Robbie Strazynski – Cardplayer Lifestyle https://cardplayerlifestyle.com Wed, 02 Aug 2023 12:54:01 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.3 The Most Challenging Poker Game of My Life https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/the-most-challenging-poker-game-of-my-life/ Mon, 10 Jul 2023 19:54:51 +0000 https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/?p=59587 I miss Miriam and my kids a lot. It’s been way too long since I’ve hugged and kissed them.

I miss the ambience of my shabbat table, and the feeling of not being “the only one” treating it as “not just another regular day of the week.”

I miss my Dad.

I miss the ability to make myself hot food in the oven, on the stove, and having a microwave to heat up leftovers instead of leaving food to heat up in the 100-degree sun. Yeah, that’s a thing when you’re in a hotel on a summer shabbat.

I miss my home poker game friends.

To be sure, there’s plenty I DON’T miss…

But above all I really just miss actively being a husband and daddy, and I’m “ready” to go home.

family cruise

But even after almost three weeks in Las Vegas, it’s STILL so hard to say goodbye to this magical place.

I’m going to miss walking into any poker room around the city and knowing I’ll recognize at least one friend (usually more) and have a hug waiting for me.

I’m going to miss being tapped on the shoulder by someone asking “hey, are you Robbie?”, and sharing that they listen to the podcast I host.

I’m going to miss wanting to play poker and knowing that a game is just minutes away instead of days away. That’s a biggie… I was able to play more and improve more during these three weeks than I do in an entire year back home.

Robbie big game

I’m going to miss a great kosher restaurant called Mother Falafel that’s literally open 24/6 – perfect for an orthodox Jew like me – including at 3:30 am after winding up a poker session.

I’m going to miss being in “poker environments”, where people really understand me and what I do.

I’m going to miss looking into the distance and seeing the bright lights of the Strip, or further into the distance and seeing majestic desert beauty.

vegas daytime

I’m going to miss meeting new and interesting people all the time, with whom I might have relatively little in common, and yet share so much more in cultural commonality than the overwhelming majority of people at home outside the little bubble I’ve created for myself in Israel.

I’m going to miss not paying attention to the news and being too busy and active doing, working, and playing versus “just sitting in front of my computer all day” with forced breaks to run to the supermarket or walk outside to pray on the balcony just to make sure I get out a little.

Robbie balcony praying

A Live Straddle, Worlds Apart

Perhaps I’m too open, emotional and public about the challenges I face. It’s not difficult to step back for a minute and realize just how fortunate I am… quite literally having the ability to live and experience “the best of both worlds.”

But simultaneously living in two worlds is very, very, VERY hard.

At home in Israel, I record and send audio files out into the ether. I click Publish only to feel like I can be productive and knock something off my to-do list. I send newsletters advertising a Mixed Game Festival and can barely find a soul who gives a damn.

Here in Las Vegas, my words resonate and are impactful. People listen. People read. People care. And they let me know! And they circle dates on their calendars and literally schedule trips around events I promote! All of that equals the most incredibly fulfilling professional feeling.

Here I have the exquisite privilege of rubbing shoulders with Hall of Famers and getting invited to attend Honors ceremonies… but I never have a “plus one”, as my queen, prince, and princesses are just so far, far away in the castle.

“When’s the next event, Robbie? When will you be back?”

I don’t know.

I just need my wife right now. I need my kids right now. And while I’ll miss this place and I’ll be missed here, I know my absence is felt where it matters most.

Having all the professional success, poker chips, diamonds, clubs, and spades in the world just isn’t the same as being flush with heart.

And home is where the heart is.

Robbie family dinner

]]> Mixed Game Festival V Day 5 Recap: Raymer, Elezra, and the EPT Cyprus Prize Package https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/mixed-game-festival-v-day-5-recap-raymer-elezra-ept-cyprus-prize-package/ Fri, 07 Jul 2023 16:23:25 +0000 https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/?p=59558 It seems like just yesterday that we were eagerly awaiting the Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival V at Resorts World Las Vegas. And now, in the blink of an eye, it has come and gone.

The festival was a huge success by all measures. We saw dozens of excited mixed game players – some of whom traveled thousands of miles – join us for five days to play their favorite poker variants in the popular Dealer’s Choice format.

More players took seats throughout the week with limited knowledge of some games, eager to learn. We even had players venture away from No-Limit Hold’em to play mixed games for their first (and hopefully not last) times!

In case you missed them, be sure to check out our recaps from Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 as well.

FossilMan Spends The Day With Us


Day 5 action kicked off at 3 p.m., and 2004 WSOP Main Event Champion Greg “FossilMan” Raymer was already in the room and engaging with players at the start.

Raymer has been a staunch supporter of the Mixed Game Festival since its inception when he won the inaugural MGF H.O.R.S.E. event in October 2021 to earn a PokerStars Platinum Pass.

When play began, Raymer took a seat with host Robbie Strazynski and a full lineup of faces we’d seen all week long. Others came and went as the day turned to night, but Raymer’s presence remained a constant.

