Wai Kin Yong Archives - Paul Phua Poker

Wai Kin Yong killed it in Triton Million London, winning a combined haul of £4.5m, and it seems he still has the winning bug.

The partypoker MILLIONS Super High Roller Series in Sochi, Russia, shut the stable door on the $50,000 action, and it was Yong who rode the final winner, defeating Phil Ivey in heads-up action, no less.

Event #5: $50,000 Short-Deck attracted 50-entrants, including repeat final table appearances for Sam Greenwood (2), Cary Katz (3), and Aaron Van Blarcum (4).

Let’s see how Yong took it down.

Final Table Seat Draw

Seat 1: Wai Kin Yong – 1,645,000
Seat 2: Aaron Van Blarcum – 820,000
Seat 3: Phil Ivey – 2,915,000
Seat 4: Cary Katz – 1,200,000
Seat 5: Seth Davies – 1,620,000
Seat 6: Mikhail Rudoy – 1,160,000
Seat 7: Sam Greenwood – 4,590,000
Seat 8: Paul Phua – 1,050,000

The first of many double-ups in the stew of frenzied action brought a smile to the face of Wai Kin Yong. The Malaysian moved all-in holding the beautifully painted AhKh, Mikhail Rudoy also moved all-in holding pocket jacks, prompting a fold from Cary Katz, holding pocket queens. On your marks, get set, go – Rudoy flopped a set of jacks, but Yong rivered Broadway.

Everything happens for a reason. Had Katz called with those queens, he would have been out. He didn’t. He wasn’t. Then he doubled through Yong when finding pocket kings he moved all-in, and the Malaysian called and lost with AhQc.

The third double-up arrived at the doorstep of Phil Ivey. Sam Greenwood moved his big stack into the middle holding KsJh, and Ivey put his tournament life at risk by calling with AcJd. The dealer handed Greenwood the nuts when AhQcTh fell on the flop, but the nuts are rarely the nuts for long in Short-Deck. Two more tens, arrived on the turn and river to hand Ivey a lifeline.

Seth Davies was one man who didn’t catch the double-up bug.

Ivey limped into the pot holding KcQc, Rudoy did likewise with AsJs, and then Davies jammed for 1,300,000 holding KdTd. Of the pair, only Rudoy made the call, and his ace proved to be the match-winner on a double-paired board sending Davies to the rail.

Ivey then took a big chip lead after eliminating Rudoy.

The Russian got it in with pocket jacks versus the ace-king of Ivey, and a king on the flop handed the American half of the chips in play, leaving Rudoy to ruminate on what might have been.

Yong doubled for the second time when his QsJs flopped a queen to take the hand away from Aaron Van Blarcum’s pocket tens, and then Sam Greenwood came in for the kill. Van Blarcum moved all-in from the cutoff holding Kc9c, and Greenwood called and killed with AcQd.

Katz then doubled through Yong, hitting a full-house with Ad7c versus Tc9c, but Yong rebounded well, doubling through Ivey when AcKs beat AhQd.

Then Katz lost one.

His final one.

Katz moved all-in holding 9c8h, and Greenwood picked him apart like a vulture on a carcass with pocket queens.

Greenwood was on a roll.

Then this happened.

Ivey called from the hijack with two red aces, and Greenwood did likewise with Kc8c. The dealer placed the AcQc8s on the flop, handing Greenwood the nut-flush draw and a pair, but giving Ivey top set. As on the turn gave Ivey quads, and both players checked. Then the Jc on the river gave Greenwood the nut flush. Ivey bet 400,000, Greenwood raised to 1,950,000 and called when Ivey moved all-in. Greenwood hit the rail, and heads-up became the focus of attention.

Heads-up began with Ivey holding a commanding 11,640,000 v 3,360,000 chip lead, but Yong took that lead after his AsJd overcame QdJh when all-in pre, and then JdTs beat pocket aces, after flopping two more tens.

The longest heads-up of the series ended when Yong made it 300,000 to play holding JcTc, and then called after Ivey made it 900,000 with QcJd. The dealer placed QhJh9s onto the flop, and the pair got it in with Yong holding middle pin and the straight draw, and Ivey with top two pair. The Ks on the turn straightened Yong up, and the 6h on the river guaranteed Yong the title.

