. After some thinking time, Ye moved all in for $886,000 to put the pot to $2.4 million. Xuan was getting an incredible price to call with his boat, but opted to save the extra $436,000 and correctly returned his cards to the dealer.
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Does Lightening Strike Twice for Handz in $1.8M Pot?
Another seven-figure pot played out at the super high roller cash game, albeit this hand took place in the session before Xuan and Ye's confrontation.
In a WPT Global Mystery Hand with the squid game active, Esti Wang opened to $12,000 from early position, with his cards hidden from the RFID reader. Wayne Heung A♦10♥ called from the cutoff with Elton Tsang K♥4♣ and Handz 4♦2♥ tagging along from the blinds.
Handz, who had yet to win a squid token, smacked the 7♦2♠2♣ flop, making trip deuces. Wang, who had a squid in front of him, bet $18,000 and called when Handz check-raised to $65,000. Handz continued for another $130,000 on the K♦ turn and Wang stuck around for the final betting street. The 6♦ river put three diamonds on the board, but undeterred, Handz fired another $250,000 into the middle. Handz was put in a world of hurt when Wang jammed for $694,000.
The American high-stakes player found himself in a similar spot two years ago when Ethan "Rampage" Yau bluff-jammed Handz off of a three-of-a-kind in the 2023 edition of Hustler Casino Live's Million Dollar Cash Game. Back then we knew Rampage had complete air, but with Wang's cards still not shown, viewers had no idea whether this all-in was for value or not.
After a fair amount of time in the tank, Handz announced "call" and Wang didn't seem to pleased to show his K♣6♣, which was good for kings and sixes. Handz tabled his trip deuces and let out a huge sigh of relief before dragging in the $1,830,000 pot.
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Final Cash Game Results
Ye emerged as the biggest winner across the two sessions, locking up a seven-figure profit. Sosia Jiang also booked a strong result, finishing as the second-largest winner with a $698,000 gain. Despite winning the $1.8 million pot, Handz walked away $300,000 in the black, while Wang managed to claw back those losses to finish up $215,000. Heung added $28,000 to his $400,000 buy-in, while Tsang and Xuan took the biggest hits, dropping $853,000 and $1,413,000, respectively.
| Rank | Player | Chips | Profit/Loss |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wang Ye | $2,525,000 | +1,025,000 |
| 2 | Sosia Jiang | $1,098,000 | +$698,000 |
| 3 | Handz | $700,000 | +$300,000 |
| 4 | Esti Wang | $615,000 | +$215,000 |
| 5 | Wayne Heung | $428,000 | +$28,000 |
| 6 | Elton Tsang | $2,147,000 | -$853,000 |
| 7 | Tan Xuan | $1,287,000 | -$1,413,000 |