In case you missed it, Raymer played the WSOP Main Event on Tuesday, Day 1b, and bagged a top-25 stack in his flight. He will play Day 2 today, and we wish him the best of luck. In the meantime, we couldn’t be more grateful that he took time out of his summer schedule to play and hang out with us.

The Toughest $4/$8 Game in the World

Raymer’s presence was only the beginning of celebrity visits from the poker world.

Poker Hall of Famer and five-time WSOP bracelet winner Eli Elezra took a break from the high-stakes games to play Robbie’s stack for a few hands. I couldn’t imagine a tougher $4/$8 game anywhere on the planet during that time, but there also may not have been a more fun one.

Alek Gilles Is Going To EPT Cyprus

“You got me hooked,” said Alek Gillies on Day 2 of the festival. Gillies, a full-time dealer at Edmonton’s Yellowhead Casino, has been in Vegas all month, working his first summer as a PokerNews live reporter.

When asked what he meant, he said he had so much fun on Day 1 that he had to come to play again after his shift ended at the WSOP.

Gillies was back on the WSOP grind during the festival’s final day. However, he logged plenty of hours throughout the week, each hour giving him an entry into a random drawing for an EPT Cyprus package valued at over $3,000.

PokerNews' Alek Gillies

The draw occurred just after 6 p.m., and Gillies was selected randomly, earning a Mixed Game tournament buy-in of up to €550 with roundtrip airfare and four nights’ accommodation on the Mediterranean island this autumn.

“I’ve never been to Europe,” said Gilles via text message later in the evening. “I’m super excited!”

Upping the ante: Norman Chad hosts $20/$40 O8/Stud8

One of the greatest aspects of the Mixed Game Festival is that it makes low-stakes mixed games accessible for all. However, we also love that it has created enough demand to accommodate the occasional larger game.

WSOP commentator Norman Chad made his second appearance at the festival Thursday, helping to close things out with his very own $20/$40 Omaha 8/Stud 8 game. The game started at 6 p.m. with a full table and a waiting list.

Poker Hall of Famer Linda Johnson and Women In Poker Hall of Famer Jan Fisher were among those on the waitlist, arriving shortly after cards went in the air. Both found open seats at a $4/$8 Dealer’s Choice table in the meantime, ultimately making it into Norm’s game later in the evening.

Pokercoaching.com Player of the Day – Zak Zimbile

New to the Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival V, we are featuring a “Player of the Day” each day during the festival, sponsored by PokerCoaching.com. As a reminder, all Mixed Game Festival V attendees can receive a free one-week membership to PokerCoaching.com Premium just by asking Robbie in person for the special link. Check out this article with the specific details of what that entails.

Our final Player of the Day joined us this afternoon to play mixed games for the first time in his life. Naturally, he sat with Greg Raymer on his direct left.

Zak Zimbile was unafraid, eagerly looking to learn the games he was now playing. Raymer was the perfect teacher, explaining everything and helping Zimbile understand games like Drawmaha-Dugi.

Zak Zimbile

Zimbile has played poker on and off for over a decade but is a CPA by trade. Most of his clientele are gamblers  – poker players and sports bettors – and he’s even written articles for Cardplayer Lifestyle about poker players and taxes. He opened his own firm in Las Vegas within the past year and has been upping his poker volume lately, playing cash games three or four days a week.

Zimbile thinks some of the increased volume is due to the time of year. Summer is not only the busiest time for poker in Las Vegas but also after tax season ends. He is enjoying the grind while it lasts but is remembering to have fun, as evidenced by his desire to join us. Off the tables, Zak also loves rock climbing, especially indoors.

Festival Recap

The Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival V brought five days of events, giveaways, and $4/$8 Dealer’s Choice cash games.

Opening Day kicked off with a pizza party before cards went in the air on two tables. Later that night, four tables were running with more players present and waiting for seats to open.

Extracurricular events headlined Days 2 and 3 with the first-ever Poker Trivia Competition and Scavenger Hunt. Cardplayer Lifestyle contributor and veteran poker reporter Mike Patrick stole the show both days, but unanimous fun was had all around. Several prominent poker players also visited us on Day 3, including “Miami” John Cernuto, Norman Chad, and a trio of PokerCoaching.com coaches, Justin Saliba, Paul Beitelspacher, and Kieran Woods.

Poker Hall of Fame member Linda Johnson and Women In Poker Hall of Fame member Jan Fisher joined us on Day 4, occupying one of the two opening tables for the afternoon. WPT champion and WSOP bracelet winner Dylan Linde took a seat at the other, taking time to talk strategy with his tablemates and autograph his book, Mastering Mixed Games, for anyone who procured a copy.

The final day concluded with repeat visits from Johnson, Fisher, and Chad. We also concluded the festival by learning new poker variants, making new friends, and forging memories that will last a lifetime.

Thank you to everyone who was a part of such an incredible week. We look forward to the next Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival and hope you do, too. Be sure to join the Cardplayer Lifestyle newsletter to be among the first to find out where and when it will take place.

*Our daily coverage of Mixed Game Festival V is brought to you, with much appreciation, courtesy of PokerStars.

