Poker people remember the time when the biggest scandal in poker broke? Yes, the J4 hand involving Robbi Jade Lew and Garrett Adelstein at the Hustler Casino Live. The world saw how that drama unfolded and the subsequent blame game, accusations, name calling and of course giving out a judgement against Lew in the court of public opinion. We all saw that. But there was one person from the international poker circuit who made sure there was ample fuel to keep that ‘Robbi is a cheater’ fire going. To an extent that videos were published on YouTube to implicate Lew for her alleged crime. Did you guess it or should we announce the name? Yes—Doug Polk.
The quintessential content creator was on his feat trying to do what sleuths could have failed in doing—investigating Lew’s crime and bringing justice to the victim—Adelstein. Polk was so concerned about Adelstein being cheated and ‘robbed’ of his money that he went all out and proclaimed the percentage of Lew’s cheating. Justin Bonomo (a famous cheating accused) called bullshit on Polk’s assessment (chair shaking and what not) of the salacious poker saga.
Daniel Negreanu, a bright star in the poker universe, tweeted his take on the Robbi – Garrett drama and he did mention about relatively new players making unexpected calls that a high stakes name like Adelstein failed miserably in understanding. But that cannot be the reason why Lew can be declared a cheater. The Canadian pro went as far as sharing pictures of the Versace legging that Lew wore on the stream (sales of these leggings must have shot through the roof!) to show that there was no scope of having any device hidden, as insinuated by Polk.
Another person who made a very big deal about Lew calling Adelstein’s 8-high bluff with a J-high hand, was Joey Ingram. Lew appeared on Ingram’s stream but the host did not look convinced and that stream felt far from being a balanced presentation of facts. But nevertheless, the leggy lass stood her solid ground and kept asking for an investigation in the matter and never once backed out of providing details needed from her end.
ALSO READ: Garrett Adelstein DONATES $135K After Apologizing To Robbi Lew?
Polk throughout the history making scandal never once accepted that maybe he got it all wrong and Lew could be innocent. But the forces of public opinion were clearly against her. And Polk’s videos, tweets were only making things worse for Lew, who according to Adelstein was a ‘relatively unknown amateur’ who beat his ass hands down.
But why are we talking about Polk, Lew, and that J4 hand. Well, take a deep breath and think why this scandal broke or even became such high-magnitude news which mainstream media across the globe covered? It was that dreaded J4 which every pro who had an opinion said wasn’t a good enough hand and that Lew should have folded. Why? A pot worth $269K was on the line and Adelstein did not expect Lew to call with J4 [Garrett nobody asked you to bring a gun (8-high) to a sword fight, yeah?]
‘GmanPoker’ bluffed with unabashed confidence with 8-high; not a soul on this planet questioned this decision, because hey there is ample bluff happening around for anyone to raise a finger at Adelstein. But tables quickly when Adelstein lost and cried out loud! He took $135K back from Lew and continued his barrage of attacks on the girl to save his face, and Polk was upping the ante to support his brother in poker.
More recently, Polk changed the percentage of Lew’s cheating! He’s now down to 85-90% from 99-100%. But what caught our attention and left us flabbergasted was how Polk played the same hand on a table at the Lodge Card Club where the three-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner is a partner. Was Polk trying to be an odious character who once bashed Lew for her unexpected call against an established pro, to a poker room where he is a partner? Desperate for publicity, are we?
Polk’s limelight hogging tactics don’t end here. He played J4 on game night at the Lodge Card Club which had Lew come face to face with Polk! As an outsider watching the drama, only one thing comes to mind, Polk doesn’t stop when it comes to playing dirty! Why so? Well, don’t mean to malign Polk’s reputation but he played a rotten game to gain footage when the Robbi-Garrett scandal broke and got mainstream media attention and he wanted in at any cost. After playing a lopsided game against Lew, he made sure to grind on the same table as the 37-year-old and play the J4 hand she was accused of cheating with! That’s some audacity Doug! We get it, if you want publicity (expected from someone who cries for media attention), but it was avoidable back then to play judge, jury and prosecutor and throw all kinds of slander at a player who did not fall in line when it came to making calls in poker.