ITM Results

Wai Kin Yong – $800,000
Phil Ivey – $525,000
Sam Greenwood – $350,000
Cary Katz – $250,000
Aaron Van Blarcum – $200,000
Mikhail Rudoy – $150,000
Seth Davies – $125,000
Paul Phua – $100,000

**Sam Trickett is among the top pros sitting pretty after Day One of the Triton SHR Series Main Event. Others have had to rebuy. The Paul Phua Poker team reports**

Day One of the Triton Super High Roller Series Montenegro Main Event has just gone, and what a day it was! Some of the biggest names in poker were among the 47 (including re-entries) so far who have stumped up the HK$1m (US$128k) entry fee, making for some exciting poker tournament action and some very difficult tables.

At one point Paul Phua found himself seated in the most unfortunate position of all: with the young internet legend Timofey “Trueteller” Kuznetsov to his left, and veteran five-time WSOP bracelet winner John Juanda to the left of that! Perhaps it’s not surprising that Paul Phua was knocked out twice during the day. Undaunted, he has bought in a third and final time for Day Two!

Top pros who suffered an early knock-out, and then bought in again, include Steve O’Dwyer, Wai Kin Yong and David Peters. Even the recent Triton SHR Series 6-Max Montenegro champion, Fedor Holz, busted out and rebought. And despite the tournament experience born of two bracelets and more than 33 cashes at the WSOP, Dominik Nitsche was forced to buy in three times just as Paul Phua was.

Qiang Wang, the million-chip man

There is just one million-chip man going into Day Two: Qiang Wang. Top pros with significantly bigger stacks than the 250k they began with include Mikita Badziakouski (825k), Sam Trickett (715k) and Steffen Sontheimer (600k). Montenegrin local hero Predrag Lekovic, who came third in the Triton SHR Series 6-Max warm-up event, is sitting in tenth place with 357k. Lekovic busted Timofey “Trueteller” Kuznetsoz out of the tournament on the very last hand of the day!

Registration remains open until the beginning of Day Two. The big question is, will Tom Dwan make a last-minute appearance? Or is he too caught up in the exciting side action of high-stakes cash games at the Maestral Resort and Casino?

Interviews for the Paul Phua Poker School

Once the tournament broke up for the night, the Paul Phua Poker team filmed even more video interviews with the top pros. We’re really excited by the great strategy advice they have given us, as well as their insights into the life of a professional high-stakes poker player. We can’t wait to get all the footage edited so we can share it with you in the Paul Phua Poker School.

In the meantime, follow @PaulPhuaPoker on Twitter for updates on the Triton SHR Series Main Event.
No one can tell the future, least of all in poker. But there is one thing we can say for sure: with some of the world’s top poker pros competing, it’s going to be a thriller.

In this latest “In Conversation” video for the Paul Phua Poker School, Wai Kin Yong and Rui Cao share three secrets for poker success, and remember an amazing hero call. Paul Phua picks the video highlights

If the Triton Super High Roller Series has a break-out star, it’s surely Wai Kin Yong. My young friend has had a superb run: in three Triton SHR tournaments between September 2016 and February 2017, he won twice and came sixth once, for a total of more than US$3m.
Watch this new video for the Paul Phua Poker School, in which Wai Kin Yong explores the secrets of his success with me and Rui Cao, one of the most respected of all French players.

Learn from other poker players

In Wai Kin Yong and Rui Cao’s previous Paul Phua Poker School video, they talked about their aggressive playing style. But actually, as you will find in this new video, Wai Kin Yong achieved poker tournament success only when he tempered that style with a little more caution. In poker tournaments your chips are more precious than in cash: you cannot rebuy. It makes sense to take a slightly less aggressive strategy, and to narrow your hand range.
Here, Wai Kin Yong gives credit to his excellent mentor, the pro Mikael Thuritz. “He’s a great teacher,” says Wai Kin Yong. “I mean, he improved my game, like, 500% maybe!”
Rui Cao, too, stresses the importance of learning from others, no matter how high a level you reach at poker. “I used to watch a lot of videos,” says Rui Cao, “talk with a lot of friends, so it’s not a single person, but just a group of people who made me a better player. I like to talk with good players all the time, so little by little I become better, l think.”