]]> Mixed Game Festival V Day 4 Recap: Linda Johnson, Jan Fisher and Dylan Linde https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/mixed-game-festival-v-day-4-recap-linda-johnson-jan-fisher-dylan-linde/ Thu, 06 Jul 2023 18:30:08 +0000 https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/?p=59525 It’s hard to believe we’re already through four days of the Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival V. Day 4 saw another full slate of action inside the Resorts World Las Vegas poker room. Poker Hall of Famer Linda Johnson, Women In Poker Hall of Famer Jan Fisher, and WSOP bracelet winner and Mastering Mixed Games author Dylan Linde all came to start the day’s action.

With a 3 p.m. start time, we got going with three tables, but only two of those tables were new, however. The third (or rather, the first) never stopped running from the day before!

Poker Takes Center Stage

Part of the fun of the Mixed Game Festival comes from festival host Robbie Strazynski’s extracurricular activities like the scavenger hunt and poker trivia competition. Even folks who don’t yet feel comfortable sitting down to try their hands at mixed games pop in to see what all the fuss is about. One such individual was Anish Patel, author of the Final Nine graphic novel, who dropped by to say hello.

Anish Patel

Rumor has it that some more notable “drop-ins” will happen on the festival’s final day… stay tuned for tomorrow’s recap 😉

However, Day 4’s focus was all about poker. (And the Winchell’s donuts provided by Chuck “Donut Boy” Martin). Fisher and Johnson occupied one of the new tables alongside Robbie and several other players who’ve been with us all week.

Linde helped open the other new table alongside a full slate of familiar faces from the week, including prize winners from earlier in the week, Mike Patrick and Scott Sandoval. Linde spent several hours fielding questions and discussing various game strategies with the table, all while engaging with others in the room and signing copies of his book.

The Theme of the Week: Mixed Games Rock!

One of the coolest things about the Mixed Game Festival is how it allows players to get into low-stakes Dealer’s Choice games and learn new poker variants. It’s truly incredible that some of our participants have traveled from all over the country – and even the globe! – to get involved, with the MGF circled on their calendars months in advance.

The festival has also served as an introduction to all the games not named Hold’em. I’d like to say I’m surprised that so many people are falling in love with mixed games after playing, but we all know that wouldn’t be true.

Dylan Linde joined by a table full of mixed game players at the Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival V.

Dylan Linde with our crew of mixed game lovers

I’m also not surprised to have seen fellow poker media colleagues make regular appearances here. PokerNews has had strong daily representation, including players like the aforementioned Mike Patrick, as well as Connor Richards, Calum Grant, Roxanne Johnson, Alek Gillies, Yori Epskamp, and Frank Visser.

Best of all, everyone has a new favorite game. We saw multi-board variants, like Squid Game and Watermelon regularly called yesterday to complement the Draw game, Stud game, and Flop game offerings in the stack of placards.

Players discuss a hand of Watermelon poker at showdown.

Watermelon

Pokercoaching.com Player of the Day – John Maley

New to the Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival V, we are featuring a “Player of the Day” each day during the festival, sponsored by PokerCoaching.com. As a reminder, all Mixed Game Festival V attendees can receive a free one-week membership to PokerCoaching.com Premium just by asking Robbie in person for the special link. Check out this article with the specific details of what that entails.

There was a clear-cut winner for Wednesday’s Pokercoaching.com Player of the Day at the Mixed Game Festival.

Orange County’s John Maley (from Fountain Valley, to be exact) had been at his seat for more than 28 hours when we spoke with him at around 9 p.m. It was his new personal best for the longest session he’d played by a long shot.

Maley said he drove in, arriving at 4 p.m. on Tuesday and immediately got in a game. He plays long sessions and intended to stay until the table broke, something that never occurred as the calendar shifted to Wednesday. As a result, he still hadn’t checked into his hotel nearly 30 hours later!

Mixed games are where Maley has the most fun. He has played poker for around 20 years now and started exploring games other than Hold’em after the first five years. He loves the mental stimulation and nuanced differences in strategy that each game provides, which he said helped keep him mentally alert through the marathon session.

When asked about his favorite games, Maley said he enjoys those with multiple boards and ways to win. That said, he loves “The Game” (of poker) and is even cool sitting around the table with players who only know how to play Texas Hold’em, noting that we pretty much all got into the game that way. We should be grateful that it can be a foot in the door for new players in mixed rotations like HORSE and 8-Game.

Maley’s day job also keeps him around the game, as he is a cage supervisor at Commerce Casino. However, there’s not much of a mixed scene at LA casinos, and he credited Las Vegas locals such as Raul Yapor  and “Coach” Donald Shiflett for regularly running mixed games. He also had nothing but love for the room, staff and players at Resorts World.

“They’re all great,” Maley concluded. Over 31 hours after arriving, his table finally broke and he finally got up and checked in to his hotel room. 😁

Day 5 Preview: EPT Giveaway, Norman Chad Returns, and Greg “FossilMan” Raymer

Today’s the last chance to get in on the $4/$8 Dealer’s Choice action at MGF V. We look forward to seeing 2004 WSOP Main Event champion Greg “FossilMan” Raymer and poker commentary legend Norman Chad play today, the latter of whom will be hosting a $20/$40 Omaha 8/Stud 8 mixed game.

