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Kenneth Kee might not be a tournament player, but the strategy he utilized in the Triton Hold’em events in Jeju was astonishingly precise. Kee has been by far the most impressive player in the newly emerging game of short deck poker, and the results reflect it. Kee conquered the HK$1 million event, topping a field of 60 entries for a mammoth payday of HK$22,500,000, more than $2.86 million.
The £1Million Buy-in in Triton's London stop in 2019 makes it the biggest buy-in tournament in poker history and lends a helping hand for charity. The competition was tough at the Triton Hold’em Event and when the field was whittled down to 3 players – it was a battle between Singapore’s Kenneth Kee, America’s Cary Katz and Malaysia’s Richard Yong. Kee took advantage of his big stack along with a combination of smart and aggressive play to knock out the short stack.
“IT’S A SUPER NEW GAME. PEOPLE HAVEN’T FIGURED EVERYTHING OUT YET.”
What made Kee’s run through the tournament special was his ability to maneuver his stack without suffering huge chip swings. With the high variance the game brings, some may think that the straight-forward approach should be paying off. Kee, however, offered a different way to perceive the dynamics.
“Maybe you should not gamble in some spots where you would normally gamble in cash games. It’s similar to no-limit hold’em tournaments,” Kee said. But he also added that the general tournament strategy isn’t too different from cash games. “It’s a super new game. People haven’t figured everything out yet.”
Final results:
| Position | Player | Country | Prize (HKD) | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenneth Kee | Singapore | HKD 22,500,000 | $2,866,838 |
| 2 | Cary Katz | United States | HKD 13,920,000 | $1,773,617 |
| 3 | Richard Yong | Malaysia | HKD 9,120,000 | $1,162,025 |
| 4 | Peter Jetten | Canada | HKD 6,300,000 | $802,715 |
| 5 | Mikita Badziakouski | Belarus | HKD 4,620,000 | $588,657 |
| 6 | Ivan Leow | Malaysia | HKD 3,540,000 | $451,049 |
Kee seems to be naturally talented for the game, but he also puts in a lot of hard work to prepare himself for the battles on the big stage. “I watched a lot of tapes and then every time they made a move, I tried to think ‘why did they limp here?’ or ‘why did they shove here?’ Then I picked a few things which I liked and added them into my game.”
He also said that he discusses strategy with some of his friends whom he considers to belong to the top-shelf short deck players in the world. “We still have a bit of differences,” Kee revealed and expanded on his statement. “I believe that some people have figured out what’s slightly more GTO in short deck. But it might not necessarily mean that it’s the best move in the long run. Every situation is different; every player is different.”
“KNOWING GTO IS ONE THING, BUT APPLYING IT TO SPECIFIC SITUATIONS; THAT’S THE KEY IN POKER I THINK.”
Kee is trying to balance between GTO and an exploitative approach. “Knowing GTO is one thing, but applying it to specific situations; that’s the key in poker I think,” he said. “You have to have good fundamentals. If you don’t, you’re going to lose in a long run if you’re only going to make exploits. You’re mathematically bound to lose. So I suggest doing a mix.”
That was something he showcased in the HK$1 million tournament here, mainly in the short-handed play on the final table. He came back holding the chip lead with Richard Yong not far behind. Cary Katz was the shortest stack with 25 button-antes when play resumed. “I was doing a mix of limping and raising. I was raising more when Cary was getting really short.”
Katz would make it to the heads-up as Yong quickly lost half of his stack with two pair against Kee’s superior two pair. Only a paired board saved Yong from losing all the money in the hand, but Kee got the rest of the chips anyway, getting to the final duel not only with more experience than his final opponent but also with a giant chip-advantage.
“Cary Katz just started playing short deck, so I feel that I have an edge post-flop,” Kee said. That proved to be the case when Kee pulled off a big bluff, forcing Katz to bet-fold aces on the river of a paired board which saw a club flush draw and a straight fill up on the final street.
Kee turned his top pair of kings into a bluff, blocking flushes and straight with a ten of clubs. “That was the key blocker. He check-called the flop, and then he decides to bet pretty hugely on the turn. I don’t really like this spot, but I don’t think I can fold this. Plus I have a couple of cards I could use to bluff,” Kee explained his thought process.
“I’M NOT EVEN SURE IF WHAT I’M DOING IS PERFECTLY RIGHT.”