Play the poker player, not the cards

Wai Kin Yong and Rui Cao have played poker together many times, but when asked for their most memorable hand, they both immediately think of the same one.
On a board that ended up something like 7-4-J-6-A, Wai Kin Yong held just pocket nines. All the same, when Rui Cao check-raised the flop, bet the turn, then jammed the river, Wai Kin Yong still managed to call him down! It shows how important it is to know your opponent’s playing style: Wai Kin Yong evidently decided Rui Cao was capable of a triple-barrel bluff.
Wai Kin Yong explains: “I was like, ‘Hmm, it’s Rui Cao. I call with nines. Good!’ And he got so mad about it. I called with nines, ha ha!”
That fearlessness, that ability to trust your read no matter how intimidating the bet, is one of the many things that separates the true poker pro from the amateur.

Play for love of the game, not just money

Finally, we discuss what it takes to be good at poker. Rui Cao believes you need to play from the heart as much as the head; for love, not money.
“If you play the game to win money,” says Rui Cao, “you can be a top player, but you won’t be world class. Maybe you are going to be able to win a little bit, but you’re not going to love it. I think loving the game is the most important thing in poker.”
Wai Kin Yong returns to the opening theme of the video when he says: “I think the most important thing for beginners is their willingness to learn, and admit that you’re not good, you know. Whereas l have known people who play poker every day, and they are losing every day, but they just think it’s bad luck. And l don’t think poker has that much bad luck.
“You have to question yourself, and improve.”

**The Paul Phua Poker team will be filming interviews with top pros at the Triton Super High Roller Series in Montenegro on July 16-20. Paul Phua explains how you can be part of the action**

Some of the world’s top poker pros will be travelling to Montenegro on July 16-20 for the Triton Super High Roller Series, and Paul Phua Poker will be bringing you tournament news and interviews from this key event.
At the Triton SHR Series Manila in February, the Paul Phua Poker School secured video interviews on poker strategy with Phil Ivey, Dan Colman, Dan Cates, Wai Kin Yong and Rui Cao.
The Paul Phua Poker team will again be filming at the Triton SHR Series Montenegro. And this time, we are giving you the chance to put your own questions to the pros!
Would you ask Phil Ivey about his stone-cold bluffs? Would you ask Tom “Durrrr” Dwan about heads-up strategy? Or have you a general question about poker strategy to ask the experts?

You tell us!

Follow me on Twitter at @PaulPhuaPoker to keep up with the action, and join in with our Twitter chat at #PhuaTriton. To ask questions of the pros, Tweet your question with the hashtag #PhuaTriton. We don’t yet know exactly who will be playing, but availability permitting, I’ll make sure some of the best get answered.

Top pros play the Triton Poker Series

This is one of the pros’ favourite tournaments – mine, too. Whereas the Main Event of the World Series of Poker has become so crowded that some wonder if any top player can win it again, the Triton Series has high buy-ins that give the pros a chance to shine. For instance:

Fedor Holz won the Triton SHR Series Cali Cup in 2006 for $3m.
Daniel Colman won the Triton SHR Series Paranaque 6-Max Event in 2017 for $3.6m, after a heads-up battle with Erik Seidel.
Koray Aldemir won the Triton SHR Series Paranaque Main Event in 2017 for $1.3m, with Dan “Jugleman” Cates coming third.
Phil Ivey placed fifth in the Triton SHR Series Paranaque $200k NLH in 2016 for $656,000.
Wai Kin Yong has taken down two titles and a sixth place finish in different Triton tournaments for more than $3m.
And I myself, Paul Phua, have cashed in three Triton SHR Series tournaments for more than $800,000.

