There’s a pretty wild poker controversy happening in the world of Texas Hold ‘Em at the moment and, while the situation sure looks like it’s still ongoing, there’s already plenty to parse through.
The video, included below, is full of high drama but also nearly impossible to understand unless you follow poker very closely.
We’re going to try and catch you up based on everything we know but here are the most basic things to understand:
- Robbi Jade Lew won an all-in hand for a pot of $269,000
- Garrett Adelstein, who lost the hand, thinks she cheated (yes, this is the same Garrett from Survivor: Cagayan)
- Lew ended up giving back the money she won shortly after the hand and is accusing Adelstein of bullying her
- All this was captured on a live-stream during a Hustler Casino Live tournament
Let’s get to the hand in question and then we’ll break it down from there.
(Warning: NSFW Language)
🤯🤯🤯@RobbiJadeLew🤯🤯🤯pic.twitter.com/aFphE4XGav
— PokerNews (@PokerNews) September 30, 2022
The hand
There’s a lot of poker lingo in that video so let’s run through a brief breakdown of what happened.
Adelstein was dealt an 8 and 7 of clubs to Lew’s Jack of clubs and 4 of hearts. After the first three community cards were dealt, neither had anything better than the pair of 10s on the board, though the two clubs in the flop gave Adelstein a chance at both a flush and a straight flush. The fourth community card was a 3 of hearts, which neither benefited from.
At this point both raise each other all-in and agree to “run it twice” which means they will turn the final community card two times—giving each player two chances to win outright, or if each win a turn, split the pot altogether (it’s a way to hedge your bet in a massive pot)
Adelstein lost both times and the look on his face is one of disgust and distrust. He can’t figure out why Lew would’ve called when he had a higher chance of holding a flush while she only had Jack high.
No one else—not the announcers nor the other players at the table—can figure it out either.
Lew, for her part, looks just as flustered that she won such a large hand. And almost as soon as the dealer hands her the chips, Adelstein is calling foul play as a tense exchange begins.
From the video:
Adelstein: “I don’t understand what’s happening right now,”
Lew: “Ace-high. I thought you had ace-high.”
Adelstein: “So, then why call with jack-high?”
Lew: “Because you don’t have s***.”
What happened next remains somewhat unclear. Adelstein claims he, along with HCL producer Ryan Feldman, went to speak with Lew off camera. Lew says she was “cornered & threatened.”
What we know for sure is that things took an even more absurd turn.
Here's what Lew said happened
Before we explain Lew’s side, it’s important to remember that when you’re sitting at a poker table, everything is part of the game—how you act, what you say, how you project yourself. Every player there is trying to get a read on you, figure out your tell or any type of weakness.
That doesn’t explain all of Lew’s actions here, but it helps inform them.
Lew said she believed she found Adelstein’s tell and was trying to exploit it by bullying the bully at the table. She also later claims she misread her own cards. Both of those may be true. It also may be true that she was just trying to project confidence after surviving such a crazy hand.
A third option: She got lucky. Lew had a bad hand, bluffed herself in too deep while trying to bully Adelstein and still came out ahead—which may be the most simple answer considering they ran the river twice and Adelstein lost both times.
What we don’t know are the full details of what happened off camera when she talked with Adelstein and Feldman, but it ended with her giving Adelstein back his half of the pot—a move many are claiming only adds to suspicions around the hand.
Other players at the table were appalled to find out she gave the money back.
“I said that I wanted minimal destruction and asked, ‘What is going to make you happy?’” Lew told the other players at the table when she returned. “He said, ‘To give me my money back.’”
Lew explained more on Twitter afterwards.
Garrett blocked me. Guilty as charged. What an honest man. He cornered me & threatened me. If he has the audacity to give me the death stare ON camera, picture what it’s like OFF camera. I was pulled out of the game & forced to speak to him in a dark hallway. Full details to come
— Robbi Jade Lew (@RobbiJadeLew) September 30, 2022
I read the man and make a hero call after he shoves on a turned brick card. Get over it.
I’ll say it again like I’ve said it before: “I’m not playing nice in the sandbox anymore.”
Make it right @GmanPoker
Or don’t. #IDGAF
I’ve already moved on. I’ll make it back either way.— Robbi Jade Lew (@RobbiJadeLew) September 30, 2022
Yes. Jacob is telling me that the producer needs me to step outside to talk.
— Robbi Jade Lew (@RobbiJadeLew) September 30, 2022
Adelstein lashes out
If it wasn’t clear from the initial video, Adelstein immediately suspected foul play. Despite having any evidence to corroborate his claims, the poker pro wrote a six-page note he posted to his Twitter account laying out all the unsubstantiated ways he believed he was cheated out of that hand.
Adelstein even says that Lew’s offer to return his money is essentially an admission of her guilt, though again, there’s no evidence she did anything but outplay him.
My thoughts on the hand in question from today’s livestream, screenshots 1-4 (of 6) pic.twitter.com/gWQOI6sg4o
— Garrett Adelstein (@GmanPoker) September 30, 2022
My thoughts on the hand in question from today’s livestream, screenshots 5-6 pic.twitter.com/Hb1Kh6xuFd
— Garrett Adelstein (@GmanPoker) September 30, 2022
Adelstein does admit there was a confrontation in the hallway with Feldman and says he never asked for a refund.
What's next
Around 3:30 am ET, Hustler Casino Live announced it was launching an investigation into the matter, but made a couple of key distinctions:
- It has no indication of wrongdoing by any party
- HCL was not involved in any monetary exchange or refund
- Neither Lew nor Adelstein will return to an HCL table until the investigation is complete
Our statement on tonight’s show pic.twitter.com/gzKZOBZsy9
— Hustler Casino Live (@HCLPokerShow) September 30, 2022
In the meantime, the poker world ran wild with theories as everyone from legend Daniel Negreanu to Rounders writer Brian Koppelman chimed in.
Yup! Thank you for recognizing the truth.
— Robbi Jade Lew (@RobbiJadeLew) September 30, 2022
Poker twitter: why are you so sure that the hand in question was cheating? Watched it twice. She seemed embarrassed to have made a bad play. Then covering. Not like a cheater. Has she been caught cheating before? What's the thing? Didn't read that way to me. And I do study cheats
— Brian Koppelman (@briankoppelman) September 30, 2022
To quote Mike McDermott in Rounders…
“the rule is this: if you spot a man's tell, you don't say a f****** word”
— PokerNews (@PokerNews) September 30, 2022
Possibly the craziest hand of poker played in the modern streaming era. He thinks she was cheating. After giving him a bunch of nonsensical explanations she ended up giving him the money back. The casino is launching an investigation https://t.co/ZcXncnlBhf
— adam22 (@adam22) September 30, 2022
Final Conclusions:
1. She didn't cheat
2. She also knew she had J high
4. She covered her tracks(saying she had a 3) due to embarassment of the play
5. Garret regardless of how he felt at the time should never accept the money
6. Garret should pay her back imo#poker— Pokerguru740 (@pokerguru740) September 30, 2022
So many double standards in poker. If Robbi calls with J4o she is a cheat, but if Hellmuth calls with Q4o he’s just a complete fucking idiot.
— Barry Carter (@Barry_Carter) September 30, 2022
I watched the video and immediately thought 100% cheating, maybe because of the recent chess stuff. I’ve thought about it for the last 30 mins and I don’t think she cheated. I think she sees Garrett as bully, saw his K5 vs KK bluff yesterday, didn’t want to be outplayed
— Patrick Leonard (@padspoker) September 30, 2022
We’ll stay tuned here and update as more details become available.
