The Triton Poker series in Jeju, South Korea, was the site of head-scratching fold this week from high roller Xu Wang.
Wang held pocket kings but ultimately decided to throw them into the muck without much deliberation. His instincts turned out to be correct.
The Action
On the first day of the series, in a $15,000 no-limit hold’em event, the blinds were at 2,000-4,000 with a 4,000 big blind ante.
Wang raised to 8,500 from under the gun and 2022 World Series of Poker main event champion Espen Jorstad three-bet to 29,000 from the button.
Wang counted out a four-bet to 100,000 and the action shifted back to Jorstad, who quickly moved all in. Wang had 192,000 in chips remaining, having around put in more than a third of his stack. He took a glance at the tournament clock, and then mulled over his options.
“If this man folds pocket kings… I don’t know how far we are from the ocean, but I’m diving right into it,” said commentor Ali Nejad.
“You just can’t fold this, right?” asked co-commentator Randy Lew.
Despite less than a minute in the tank, Wang nonchalantly folded his two kings face up.
His opponent indeed had pocket aces – proving that Wang had made a brilliant read.
A stunned Jorstad couldn’t believe his opponent was able to throw that hand away. Pocket aces are an 81% favorite against pocket kings, according to the Card Player Poker Odds Calculator.
Watch Wang’s amazing laydown below.
@UhlenPoker may have nightmares about this one… pic.twitter.com/HRxPDmmERq
— Triton Poker (@tritonpoker) February 26, 2025
Folding Kings Is Rare
Originally from China, Wang has limited tournament results and Triton describes him as a member of the Asian poker media who “works with poker influencers in Japan.”
Wang may have made the correct laydown, but he didn’t cash in the tournament. Jorstad finished 27th for $41,000 while China’s Zhao Hongjun went on to grab his first Triton win for $818,000.
Jorstad now has nearly $19 million in live tournament winnings. Along with winning the WSOP main event in 2022, he also has a Triton title from the 2023 London series.
Folding pocket kings preflop is no easy task. Card Player strategy columnist and two-time World Poker Tour champion Jonathan Little described his own experience and process of folding pocket kings at a WPT event back in 2019.
“While I essentially never fold K-K preflop (because if you are folding K-K, you are folding everything), sometimes it makes sense,” Little noted. “When a play makes sense, do not be afraid to make it.”
In 2006, Canadian record producer René Angélil (also the husband and manager of singer Celine Dion) made a world-class laydown in the WSOP main event. Angelil opened for a raise in early position and was three-bet by a player behind him. He quickly folded his kings face up. The entire table was schocked, but his opponent was nice enough to show he had the aces.
Doug Polk tackled the topic of folding kings preflop on his YouTube channel last year, highlighting some more cases including a spot where Tom Marchese threw away kings against Jennifer Tilly.
*Photo by Triton Poker – Drew Amato