About the Triton Super High Roller Series

The Triton poker series started in January 2016 with the Triton SHR Cali Cup. The Main Event broke WPT records as its highest ever buy-in, with 52 players buying in for £200,000 each.
Ever since, the high buy-ins to the Triton poker series have attracted some of the top pros, as well as high-rolling businessmen who want to measure themselves against the world’s finest. At these high levels of poker, most of the players know each other. The recently revamped Maestral Resort & Casino, on the shores of the Adriatic Sea in Montenegro, will be full of animated conversation and lively cash side-games.
In addition, the Triton SHR Series raises a lot of money for worthy causes. All proceeds from the tournaments, after expenses (many of which are defrayed by sponsors), go to a named charity. Past beneficiaries have included The Red Cross and Project Pink.
We know that most poker players can only dream of affording the buy-in for these tournaments. Joining in with the Twitter chat at #PhuaTriton is the next best thing.

Paul Phua introduces the hugely successful Malaysian poker pro Wai Kin Yong, who is interviewed in the latest Paul Phua Poker School video

In the last few months Wai Kin Yong has made headlines in poker circles for winning more than $3 million across three different tournaments. Last September he won the Triton Charity Tournament in Manila, and then just two months later the Triton Super High Roller Series Main Event as well. This February he also finished sixth in the Triton Super High Roller Series Main Event.
Even more remarkably, Wai Kin Yong is mostly a high-stakes cash player, not a tournament player. He says in this latest Paul Phua Poker School video interview that he only plays tournaments two or three times a year!

What is the secret of his success? And what can other players learn from him?
Asked for his biggest strength, Wai Kin Yong says in the interview, “I would think it’s my craziness, aggressiveness. I love to be aggressive, I love to be in control, I love to put pressure on other people.”

A key hand against Koray Aldemir

One such hand was picked by cardplayer.com recently as their Hand of the Week. It was against Koray Aldemir in the 2017 Triton Super High Roller in February, where initial pre-flop bettor Aldemir called every street on a 4-4-4 flop. Wai Kin Yong, on the button, three-bet (re-raised) on the flop and then kept betting on every street. Though Wai Kin Yong held just A2 while Aldemir had AK, it was Wai Kin who was the aggressor.
This is indeed an interesting hand. Many players would have been more cautious, but Wai Kin Yong’s aggression here is more strategic than it might at first appear. When Aldemir called Wai Kin’s three-bet pre-flop without re-raising again (as some might do with AK), he appeared weak, and Wai Kin Yong decided to exploit that weakness. Being on the button, Wai Kin could also use position to his advantage.
The turn came a 9, and the river came a Jack. Wai Kin bet not much less than the pot each time. Coupled with his re-raise pre-flop, this might suggest that he had a big pair to make a house. So Wai Kin will surely have been hoping that Aldemir would fold to such strength.
Wai Kin’s strategy nearly succeeded. After he also bet the river, Aldemir “tanked” (that is, he thought for a long time about his decision). But in the end he did find it within himself to call with just Ace high, winning with the superior King kicker, and Wai Kin’s stack was badly dented.
In this particular case, it did not work out for Wai Kin Yong. But certainly, aggression has its place in poker, as it gives you “fold equity”, which is to say that you win when you induce a fold as well as winning when you have the best hand.
If you are over-aggressive in too many spots, however, you will soon lose all your chips. In the recent Paul Phua Poker School video interview featuring Wai Kin Yong and Rui Cao, Wai Kin says he learned a lot about patience from playing with me! He also analyses his game constantly to find ways to improve it, which is a valuable lesson for any player.

Why you should always question your mistakes

“I question myself a lot, always,” Wai Kin Yong says in our new video. “When I go back into the room I will question myself: ‘did I do something wrong today?’, or ‘have I made any mistakes today?’ And then I’ll ask around, I’ll ask people that I know. I’ll ask my mentor and see if I actually made mistakes, and try to improve on them and never make the same mistake ever again.”
Wai Kin Yong’s mentor is the poker pro Mikael Thuritz, and Wai Kin gives him a lot of credit for his recent successes. This, too, is a good tip for players. You may not all be able to find a mentor of Mikael Thuritz’s level, but find someone whose play you admire, whether online or in live play, and ask them if you can run some hands by them occasionally and get their opinion.
You will be surprised how many people are happy to help. It’s flattering to them, I guess!
Enjoyed this video? Subscribe to the Paul Phua Poker School YouTube channel so you don’t miss the rest in this series. It’s free!

