The Moment Triton Poker Series Changed High-Stakes Poker Forever

Over the years, high-stakes poker games have mostly been played at cash game tables, while most tournaments were reserved for players with smaller bankrolls. 

As years went by, higher buy-in tournaments were gradually introduced into major poker tours, with the likes of the WSOP and EPT hosting high roller events at various stops. 

Yet, the first-ever high roller poker tour, focused entirely on high-stakes poker events, only started in 2016, when a group of Asian businessmen brought their idea to life and launched the Triton Poker Series, which quickly became one of the biggest brands in poker. 

What set Triton Poker Series apart from other poker tours was its exclusivity, as only a select number of players were able to play its events on a regular basis. 

With its high-stakes approach, Triton Poker Series was able to create a product that appeals to high-level poker professionals and wealthy recreational players alike, making Triton Poker Series one of the most appreciated products in poker across the board. 

A High-Stakes Idea Put to the Test

When Triton Poker Series was first launched in January 2016, no one knew if it would actually work and if there was enough interest in high-stakes poker tournaments to keep Triton alive. 

Yet, its founders, Paul Phua, Richard Yong, and Ivan Leow, believed there was, and they lunged into the project fearlessly, believing they could create a poker tour that fills a gap that exists at the very top. 

The first-ever event was a $200,000 buy-in tournament hosted at Paranaque, Philippines, and it was surrounded by mystery. Can such a big buy-in event actually work, and will it be sustainable in the long term?

This first tournament attracted 52 players, which was a great success for the first attempt, and things would only get better from there. While Triton Poker wasn’t an instant success, it came fully alive in a matter of a few years. 

The Home of Short Deck Poker

In the late 2010s, the Asian poker community gave birth to Short Deck Poker, a variant of No Limit Hold’em played with fewer cards and a lot more action. 

Short Deck was invented to give high rollers more of a chance against the pros by evening out the preflop odds and making more hands playable before the flop. 

Since it came to life among the high-stakes community, it came as no shock that the Triton Poker Series quickly adopted it, and soon enough, every Triton Poker stop hosted multiple Short Deck events, including a high-stakes Main Event. 

Short Deck tournaments transformed Triton Poker, making it the only tournament poker series that hosts the game for more than a single event, and the only place where you can play Short Deck for high-stakes on a consistent basis. 

In a matter of just a few years, Short Deck became synonymous with Triton Poker, and many of the world’s best poker players adopted the game in the hopes of competing with the Asian high rollers in a game they found more interesting than classic Texas Hold’em. 

Triton Million Sets New Records

In 2019, Triton Poker Series founders had a new idea. They wanted to break the previous record for the biggest poker tournament of all time by launching a £1,000,000 buy-in event in London. 

Always happy to give new ideas a chance, Phua and his crew built the Triton Million, an exclusive event that would bring together the best poker pros from around the world, along with the wealthiest recreational players for a battle of wits the poker world had not seen before.

Emulating The Big One for One Drop in many ways, the Triton Million for Charity also supported charity causes and was an event that would give back to the community. 

The tournament attracted a total of 54 players, and the final table included poker legends like Stephen Chidwick, Dan Smith, and Bryn Kenney. Yet, the top prize would go to Aaron Zang, a member of the Asian poker community, while businessmen like Bill Perkins would also end up making the final table. 

The Triton Million showed that, even at the highest stakes, the amateurs could hold their own against the pros, which is exactly what makes poker such a competitive game to this day. 

🔱 Congratulations, @JasonKoon. Poker Hall of Fame, Class of 2026.

You gave everything to the game. Now the game keeps your name.

Greatness, now permanent. pic.twitter.com/eKU5Ql8A9U

— Triton Poker (@tritonpoker) August 4, 2026

Triton Poker Becomes a Staple Poker Tour

In its early seasons, Triton Poker was an experiment, hosting a limited number of high-stakes poker events every year and testing the limits of what’s possible. 

Over the last few years, it evolved to something bigger, bringing a fixed schedule of events across venues like Jeju, Montenegro, Monte Carlo, and Cyprus, all venues beloved by the high roller community. 

Triton Poker gained structure, introduced a tournament leaderboard styled after the late Ivan Leow, one of the Triton Poker founders who tragically passed away in the meantime, and went from a sporadic thing to a fully-fledged poker tour. 

Today, the likes of Phil Ivey, Bryn Kenney, and Jason Koon spend as much playing Triton Poker events as they do at the WSOP each year, and that’s all thanks to the vision that a small group of businessmen had for poker in an era where it seemed to have reached its plateau. 

One particular idea that took Triton Poker over the edge was that of invitational tournaments, in which an even number of poker professionals and recreational players are allowed to enter, evening out the field and making things more entertaining for poker fans with deep pockets and a desire to compete.

Birth of Triton One and the Future of Triton Poker

In late 2025, Triton Poker founders and newly established management came up with an idea that would make Triton Poker more approachable to the masses. A new poker tour, dubbed Triton One, was introduced with more affordable buy-ins, giving an opportunity to a wider range of poker players. 

The response from the poker community was amazing, as 1,046 players entered the first $8,000 Triton One Main Event, demonstrating Triton Poker could be more than just an exclusive tour played by the high rollers. 

While Triton One is still young, its idea of bridging the high-stakes nature of Triton Poker and the interests of the general populace is one that could take the tour to the next level. 

With more affordable buy-ins, Triton One has the ability to attract a wider range of poker players and allow for hundreds of players to eventually qualify for major events, while still maintaining the high production levels and quality that Triton Poker players are used to. 

Moving forward, Triton Poker is looking to keep providing the high-stakes community with a home, offer free and top-quality poker content to the masses, and find new ways to introduce even more poker players into its exclusive club.