Poker legend crushes AA with four of a kind to take the chip lead in the Triton Jeju Main Event.

Jean-Noel Thorel took the chip lead in the Triton Jeju $100,000 Main Event with four 3s against Nick Petrangelo's AA. Thorel has 16 Triton appearances in his career but has never won, finishing as runner-up in the same event in 2024.

The 2026 Triton Poker Series Jeju II $100,000 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event is still in its early stages, but we may have already seen one of the most exciting hands of the tournament.

This hand occurred at Level 5 with blinds of 1,000/2,500, involving Nick Petrangelo and French veteran Jean-Noel Thorel.

Thorel, known for his unconventional playing style, opened the pot from the middle position and raised to 5,000. Nick Petrangelo 3-bet to 20,000 from the button, and Thorel called.

The flop came 3♥2♦3♦, and Thorel checked and called Petrangelo's continuation bet of 20,000. The turn was K♥, and Thorel checked and called a second gun of 80,000. The river was 3♠, completing the board, and Thorel checked for the third time. Petrangelo bet 300,000, leaving him with only 36,000 chips. Thorel checked and raised, and Petrangelo called all-in.

Petrangelo flopped A♥A♣ to make a full house, which most at the table thought was a winning hand. However, Thorel called a three-bet with 3♣2♣ after opening from early position and upgraded to four of a kind.

This hand pushed Thorel's chip stack to over 1 million, giving him an early chip lead. Meanwhile, Petrangelo was eliminated.

At the most recent scheduled break, Thorel still led the pack with 1,200,000 chips. China's Quan Zhou (966,000) and Defeng Chen (720,000) occupied the top three spots, while renowned players such as Artur Martirosian (621,500), Thomas Muehloecker (510,000), Daniel Rezaei (506,000), and Pedro Padilha (479,000) were among the top ten.

Can Thorel win his first Triton Trophy?

Thorel has 16 winning entries in Triton events, totaling $11,269,800, but victory has always been elusive. The Frenchman has come close to becoming a Triton champion on several occasions, including in the same event in 2024. Thorel finished second in the 2024 Triton Poker Jeju $100K NLH Main Event, winning $2,875,000.

This huge prize is the best of Thorel's career until he finishes as runner-up in the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Paradise Super Main Event, winning $6 million.

Can Thorel continue his early momentum and finally win a Triton title? Stay tuned to PokerNews' live coverage of the $100,000 NLHE Main Event to find out.

Want to change Texas Holdem from "can understand" to "can win"?
If you want to learn more about Texas Hold'em, you can continue reading：

The Origins of Texas Hold'em: Why is it the World's Most Popular Poker Variant?
Texas Hold'em Hand Rankings and Showdown Rules (Beginner’s Essentials)
Texas Hold'em Betting teaching: Check / Bet / Call /Raise and Betting Strategy Analysis
The importance of Texas Hold'em position? Why is the back position more advantageous?
How to play Texas Hold'em? Novices learn Texas Hold'em rules, processes and betting teaching in 10 minutes
Texas Hold’em Starting Hands Guide: Which Hands Should You Play? A Complete Starting Hands Strategy Guide
Texas Holdem Starting Hands Chart Guide: Complete Starting Hand Charts and Positional Strategy
How to Play Texas Hold’em: Complete Rules and the Flow of a Hand (Preflop / Flop / Turn / River)

Hunter Poker offers comprehensive tutorials, hand analysis, and strategy sharing to help players upgrade from simply "reading the cards" to understanding the range . This allows you to make better decisions in every hand.

▶️ In Facebook .
📘 In YouTube .

Want to learn more about Texas Hold’em strategy and gameplay?

Free online Texas Hold’em tournaments usually require no entry fee, making them suitable for beginners to learn the rules while allowing more advanced players to test strategies and build tournament experience. View the full brand introduction to learn about each platform’s freeroll schedule, tournament features, and suitable player groups.

Learn More