Paul Phua introduces the latest in a series of “In Conversation With Paul Phua” videos, in which the thrilling young poker pros Rui Cao and Wai Kin Yong discuss how to improve your game

How long would you play poker for in a single session? Eight hours? Twelve? Fifteen?
Try 40 or 50 hours!
As you will see in this three-way video interview between myself and the brilliant young players Rui Cao and Wai Kin Yong, we often used to play for two days and nights without stopping. We don’t do that so much anymore, but a round-the-clock game is still pretty common. As we say in the video, one skill you definitely need to develop as a player is stamina!
As I think comes across in this video, when you play poker together for such long periods, you develop a kind of bond, a friendship. But you also develop an awareness of each other’s strengths and weaknesses – and, if you are a good player, you will become conscious of your own.

Rui Cao admits in this interview that one of his weaknesses is playing too loose, wanting to show the table who is boss. “I think it’s an ego problem,” he says.
Then again, it’s also what makes Rui Cao one of France’s most exciting players. It’s six years since Rui Cao first came out to Macau to test himself in the high-stakes cash game against some of the world’s top poker pros (poker players call it “The Big Game”), and I could tell he was instantly drawn to the thrill of those huge pots of tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.
As for Wai Kin Yong, he admits his weakness is probably being too “sticky”: “I always find the hands to call,” he says in the video.
Is that a bad thing? Well, on the one hand it’s exciting to make that “hero call”, where you call down a bluff with just Ace high. But on the other hand, if you don’t learn when to lay down a hand, even a hand as good as two pairs, you will lose a lot of money over time. You must ask yourself: are you calling because you’ve thought through the action on every street, and you really think the other person is bluffing? Or is it because your ego won’t let you back down, or you can’t stand not knowing and must see the other person’s cards? It’s something I think you learn as you get older: the patience and humility to fold, and to wait for a better spot further down the line where you are more certain of making money from the hand.
That said, Wai Kin Yong is an exceptional player for one so young. You could say it runs in the family: his father is my friend, the businessman Richard Yong. But Wai Kin Yong also very much has his own style, and has been doing very well in live tournaments. Last September he won the Triton Charity Tournament in Manila, and then just two months later the Triton Super High Roller Series Main Event as well. This February he finished sixth in the Triton Super High Roller Series Main Event. These three pay-outs were together worth more than $3 million!
So it was a pleasure to be able to sit down with these two excellent players, and talk about poker for this video. I hope you enjoy it, and pick up some tips for improving your own playing style.
It’s your decision whether to play loose or tight, aggressively or by trapping other players into making a mistake. Whatever works for you, whatever suits your personality, style and the dynamics of the table you’re on.
But the one thing I think you can definitely take away from this video interview is that good players are always talking about poker with other good players: comparing notes on hands and playing styles, working out what they can learn from each other and how they can play better in future. If you can do this, the next big tournament winner could be you!
Enjoyed this video? Subscribe to the Paul Phua Poker School YouTube channel so you don’t miss the rest in this series. It’s free!

Lots of fun was had at the Solaire casino in Manila on the 9^th and 10^th September 2016.

Some of the world’s best players came to play at the Triton Charity poker tournament with Tom Dwan, Daniel Cates, Paul Phua and friends among the buy ins. Great news was that many more poker players arrived than expected, meaning more money raised for charity.

17 players and 60 buy ins over the two days, saw Wai Kin Yong take the top prize of 6,155,600 HKD (ca. 800,000 USD), with Paul Phua coming a respectable third, claiming 2,572,000 HKD (330,000 USD).

Triton Poker donated 1,150,000 Philippine Pesos (ca 24,000 USD) to Project Pink Philippines, a support group for cancer patients and their families in the Philippines. To find out more about them, and to donate, visit http://www.projectpink.org.ph/