Controversial live poker player Robbi Jade Lew has won her first tournament since she was accused of cheating on the final hand of a $269,000 pot in 2022.
Last week, Lew won a $500 buy-in no-limit hold’em tournament at Thunder Valley Casino Resort near Lincoln, California.
She picked up $11,115 for the win. That’s no mean feat. But it’s far from the top prize of the headline World Poker Tour Rolling Thunder Championship, from which Lew crashed out over the weekend.
However, the real attention has been on what she did after her win. During her post-tournament photo, instead of the traditional winning hand, Lew held up a Jack and a Four.
The significance? That was the exact same hand that poker pro Garrett Adelstein accused her of cheating with to win that $269,000 pot while livestreaming two years ago.
“I just kind of did that for fun,” she told the media afterwards. “Jack-four is always going to follow me. At first I was a little annoyed about it. But now I just embrace it.”
The Cheating Allegations
Back in 2022, Lew was playing a high-stakes cash game on the Hustler Casino Live stream. She was up against seasoned pro Adelstein.
On the final hand, Lew went all-in on a Jack Four, with nothing else on the flop – and Adelstein was so outraged at losing a $269,000 pot that he accused her of cheating.
After an off-table discussion, Lew refunded him $135,000.
She claims this was done purely to calm him down and save face with the promotors. But the internet took it as an admission of guilt.
The Latest Win
The $500 buy-in tournament attracted 89 players over its single day. Lew beat out Barry Birdwell in second place, who walked home with $7,410 as the runner-up prize.
Lew counted herself lucky that she decided to enter. After dropping out early from the main WPT Rolling Thunder Championship, she almost went home. But on a whim, she decided to stay and enter one more tournament.
That’s a decision that turned out in her leaving $11,000 richer.
“There’s two things that have to happen when winning tournaments — you have to play well and run well,” Lew said. “That’s really what it comes down to — make the right calls, make the right folds, and it just so happened it went down for me.”
David is an online casino expert who specializes in online slots and boasts over 10 years experience writing about iGaming. He has written for a wide range of notable publications, including eSports Insider and WordPlay Magazine.
David graduated Derby University with a BA Degree in English Literature and Creative Writing.