Sticking to the week’s theme, we have more prizes to give away on the festival’s final day. In addition to more swag giveaways, a grand prize drawing will take place at 6 p.m. The winner will win an EPT Cyprus package courtesy of festival sponsor PokerStars valued at over $3,000. Every hour of play throughout the week has earned our players one entry into the random drawing, and the winner will receive:

  • A Mixed Game tournament buy-in up to €550
  • Roundtrip airfare for one
  • Four nights’ accommodation

*Our daily coverage of Mixed Game Festival V is brought to you, with much appreciation, courtesy of PokerStars.

]]> Mixed Game Festival V Day 3 Recap: Scavenger Hunts, Miami John Cernuto and Norman Chad https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/mixed-game-festival-v-day-3-recap-scavenger-hunts-miami-john-cernuto-norman-chad/ Wed, 05 Jul 2023 17:20:30 +0000 https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/?p=59502 Tuesday marked the midway point of the Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival V, and the day was nothing short of remarkable.

A waitlist of nearly 25 players was already on the board at 10:45am in the Resorts World Las Vegas poker room. Players began filing in around 11:00 for the day’s pre-poker event, the scavenger hunt.

Fast forward to 4 a.m., and we still had enough players for two tables of $4/$8 Dealer’s Choice!

Mixed Game Festival Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger Hunt: So Nice We Ran It Twice!

Just short of a dozen players arrived early to chase their share of $100-value prizes. Cardplayer Lifestyle contributor and PokerNews live reporter Mike Patrick went two for two, finishing the competition in just 20 minutes to score another “free first rack of chips,” a.k.a., a nice rebate on his buy-ins.

A few minutes later, Patrick “Panda” Chen finished second and chose the “bucket o’ swag”, that included a library of poker books, a BBO Poker Tables portable table mat, and a Faded Spade deck set.

The third and final prize was the most fun to determine, as both Ruth Sun and Scott Sandoval arrived simultaneously, only to discover that they were both missing one final item on their lists! The two of them scrambled outside to grab a photo of the Encore Resort in a mad dash to complete their hunts.

In the end, Scott crossed the finish line mere seconds before Ruth was able to make it back to the poker room, thus claiming the $100 voucher to the PokerStars Store.

One by one, the remaining players filed in and learned they had missed the top three. Nonetheless, the competition brought smiles across the board and received immediate rave reviews for “bringing out my inner child”, and of course “every participant was a winner,” taking home a copy of Eli Elezra’s biography Pulling the Trigger or a RunGoodGear-produced Mixed Game Festival T-Shirt.

Chuck Martin was another early arrival who, despite opting to pass on the scavenger hunt, won over everyone’s hearts by bringing some Independence Day-themed donuts for his fellow players to enjoy.

Cards went into the air at noon, and action immediately got underway at two tables. A few folks on the waiting list found themselves with some extra time on their hands, so our founder and event host, Robbie Strazynski, ran an impromptu second scavenger hunt. Among the handful of players, Giancarlo Santolin came out on top to earn his own “bucket ‘o swag.”

Additional giveaways continued throughout the day, with players engaging in blind hold’em flips, needing to be the first to make a nut (high or low) hand, and fulfill other unique at-the-felt requirements to claim some sweet swag.

Some of Poker’s Finest Join Us on Day 3

Within the next couple hours, several prominent poker professionals entered the room alongside two tables of $4/$8 dealer’s choice and its waitlist.

Some of our friends from PokerCoaching.com– Justin Saliba, Paul Beitelspacher, and Kieran Woods – stopped by to chat with players. It was a repeat visit for Saliba, who – while regularly running in the high roller No Limit Hold’em circuit these days – openly shared that he absolutely loves splashing around in the low-stakes mixed game streets.

Mixed Game Festival V Poker Coaching

Just before the clock struck 3:00pm, mixed game aficionado and all-time tournament in-the-money leader “Miami” John Cernuto stopped by to show his support for grassroots growth of mixed game poker.

A third table opened shortly thereafter with eight more players taking their seats, one of whom wasted no time putting the table into a frenzy of laughter and lightening up an already enjoyable atmosphere.

Of course, that player was Norman Chad, another longtime mixed game lover and MGF regular. If you missed him, he’ll be back on Day 5 (Thursday) to captain a special $20/40 Omaha 8/Stud 8 table.

Pokercoaching.com Player of the Day – Roxanne Johnson

New to the Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival V, we are featuring a “Player of the Day” each day during the festival, sponsored by PokerCoaching.com. As a reminder, all Mixed Game Festival V attendees can receive a free one-week membership to PokerCoaching.com Premium just by asking Robbie in person for the special link. Check out this article with the specific details of what that entails.

Roxanne Johnson

Roxanne Johnson, our Day 3 Player of the Day, hails from Kelowna, British Columbia, a city of around 150,000 four hours east of Vancouver, Canada. She’s a retired court liaison, formerly having worked for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. She has since kept herself busy with other gigs, like her current one as a PokerNews live reporter at the WSOP.

