Poker profiles Poker

Korea’s poker twins

Written by Kirk Camerlingo

This article first appeared in the May/Jun 2010 issue of World Gaming magazine.

World Gaming’s Kirk Camerlingo caught up with Korean poker twin sensations Claudia and Marin Yum to get the lowdown on how they have made a name for themselves in the cutthroat world of poker.

Normally when you’re playing poker and see a pair in your starting hand it’s cause for excitement. However in Macau you might be sitting at a poker table and see a different pair altogether – and with this duo, and their track record you’re more likely to feel worried than excited.

Who is the oldest, Claudia or Marin?

Marin: Claudia is older by five minutes. We were born in Suncheon, South Korea and come from a big family with five sisters and one brother. We’re the babies of the family.

When did you start playing poker?

Claudia: I started playing poker in 2003. My friends got me into it and I started to play mainly online for about two years. Unfortunately online poker is illegal in Korea so I eventually got a call from the police who fined me US$3,000. I went to court to fight the charge arguing that because the site wasn’t blocked in Korea, there was no way of knowing that I was breaking any laws. The court reduced the fine to US$1,000 but after that I didn’t play online again and quit poker for three years.

Marin: I came to the game much later and started playing poker only last year. I learned by sitting behind Claudia and watching her play. I thought my sister was really good when I was watching her. Now I still think she’s good but I think she’s crazy too!

You’ve travelled around playing poker – where have you been?

Claudia: In 2009 we travelled together to Macau and started playing seriously. Later that year we went to Manila and played every day for two weeks which was pretty intense.

Marin: We wanted to see if we could grind out some money and when we started winning an average HK$4,000 a day each, we were hooked!

Claudia: After Manila I went to Las Vegas alone while Marin went home to Korea and then we met up again in Macau. There we made a joint decision to start taking this whole poker thing really seriously. Since then we have devoted ourselves to poker and can truly say that we are now ‘professional poker players’.

Is it an advantage to be the only woman at the table?

Marin: A lot of guys try to bluff us. They try to be aggressive thinking that because we’re girls they can bully us. But I know what they’re doing so I just call and take their money.

What poker game are you playing at the moment?

Claudia: We are taking things slowly and playing a 25/50 No Limit game.

What’s been your worst night?

Marin: The worst result we’ve ever had is a loss of just under HK$10,000 for one night. That was a terrible night but on the whole we have come out on top.

Do you prefer cash or tournament poker?

Marin: We mostly consider ourselves cash players but we are both looking to move into tournaments where we might make larger names for ourselves and possibly arrange sponsorship. We are going to try and play as many tournaments this year as possible.

Claudia: I want to be heads up in a big tournament against my sister!

Marin: Me too!

Who would win in a match Claudia vs. Marin?

Claudia: Me of course – I’m older!

Marin: I would want to win but I would play a fair game. If my sister wins I’d be happy for her.

You can usually find this attractive duo at the PokerStars room Macau or the Wynn Poker Room Macau – but don’t expect them to show you any mercy. These two girls are aiming for the top and it looks like they have the talent and the drive to do so.

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