‘Gambledore,’ ‘Gambledore,’ ‘Santa’ — Vladimir Korzinin entered the most expensive live tournaments and proved to everyone: an amateur can defeat professionals. He not only won nearly $8 million but also captured the hearts of thousands of viewers around the world. How did he achieve this? We explore in this article.
How Vladimir Korzinin Became a Legend at Triton Monte Carlo
New names in high-roller series are rare. Typically, they are young online top players, tired of grinding, transitioning to live play.
A player like Vladimir Korzinin seems to have appeared at high stakes for the first time in history. He only recently began playing poker. Before this series, his The HendonMob profile had only one note in the $10K Mystery Bounty at EPT Cyprus in October 2024.
Imagine this: a 69-year-old amateur with just one record on the Hendon Mob entered the most expensive live tournaments and secures a second-place finish and a victory in two of the biggest ones:
- $3,470,000 for second place in the $200K Triton Invitational
- $4,350,000 for winning the $150K NLHE 8-max
And he did it in his signature style.
“Unpredictability is everything; GTO and ICM are nothing”
Vladimir Korzinin plays in his own unique style. The hands he chooses to play often seem random. For example, his favorite hand is 69, as Vladimir is 69 years old. According to him, this is his actual age, and it’s almost the only personal information directly obtained from him.
In the heads-up of the $150K NLHE, Korzinin shoved with 72s just because it was the favorite hand of his opponent, Ossi Ketola.
Vladimir also shoved preflop with 73o, 69o, and 65s, forcing better hands to fold.
Korzinin doesn’t worry about ICM. In the $150K NLHE 8-max, on a board of 4 2 10 , Korzinin made a c-bet and faced an all-in from Sam Greenwood for 43 big blinds (Korzinin had 47 big blinds and was the chip leader, while Greenwood was second). Korzinin asked for a chip count but called before it was complete, saying, “It doesn’t matter, I call.”
Vladimir Korzinin plays poker the way he feels, and it works. He’s unafraid to bluff and gamble, making him captivating to watch.
Is Vladimir Korzinin Really an Amateur?
Yes (or he’s an excellent actor pretending to be one, though that’s unlikely). Korzinin made several purely amateur moves. For instance, in the $200K Triton Invitational, he “missed” his turn.
And when Patrik Antonius limped from the small blind, sensing something unusual, Korzinin simply folded his cards.
Korzinin’s play is so random that poker pros couldn’t analyze it. Most importantly, luck was on his side throughout the series.
Is Anything Known About Vladimir Korzinin’s Background?
Practically nothing! After his $150K NLHE 8-max win, Vladimir declined interviews and handed his trophy to Ossi Ketola because he had nowhere to store it. What a legend!
Reddit users attempted to uncover information about Vladimir Korzinin but found almost nothing.
At the series, he was announced as an “inventor.” Reddit users discovered three patents registered under the name Vladimir Alexandrovich Korzinin related to securities trading.
Peeter_L also noted on Reddit (translated from Estonian): “There is him, he was even introduced at this tournament as an ‘inventor.’ He is very educated and has been trading the stock market for quite some time using his proprietary system.”
Onnelinen: “He is rich. And plays for the love of the game. Has been known to play 1/3 at a local casino in Estonia when no bigger games were running. Unsure when he started playing or how he made his money. But I don’t think that matters, nor does he necessarily want it to be a public talking point.”
Regardless of who Vladimir Korzinin truly is, he became the most striking and memorable player at Triton Monte Carlo.
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