Paul Phua Talks Poker Psychology with Dan Cates and Winfred Yu
Poker psychology is the subject of Paul Phua’s latest offering, a fun and revealing chat with Daniel ‘Jungleman’ Cates and Winfred Yu.
As far as life stories go, they don’t come more colorful than Paul Phua’s, the billionaire businessman with a passion for poker rising through the ranks to become one of the most powerful men in Macau.
Wei Seng "Paul" Phua was born in Borneo, Malaysia back in 1964 and rose from poor beginnings through the construction industry and Kuala Lumpur backstreet gambling houses to running the world’s biggest bookmakers IBCBet.
It’s clear he moves in the highest circles, playing the nosebleed stakes in Macau along with Ivey, Dwan and a host of other big name pros – and Phua holds his own, a hard worker at the game he loves.
He had to work hard, as back in the mid-noughties he was just another rich whale, allegedly blowing millions along with business partner and fellow poker convert Richard Yong. According to English-Chinese bookmaker Tom Hall:
“Paul and Richard were the biggest whales in the world. They were losing $30 million to $100 million every year on baccarat. I said, 'Hey, you guys should try poker. You can play other players, instead of losing to the house'.”
In Brett Forrest’s incredibly detailed ESPN account of Phua’s dealings, he writes:
"They didn't know how to play. In Macau, there was no one to teach them. Phua and Yong gathered a small group of associates for regular games, these experienced gamblers teaching themselves this new game as they went along."
With 2011 and the Black Friday shockwaves which hit the poker world, the biggest pros were looking for new pastures – and Phua with Yong offered them untold riches and adventures in the Far East, not only leading to their own games improving but also offering business opportunities in the poker staking world.
Now, several years on, in tournament play, Paul Phua has over $4.5million in earnings – although every penny is from the Super High Rollers (from as far afield as London and Melbourne to Monte Carlo and Manila) taking down his first-ever tournament cash for £1million ($1,621,297) at London’s Aspers Casino in 2012 in the £100k buy-in event.
Whatever people might think of his business background and connections, his love for poker is evident, and the new Paul Phua Poker website and school is testament to his desire to explain the game at all levels to all players.
Video content interviews with Ivey, Dwan, Colman and others gives an insight into how the best players in the world think, while rules, strategy and general information fills out an increasingly popular hub for those interested in the game.
Phua is and will likely always remain one of the most interesting people ever to have graced the game of poker.
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Poker psychology is the subject of Paul Phua’s latest offering, a fun and revealing chat with Daniel ‘Jungleman’ Cates and Winfred Yu.
Paul Phua’s Poker school has become the go-to site for the best advice and this week we have a new face joining the Phua ranks – Timofey ‘Trueteller’ Kuznetsov.
Winfred Yu may not be a household name in the west, but he wields a lot of influence and plays a mighty game of poker in the nosebleed games.
This week’s bonus video sees Daniel ‘Jungleman’ Cates in the hot seat, a short but revealing insight into his beginnings as a poker player.
A slew of high-roller heavyweights were battling it out in Budva, Montenegro for the Triton High Roller title and a share of the almost $1.25 million prizepool on offer.
It’s one of the most formidable duos out of Macau and if the names Rui Cao and Wai Kin Yong aren’t on your radar yet, then they should be.
In this latest video for the Paul Phua Poker School, Dan Cates tells us a bit more about how he became the successful poker player he is today.
This week sees the 2nd part of Phua's chat with Dan Colman, a player ranked 3rd in lifetime tournament earnings and formerly an online beast at the highest levels.
Paul Phua gets tips on heads-up poker strategy from Dan “Jungleman” Cates in the latest of the Paul Phua Poker School video interviews with high-stakes pros.
The latest Paul Phua's video sees the Macau-based supremo discussing all things poker with one of the brightest talents of the game, Rui Cao.