Jason Koon Puts Family Before Chasing Triton Records
The Hall of Famer will remain selective, passing on upcoming Triton action after welcoming his third son.
Jason Koon is set to play even less tournament poker, saying time with his three sons now takes priority over adding to his Triton records. The Poker Hall of Famer said he will still enter games when the financial opportunity justifies the time away, but otherwise will “pivot.”
In comments reported by Card Player, Koon said he skipped the most recent Triton series and will miss the next one after the recent birth of his third son with his wife, Bianca. His older sons were born in 2021 and 2023. “I’ve got three kids now, so I’m gonna spend a lot of time with them,” he said.
That does not mean a full exit from the game. Koon said he still loves playing and studying poker and will keep working on his game. But he also wants to stay open to challenges beyond poker rather than treating the game as his only identity. He described fatherhood as both the best and hardest thing, while saying his career earnings give him the freedom to be more selective and present at home.
The choice carries real weight given his standing on the Triton tour. Koon has earned more than $40.9 million there since his first trophy in 2018 and holds the series records with 12 titles and 81 cashes. Daniel Dvoress has since tied the cash record, while Stephen Chidwick sits on 80; Dvoress, Matthias Eibinger and Michael Watson each have seven Triton titles.
Koon said he is not concerned with protecting either Triton mark. His approach throughout his career, he said, has been to make as much money as possible rather than travel simply to extend records. His schedule had already been centered on the biggest buy-ins: apart from the 2023 WSOP Main Event, he had not recorded a live cash below $15,000 since December 2021.
His first live tournament action since late June came at the $100,000 Super High Roller Bowl XI in Las Vegas in early October. Koon reached Day 2 but was eliminated when his pocket aces ran into Alex Foxen’s flopped set of queens in a four-bet pot.
Koon entered the Poker Hall of Fame as its only 2026 inductee in August, as covered in our earlier report. His nearly $77.6 million in live tournament earnings rank third in poker history, and his 30 recorded tournament wins include two WSOP bracelets.