This is her first summer reporting at the Series, but her poker history dates back to pre-Black Friday (2011). She recalls getting into the game through 180-person turbo sit-n-go tournaments on PokerStars and playing regularly on Full Tilt Poker.

More recently in her career, she won a PokerStars Micro Millions event and decided to celebrate with a four-month trip to Europe last year. Her win also earned her an entry to a site-sponsored women’s poker boot camp, and she stayed up until 2 a.m. to participate, since the camp was on a North American schedule.

Roxanne Johnson

Image Credit: PokerNews

The time discrepancy was inconvenient, but the timing was perfect. Boot camp participants earned a seat into a winner-take-all tournament for a PokerStars Platinum Pass, good for a $25K buy-in at the PokerStars Players Championship and travel expenses. The event took place at EPT Prague while she was in Europe, and she bested the field to earn a trip to the Bahamas.

Her poker past notwithstanding, Johnson didn’t get into mixed games until this summer. Having played No-Limit Hold’em primarily, she said her favorite variant so far is Crazy Pineapple due to the similarities with the game she knows so well.

Before jumping back into the action, Johnson took a picture donning a Pokercoaching.com hat and shared the following: “I’m already a member of the site and I love it! They’ve helped my game so much.”

Day 4 is sure to be another fun one today, with more poker celebrities set to make appearances. We look forward to seeing you at Resorts World Las Vegas!

*Our daily coverage of Mixed Game Festival V is brought to you, with much appreciation, courtesy of PokerStars.

]]> Mixed Game Festival V Day 2 Recap: Our First-Ever Poker Trivia Competition Is a Hit! https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/mixed-game-festival-v-day-2-recap-poker-trivia-competition/ Tue, 04 Jul 2023 20:26:32 +0000 https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/?p=59481 We’re already two days into the Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival V after the conclusion of play on Monday. Time flies when you’re having fun.

Day 2 stayed true to the MGF theme, with festival host Robbie Strazynski going out of his way to ensure players had fun and were on the receiving end of giveaways throughout the day. A brand new event – the Poker Trivia Competition – headlined the giveaways, awarding the top three finishers hundreds of dollars worth of prizes.

Of course, poker remained the primary attraction inside the Resorts World Las Vegas poker room. Cards officially went into the air at noon with two tables to start, and a third opened shortly after that to accommodate the demand of a 30-person waitlist.

Fourteen hours later, three tables were still going strong.

Trivia Competition Kicks Off Day 2 Festivities

The inaugural Poker Trivia Competition began at 11:30, and players got the memo to arrive early. Familiar faces to the Mixed Game Festival arrived early for the event, including Ruth Sun, Rob “Bergs” Bergman, and PokerNews reporter/Cardplayer Lifestyle contributor Mike Patrick.

In total, nine players got into the competition with their sights set on claiming bragging rights. Robbie quizzed everybody with 30 multiple-choice questions on various poker-related topics, creating an atmosphere full of laughter and excitement. What a surprise – poker players love all things poker!

Shortly before the quiz began, Mike told us that his trivia game was strong. He became an early favorite to take down the competition after climbing into the lead after the first few questions. When all was said and done, he remained on top with nobody able to catch him once he pulled ahead.

For his win, Mike had his choice of three prizes:

  • A “bucket o’ swag”, including a portable table mat from BBO Poker Tables, a collection of Jim Donahue poker books, D&B Poker’s Mastering Mixed Games by Dylan Linde, a PokerGO coffee mug, a two-deck set of cards from Faded Spade and an accompanying Faded Spade hat
  • A $100 voucher credit to the PokerStars Store
  • A “free first rack” rack of $1 chips (a.k.a., $100 toward the player’s first buy-in of the day)

Mike chose the $100 in chips. Second place finisher Brian Dowd chose the “bucket o’ swag” and bronze medal winner Pat Ang shipped the PokerStars voucher. They weren’t the only winners though, as ALL participants received their choice of a RunGoodGear-produced Mixed Game Festival V long-sleeve shirt or a copy of Poker Hall of Famer Eli Elezra’s book, Pulling the Trigger.

Brian Dowd

Brian with his “bucket o’ swag”

It’s Time to Join Us!

Fewer marathon sessions took place among MGF players on Monday, creating an opportunity to work through the games’ waiting list and allow everybody a seat who wanted one.

After spending the beginning of the day at the festival, I left the room for a few hours and returned a little after 8 p.m. to two open seats across the three still-booming tables calling my name.

I took a seat at Robbie’s table, three to his right, and quickly jumped into Badugi mid-rotation. I didn’t need to worry about calling Razz on him when it became my turn to pick the next game, either, since Cardplayer Lifestyle social media director Chad McVean took care of that earlier in the day.

Plus, we still have three more days to go. I fully intend to call Razz on Robbie sometime before the end of the festival.

Anyway, I got to play a few games I knew, like A-5 Triple Draw and Badeucy, along with new ones for me, like Drawmaha 49 and Archie. After about three-and-a-half hours, it was time for me to retire and begin the day’s recap. I was told the three tables stood solid until 2:30 am until a couple of them broke, with the final table only breaking well after 4:30 am.

