Poker players offer an explanation on what might have happened during the infamous cheating scandal

It’s already one of the most controversial stories ever to hit the poker world, and now professional players are weighing in on cheating allegations blighting the sport.

Poker channel Hustler Casino Live (HCL) has launched an independent investigation into ongoing accusations of cheating levelled at Robbi Jade Lew after she was accused of foul play by regular player Garrett Adelstein last week – stating that a lie detector test may be required to find the truth.

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Lew won a big pot with a relatively poor set of cards and scooped $269,000 (£240,000) after going all-in with just a jack high.

It’s a huge talking point in the game, with the allegations rivalling the great chess scandal for the biggest controversies of 2022.

The moment caught the attention of the poker community and further afield. Adelstein accused Lew of cheating straight after the game and a conversation off camera led to Lew giving the chips back to him.

Adelstein later posted a long statement outlining why he believed Lew was cheating, saying that her decision to commit with her hand didn’t match with her betting patterns and suggesting that Lew may have had a vibrating device on her which told her if she had the best cards.

Now, poker players have given their takes on the matter, stating that they believe that Lew misread her own hand which led to the surprise set of circumstances playing out.

Professional poker player Phil Ivey gave his opinion by saying: “I notice in the middle of the hand she asks, ‘Can you beat a three?’ So I think she thought she had jack [and] three. She misread her hand and she didn’t want to say she misread her hand because she’s at a poker table. That I think is the best, most reasonable explanation for what happened.”

Eric Persson, owner of Maverick Gaming added: “She called the flop because she had the jack of clubs on a nine, 10, 10 board [which could have given her a flush or a straight draw.] She thought she banged a three on the turn - that’s Occam’s razor.

“She makes a pretty strong call with what she thinks is a bottom pair. Turns out she doesn’t have bottom pair, but it turns out to be good. To me that’s what makes sense… she can play with me any day.”

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