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Bizarre all-in call leads to cheating accusations during high-stakes poker game

October 1, 2022 | | Print Article

A legendary professional poker player has accused a significantly less experienced and less recognized competitor of cheating during a game Thursday night, but the less experienced player says her superior counterpart is full of it.

According to various reports, during one particular round of the Thursday game, professional poker player Garrett Adelstein had a better chance of winning than competitor Robbi Jade Lew, yet Lew chose to match his all-in bet.

Then stunningly, Lew wound up winning the round, shocking everybody at the table, and leaving Adelstein staring off into the distance in confusion.

Watch:

So here’s a rundown of what happened: At the beginning, Adelstein had a 7 of Clubs and 8 of Clubs. Lew meanwhile had a Jack of Clubs and a 4 of Hearts. Lew definitely had the better hand, as a Jack of Clubs has more worth than either a 7 of Clubs or an 8 of Clubs.

But then three cards were “flopped” on the table: a 10 of Hearts, a 10 of Clubs, and a 9 of Clubs. When cards are flopped, this means that any player may use them. Adelstein in this case chose to use two of the Clubs to set himself up with a potential flush. All Adelstein needed at this point was one more Club to trounce Lew.

“Adelstein had a 70 percent chance to win the hand at this point — any club, jack or six would give him a near-certain win,” according to the New York Post.

Yet Lew chose to call Adelstein’s $2,500 bet, prompting confusion and laughter from others around the table.

The next card that was apparently “flopped” was a 3 of Hearts, which helped neither Adelstein nor Lew.

(Source: Video screenshot)

At this point, with just one card remaining to be “flopped,” Adelstein still had a higher chance of winning than Lew. Yet again she called his bet.

Like before, the final card helped neither Adelstein or Lew, and so amazingly, Lew won since her single Jack was still higher in value than any of Adelstein’s individual cards.

After Lew won, Adelstein just stared off into space with what the announcer described as “literally the most disturbed look that I’ve ever seen Garrett give.”

Meanwhile, Lew said he looked like he wanted to kill her.

“You look like you want to kill me,” she said.

She initially tried to play off her victory by saying she’d “thought he had ace-high — a hand that would’ve been better than hers,” according to the Post.

Then she changed her excuse and said she’d thought he was betting so much of his money because he was trying to bluff.

According to the Post, after Lew’s victory, the two had a private conversation, and she decided to give Adelstein back all his money for reasons that remain unclear.

This is when things got extra interesting. Early the following morning, Adelstein posted a lengthy note to Twitter accusing Lew of having cheated using a “device hidden that simply vibrates to indicate you have the best hand.”

Look:

He added that it had been essentially “impossible” for Lew to win, which is why her choosing to keep calling his bets was unreasonable and suspicious.

A couple hours after Adelstein issued the accusations, Lew began posting her own tweets vowing that she’ll be “vindicated,” claiming Adelstein had “threatened” her during their private conversation, and defending her decision to keep calling his bets.

Look:

So did she cheat or did she not cheat? It really depends on who you ask.

Some critics say Adelstein has offered zero evidence of cheating and that he should therefore return the money that Lew rightfully won:

Others say the evidence of cheating is as clear as daylight:

Vivek Saxena
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