Pokercoaching.com Player of the Day – Aidan Long

New to the Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival V, we are featuring a “Player of the Day” each day during the festival, sponsored by PokerCoaching.com. As a reminder, all Mixed Game Festival V attendees can receive a free one-week membership to PokerCoaching.com Premium just by asking Robbie in person for the special link. Check out this article with the specific details of what that entails.

Day 2’s Player of the Day was Aidan Long, a recent Vegas transplant from Boston. A software developer who works remotely, Long moved to Sin City last September to bring himself closer to the game of poker after beginning to take the game more seriously in 2020.

Long learned how to play poker from his grandparents, who taught him when he spent time with them during summers as a kid. After the pandemic hit, he moved back home and began to play home games with friends.

Despite countless hours of studying over the last few years, Monday was Long’s first foray into mixed games. He came into the room around 4 p.m. intending to play some $2/$5 No-Limit Hold’em and saw our $4/$8 mix, piquing his curiosity enough to sit down while waiting for a spot at his intended game.

Even after hearing his name called for $2/$5 at around 8pm, “there’s no way I was leaving!” said Long in between Razz hands. “I’m loving it!” he added after I asked if he was enjoying the change of pace.

When asked about his favorite game so far, he quickly said Omaha 3-2-1.

Why?

In true poker fashion: because he won!

Three Days Remain

Tuesday marks the midway point of the five-day Mixed Game Festival V, and plenty more fun remains on the docket.

We’ll be hosting a Scavenger Hunt at 11 a.m. today (and awarding more gifts to all participants). More giveaways will take place through the remainder of the festival, and we expect to see some poker celebrities make their way to the room as their Main Event schedules allow.

Poker Hall of Famer Eli Elezra will make an appearance at some point, as will Mastering Mixed Games author (and WPT/WSOP champion) Dylan Linde, 2004 WSOP Main Event champion Greg Raymer, and more.

We’ll be welcoming the one and only Norman Chad on Thursday, July 6. He will host a $20/$40 O8/Stud 8 mix as a part of MGF V, and players can join the list a day before to ensure a seat with him when the day begins.

Day 3 is sure to be another fun one today. We hope to see you at Resorts World Las Vegas!

*Our daily coverage of Mixed Game Festival V is brought to you, with much appreciation, courtesy of PokerStars.

]]> Mixed Game Festival V Day 1 Recap: Setting the Stage for a Massive Week Ahead https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/mixed-game-festival-v-day-1-recap-setting-the-stage-for-a-massive-week-ahead/ Mon, 03 Jul 2023 15:32:47 +0000 https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/?p=59438 A palpable excitement was in the air to kick off the Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival V on Sunday at noon. The festival will run for five days through Thursday, July 6, featuring low-stakes dealer’s choice and mixed cash games, daily merchandise giveaways, a trivia competition, poker book signings, and more.

Players representing all corners of the globe began filling the poker room inside Resorts World Las Vegas a little after 11 a.m. and were eager to get the cards in the air. Play officially began closer to 12:15, as Cardplayer Lifestyle’s owner and founder Robbie Strazynski first welcomed everybody with a pizza party to ring in the festival.

Let the Games Begin!

Three full tables of players quickly devoured the pizzas and began selecting their games of choice.

The first giveaway came on the day’s first hand. Robbie announced that the best badugi in a split-pot game would also receive their choice of a Jim Donahue-authored poker book.

In some cases, players chose to subject others – namely Robbie – to Razz. Apparently, that’s a thing 😉

BBO Poker Tables Founder and CEO George Chao stopped by in the opening hours of the festival to sing his praises for the Mixed Game Festival V. Chao also delivered a half dozen portable table mats that will be given away to the winners of our Poker Trivia Competition on Monday, July 3, at 11:30 a.m, Scavenger Hunt on Tuesday July 4, at 11 a.m., and a few other luckily drawn random winners throughout the festival.

Pokercoaching.com Player of the Day – Nadi Medlege

New to the Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival V, we are featuring a “Player of the Day” each day during the festival, sponsored by PokerCoaching.com. As a reminder, all Mixed Game Festival V attendees can receive a free one-week membership to PokerCoaching.com Premium just by asking Robbie in person for the special link. Read on for specific details of what that entails.

Nadi Medlege became the first ever Player of the Day. Medlege is in town from Lebanon and played a full session on Sunday, but not without taking a few moments to speak about his love for mixed game poker.

Medlege’s roots in poker date back to 2000. He started playing at the Aviation Club in Paris, and recently relocated to Lebanon to be closer to family, but only spends about half the year there.

As for the other half?

Well, Medlege takes two trips each year to Las Vegas and stays for about three months each time. When he’s in town, he said he always plays mixed games at Resorts World, usually playing $8/$16 or $20/$40.

Medlege credited the variety he enjoys in mixed games to his ability to play long sessions. He said it’s harder for him to play longer sessions of No-Limit Hold’em than mixed games, with his longest marathon session to date coming in at 32 hours.

He added, “I love mixed games, and I think it would be so good for the game if everybody learned them!”

