Double Win Already!
Two Poker Variants Ticked Off in My Challenge
I recently wrote to announce that I was going to try again to win poker tournaments in as many different variants as possible this year, something I had done in 2023 and in that case I managed 31 victories in 13 different variants. Here’s how it has gone so far…
Victory Number One: Pot Limit Sviten Special
It is quite fitting that this first victory would come in the poker variant that I chose to write a book about! This was a live tournament, the venue Portomaso Casino in Malta, and it was a thrilling ride…
This weekly tournament, €60 buy-in with re-entries for 8 levels, usually attracts enough players for 2 - 3 tables, 7 players max per table, but the first time it ran in 2026 there were 4 tables. Ultimately there were 29 entries - this poker variant is popular here and interest in it is growing!
The field is tougher than you might think. Many of the locals have played this tournament most weeks, they understand the game and navigate the inflexion points well as the buy-in period continues then approaches, the blinds increase and the player numbers approach the end game. So a win here, while it is “my game,” is pretty satisfying.
When we got to the final table of seven players, I was the chip leader with 350k of the 1.16 million chips in play. I held the chip lead for most of the rest of the game, but when I got to heads up the play became somewhat swingy: I found myself up against Malta’s number one tournament player, Joe Grech - here is is Hendon Mob page. For a little context, I am currently number 50 on that list that he heads.
Heads up play lasted some time, both of us picking up pots when we could but neither of us wanting to give anything away. Joe told me he wanted first place as part of his quest to win the leaderboard in the casino, so with that motivation and his undoubted abilities and experience this was always going to be a tough one. My own motivation, apart from the fact that I always play to win, was to get the year kicked off with a win that I could write about to start this year’s challenge.
Joe was great fun to play with. At one point he took down a pot and showed three kings in his hand, and when I pointed out it was the right day for that hand - we were playing on the Feast of the Epiphany, January 6th, when we celebrate the three wise men (“kings”) visiting the baby Jesus - he burst into song, giving us the full first verse.. “We Three Kings of Orient are…!”
Despite being all in and needing some amount of luck at one point, I managed to ride out the variance and emerge as the winner. Here is the winner’s photo, kindly taken by the poker dealer:
Win Number Two - Double Board Bomb Pot
Online now, and on Phenom Poker, I signed up for a 10 USDT buy-in Double Board Bomb Pot tournament and came out on top out of 24 players. Nice to get this variant ticked off early in the year, I’m sure there are players out there with a decent edge over me in this particular variant!
I hope to be able to write some more, and soon, to add to this challenge!