Now, Polk took a hard right turn from his initial stance and got Lew to play at his poker room. In January 2023, Polk thought of doing a kind deed when did a Reddit Q&A and god bless the user who asked him about his stand on Lew cheating/not cheating. The user wrote, “Where do you stand on the J4 hand now? What are your cheat/no-cheat %s?” Now that’s being gutsy and honest, isn’t it? Doug replied, “It’s a good question. At the height of the events that occurred I felt very, very convinced she cheated. I still think it’s much more likely cheating than not but there are a few things that moved the needle the other way for me. No one coming forward for the bounty was the biggest thing. The other 2 smaller things are the hustler not finding any evidence + Robbi passing the lie detector tests, but tbh those things are really not that important. Will go down as one of poker’s greatest mysteries.” (sic) Nevermind what Hustler Casino Live found in its investigation report but Polk’s cheating verdict was as holy as the Bible!
Karma came back to Polk in a way he mustn’t have imagined in his wildest dreams! Why? Polk played three hands with J4 and won in all three! Yes, go ahead and say what the fuck! Anyone with a twisted bend of mind will see how the J4, Lew and Polk make up for TRP worthy trinity! All the poker math in the world supposedly couldn’t justify Lew betting and calling with J4 but nobody raised an eyebrow when Polk played J4 (good for him if he won)! Yes, we know what many feel, the circumstances are not the same as the Lew-Adelstein hand. Sure, we agree! But why ridicule a player new to the high stakes arena and make sure she hangs for being guilty. Polk publicly gave Lew the capital punishment, but never did the Texas pro investigate thoroughly if Lew deserved the electric chair!
In the 55th hand of the game, with blinds at $200/$400, ante $400, Polk had J4o and another player called Taras had pocket jacks. The player with Fishooks raised to $2,800. Polk 3-bet to $9,500 and left the ball in Taras’ court. The small blind player took some time to think about his move and finally matched Polk’s bet. The dealer fanned a flop of 5h 3d Qs. Taras was leading, yet he checked his option, and Polk bet $7,000. Taras made the call and the turn brought 7c. Polk was now sitting with a gutshot straight. The Upswing Poker founder bet $14,000 which sent his rival in tank mode.Taras finally folded and Polk’s J4 won.
J4 for @DougPolkVids vs Taras' Pocket Jacks!
Can he get it through with the Robbi?
Watch $200/$400 live: https://t.co/YrHpXEoB0l pic.twitter.com/eesq6xnOpC
— The Lodge Card Club (@LodgePokerClub) February 24, 2023
In the 74th hand, once again it was Taras vs Polk, the latter was dealt the Robbi Lew hand and Taras had QTo. Here, preflop action had Taras bet $2,500 and Texas pro called. The flop presented 4d 6h 8s. Action came back to Taras who checked and Polk followed suit. The Ten of spades brought some good news for Taras as he paired his Ten on the board and was now ahead. A bet of $7,000 came flying from Taras and Polk matched it. The river was almost a card Taras never would have wanted on the board. Yes, it was 4h. Taras checked and Polk threw in $30,000 which made his opponent tank long and hard to reluctantly make that call. When Polk revealed his J4, Taras chose to muck his cards. Well, we are not surprised, it was in Taras’ best interest to quietly muck those cards.
Wow! @DougPolkVids beats Taras with J4 again!
Can his massive overbet get paid off?
Watch $200/$400 live: https://t.co/YrHpXEoB0l pic.twitter.com/s9szNSASRY
— The Lodge Card Club (@LodgePokerClub) February 25, 2023
Things got pretty interesting in the 83rd hand of the game. Polk once again landed the J4 hand, and this time Robbi Lew had pocket sevens and everyone around the table folded when the poker pro cum streamer raised to $4,000 and it was up to Lew to either call or fold. The diva who shut all mouths who termed her a cheater, chose to fold her pocket sevens and did not take it any further. Once again Polk won with a hand that he used as a weapon to defame Lew when the poker scandal involving Adelstein divided the universe in two halves (cheating / no cheating).
Image and video courtesy: The Lodge Card Club and Doug Polk
With a Masters Degree in Journalism and Communication, Mrinal Gujare currently is cruising through an exciting genre of writing and editing at Gutshot Magazine. Apart from being an Editor, Mrinal is an avid reader and a former contemporary dancer. She is also perennially hungry for intriguing scoops from across the globe. No holds barred is the rule Mrinal follows in life.
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