Four Tables of Play Mark a Successful Day 1

Resorts World’s poker room was electric all day Sunday. The Mixed Game Festival V had a double-digit waiting list due to a packed house, along with the casino’s regular cash game offerings and another successful tournament for the room this summer.

A fourth table of play opened just after 8 p.m., easing the wait list and bringing even more energy to the room. A trio of veteran and newer industry writers, Yori Epskamp, Mike Patrick, and Jeremy Geist, took a break from their busy roles at PokerNews to jump into the action.

It didn’t take long before a post-it note made its way onto a placard on the felt for the game, Watermelon. Players each received four cards, just like Omaha, before the dealer brought three boards. Each board’s winner got a point at the end of the hand, and the player with the most points took down the pot.

Eventually, players took things to another level and ate watermelon while playing Watermelon!

Perhaps expected, players took full advantage of the dealer’s choice format, with fun variants being chosen on the regular. Badugi had a steady presence, often in split-pot games like Razzdugi, Drawmaha High-Dugi, and Badacey.

We’ll see if those games remain a constant over the remainder of the festival, or if players change things up a bit in the coming days.

Remaining Schedule of Events

One full day may be in the books, but we’re only 20% of the way through the fifth iteration of the Mixed Game Festival.

There’s still a full slate of events scheduled for the rest of the festival, and we look forward to seeing more new faces join the ones who are already looking forward to being with us all week. If you’re looking to pop in, please do! We’ll have cash games going until the wee hours of the morning, along with the following promotions:

  • Monday, July 3: Poker Trivia Competition at 11:30 a.m.
  • Tuesday, July 4: Scavenger Hunt at 11 a.m.
  • Book signings from mixed games legends like Poker Hall of Famer Eli Elezra and WSOP/WPT champion Dylan Linde
  • Celebrity visits from other famous names in the poker world. Players such as Greg Raymer, Linda Johnson, Jonathan Little, “Miami” John Cernuto, Justin Saliba, Jan Fisher, and Ari Engel have regularly appeared at past festivals.

MGF V Schedule

*Our daily coverage of Mixed Game Festival V is brought to you, with much appreciation, courtesy of PokerStars.

]]> Mixed Game Festival IV Day 5 Recap: Watchman Wins H.O.R.S.E. Event and EPT Prague Prize Package https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/mixed-game-festival-iv-day-5-recap-watchman-wins-h-o-r-s-e-event-and-ept-prague-prize-package/ Fri, 24 Mar 2023 17:21:08 +0000 https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/?p=58065 Cardplayer Lifestyle’s Mixed Game Festival IV capped off another successful series at Resorts World Las Vegas yesterday with a $260 H.O.R.S.E. tournament that drew appearances from some of the most familiar faces from throughout the poker community.

The fifth and final day of the festival marked the end of the fourth iteration of Robbie Strazynski’s gathering of mixed game fans and aficionados. Eighty-one players turned out to play for a total prize pool of $17,820 — along with the grand prize of a trip to EPT Prague to play in a mixed game event as a value added bonus for the winner.

The grand prize trip came courtesy of PokerStars, and it includes roundtrip airfare for one, four night’s accommodation, and a buy-in to a mixed game tournament up to €550 at this December’s PokerStars European Poker Tour stop in Prague.

The $260 finale kicked off at 2 p.m. and the field piled in quickly before registration closed at the end of the first break. Mixed game tournaments aren’t offered in Las Vegas as often as no-limit hold’em, so the chance to play H.O.R.S.E. for a free trip to Prague attracted some of the bigger names from the local poker scene.

The Players

PokerGO’s Jeff Platt took a break from the US Poker Open at the Aria to jump into the tournament. He busted out before things could get serious, but he got his H.O.R.S.E. fix before a long weekend at the PokerGO Studio. World Series of Poker commentator Norman Chad also stopped by to say hello, along with Linda Johnson and Jan Fisher.

Jeff Platt

“Miami John” Cernuto was among the others in attendance, and he was joined by two-time bracelet winner Ari Engel. Cernuto took down the Omaha 8/Stud 8 tournament earlier in the series, and Engel finished in second. Both players failed to qualify for the money in H.O.R.S.E., but they’ll likely be found together again soon at a final table in another mixed game tournament.

Ari Engel

The Final Table

The top 12 places paid a min-cash of $421 and the winner was slated to take home $5,517, along with the EPT Prague prize package worth over $3,000. Ryan Leonis had the bitter honor of busting out on the bubble, but his despair was short lived and he was refunded his $260 buy-in, courtesy of PokerCoaching.com’s bubble protection.

Tournament players battled for nearly 12 hours until Warren Coleman, Bill Watchman, and Denis Nesterenko were the only three players remaining just after 1 a.m. local time. Coleman hails from England and Watchman has several wins over the last decade in a number of poker variants. Interestingly enough, Nesterenko won a bracelet last year in the $1,500 2-7 Triple Draw event at the 2022 World Series of Poker.

The final three players agreed to bring the tournament to an end and flipped for the trip to EPT Prague. Watchman won the runout and he will be headed to the Czech Republic in December for the poker trip of a lifetime.