Triton Hold'em
When Katz led out again, and Kee knew it was the right time to go for the bluff. “He bets this river, and this doesn’t make any sense at all. If he has ten-jack, why would he bluff the nine on the turn. It’s so weird. He almost has no flushes. And I don’t think he has a straight, given the line he took,” Kee said.
So Kee raised, Katz, folded, and Kee claimed the rest of the chips within the next hour or so. Katz couldn’t turn over the advantage and had to settle for second place, but it’s still a fantastic effort considering he just debuted in Triton Hold’em. Earning HK$13,920,000 ($1.8 million) the first time he explored the game, that’s an achievement Katz can be proud of.
Katz seemed to be picking up the mechanics of the game as the tournament progressed. And as the champion Kee noted, anybody can still come with a more advanced strategy to dominate the world of short deck poker.
“I’m not even sure if what I’m doing is perfectly right,” Kee said. For now, he’s the Triton Hold’em champion, having made it to the throne in Jeju. Kee confirmed that he’ll be back for some more Triton Hold’em tournament action in future.
Bryn Kenney outlasted a field of 79 entrants including 34 reentries to win Event #2: HKD 500,000 No-Limit Hold'em Six Max at the 2019 Triton Poker Super High Roller Series Montenegro for HKD 11,230,000 ($1,432,264).
This marks the first win for Kenney at a Triton Poker event and has soared past $32 million in live tournament cashes after the victory. Kenney's previous best result at a Triton Event was when he finished runner-up in the 2016 Triton Poker Super High Roller Series Philippines HKD 500,000 Main Event for HKD 10,870,700 ($1,401,694).
Kenney appeared to care more about what he described as ferocious and strong play rather than the result.
Triton Poker Series JEJU 2018 - Main Event No Limit Hold'em ...
'I made a lot of really good value bets, really good bluffs, played really ferocious, feel real strong,' Kenney told Triton Poker after the victory. 'When you get in such a zone for a while, you can only really think about cards. I feel great, just because I only really care about how I play.'
2019 Triton Poker Super High Roller Series Montenegro HKD 500,000 No-Limit Hold'em Six Max Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (HKD) | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bryn Kenney | United States | HKD 11,230,000 | $1,432,264 |
| 2 | Daniel Dvoress | Canada | HKD 7,430,000 | $946,954 |
| 3 | Ivan Leow | Malaysia | HKD 5,070,000 | $646,172 |
| 4 | Sergio Aido | Spain | HKD 3,820,000 | $486,859 |
| 5 | Jason Koon | United States | HKD 2,970,000 | $378,527 |
| 6 | Christoph Vogelsang | Germany | HKD 2,300,000 | $293,135 |
| 7 | Richard Yong | Malaysia | HKD 1,820,000 | $231,959 |
The second and final day began with 24 hopefuls battling it out for what promised to be the first seven-figure score this festival. Xuan Tan and Erik Seidel entered the day as the two chip leaders but neither were able to find a cash with nine players slated to win at least a min-cash of HKD 1,080,000 ($137,646).
Cheong Cheok Ieng was the first player to cash in ninth place followed by Danny Tang taking home the eighth-place prize of HKD 1,410,000 ($179,705).
Triton Co-Founder Richard Yong was the first to go on the seven-max final table for HKD 1,820,000 ($231,959) after he got his short stack in with pocket nines only to run into the aces held by Daniel Dvoress.
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A similar fate took place shortly after for Christoph Vogelsang who got his short stack in with pocket fours only to be dominated by the pocket sixes held by Jason Koon. By holding on a little longer than Yong, Vogelsang laddered up to sixth place for HKD 2,300,000 ($293,135).
Koon's quest to add a fourth Triton Poker title came to a screeching halt right after. He was eliminated in fifth place for HKD 2,970,000 ($378,527) after his jacks were no good against Kenney's kings.
Sergio Aido was the next to go in fourth place for HKD 3,820,000 ($486,859). He jammed his short-stack with ace-three but didn't hold after getting a call from Dvoress with king-five.
Royal Flush
Dvoress then took out his third opponent at the final table; Ivan Leow. The latter took bronze in the event for HKD 5,070,000 ($646,172) after his jack-ten proved to be no match for Dvoress' pocket queens.
Dvoress held a 5:3 chip advantage entering heads-up play before Kenney was able to gain the chip lead. On the final hand, Kenney rivered a flush with ace-six to eliminate Dvoress and win the trophy. The runner-up performance for Dvoress still awarded the Candian handsomely with his biggest single result of his poker career of HKD 7,430,000 ($946,954).
Photography by Joe Giron/Poker Photo Archive
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