A Look Back at Mixed Game Festival IV

Day 1 kicked off the fourth Mixed Game Festival with three tables of $4/$8 Dealer’s Choice and free pizza offered throughout the day. WPT Executive Tour Director Matt Savage was one of the poker personalities to check out the early action, and he was joined by a steady stream of poker players from near and far.

Day 2 gave way to the O8 tournament, won by the aforementioned Cernuto, who bested a field of 61 players to take the top prize of $4,375. Day 3 brought out book signings by Dylan Linde, Chris “Fox” Wallace, and Eli Elezra, with bomb pots and Mixed Game Festival merchandise flowing all week long, while Day 4 saw the Pokercoaching.com crew enter the fray, headed by Jonathan Little and Justin Saliba, along with popular poker vlogger Ethan “Rampage” Yau. The Day 5 finale was a fitting end to a week full of great mixed games and new friendships with poker players from around the world.

It was another successful festival in the books for Cardplayer Lifestyle, and players are already looking forward to the next one. Be sure to join the Cardplayer Lifestyle newsletter to be among the first to find out where and when the next Mixed Game Festival will be.

]]> Mixed Game Festival IV Day 1 Recap: Poker, Pizza and Prizes https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/mixed-game-festival-iv-day-1-recap-poker-pizza-and-prizes/ Mon, 20 Mar 2023 16:15:47 +0000 https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/?p=57960 Cardplayer Lifestyle’s Mixed Game Festival IV started off yesterday with a flurry of players coming from all over the country to enjoy the camaraderie, mixed games, and Resorts World Las Vegas premier poker room. Robbie Strazynski, owner and founder of Cardplayer Lifestyle, is hosting the festival from March 19-23. It will include cash games and two tournaments, a $260 Omaha 8/Stud 8 tournament starting at 2pm today, and a $260 H.O.R.S.E. tournament on Thursday March 23rd.

Mixed Game Festival IV

Origin of Cardplayer Lifestyle’s Mixed Game Festival

Robbie created the Mixed Game Festival after thinking “I wish I could attend something like this (mixed game festival)” and he turned it into a reality. This is the fourth Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival. The first was held at Westgate Las Vegas in October 2021.

Robbie played his first mixed game when he was eight, with his father Josef Strazynski, and other members of his extended family. Josef taught him games such as stud, 5-card-draw, baseball, and deuces wild. Robbie’s interest in a multitude of games was piqued, and now manifests itself through Cardplayer Lifestyle’s Mixed Game Festivals, including this latest incarnation where poker players from as far afield as Florida, Ohio, Salt Lake City and even north of the border in Canada, have traveled to join in the fun.

Eric Potterton traveled to Las Vegas from Ohio, and decided to enjoy not just March Madness, but the Mixed Game Festival as well. It’s his first festival, and his love for mixed games spurred him to join the crowd today. Cody Meyer, similar to Eric, was visiting from Nebraska, and after hearing of the upcoming event via Facebook decided to come. Alisa and Jeff Eberhard, visiting from Salt Lake City, Utah, both decided to make their way down Interstate 15 to join in the fun as well. This is Jeff’s third Festival and the first time his wife Alisa has been in attendance.

Mike, Brian, and Scott at Cardplayer Lifestyle's Mixed Game Festival IV

Mike, Brian and Scott

Mike Serrano attended Mixed Game Festival II, also held at the Resorts World poker room, and had such a great time he made a point to come again. One of Mike’s friends Brian Dowd has also attended before and brought his friend Scott Sandoval from Florida. Yesterday, Scott was one of the lucky winners of Dylan Linde’s book Mastering Mixed Games. Ruth Sun from San Jose also won a copy of Linde’s book and is looking forward to getting her copy signed by the author, who will be in attendance tomorrow, on Tuesday, March 21st. Copies, if not won in “book bomb pots” will be available for purchase at the discounted price of $20.

Ruth Sun

Ruth Sun

On Wednesday March 22, WSOP bracelet winner Chris Wallace will be signing copies of his book Getting Started With HORSE also at a discounted price of $25. Rounding out this trio is venerated Poker Hall of Famer, Eli Elezra, who will be signing copies of his autobiography Pulling the Trigger for a discounted price of $10.

Donations to Poker Gives

A portion of all proceeds derived from book sales will be donated to Poker Gives, a non-profit organization that distributes funds to assist military families, homeless veterans, and youth programs in Las Vegas. Originally founded by Linda Johnson, Lisa Tenner, Jan Fisher, and the late Mike Sexton, Poker Gives is a fully volunteer organization, with every dollar donated going to the cause. Moreover, volunteers donate time either cooking or handing out food that itself was donated.

Robbie Strazynski

The party kicked off with pizza, one of Resorts World’s many contributions to the festival and very soon thereafter action kicked off at three tables, which ran concurrently for close to 12 hours.

George Chao of BBO Poker Tables donated portable poker table mats to the Festival. George initially met Robbie many years ago, appearing as a guest on his podcast. The two have since become big supporters of each other’s endeavors. George started his company 16 years ago in California’s Bay Area after realizing there was a lack of affordable, well-made poker tables. The manufacturing was either inexpensive and poorly executed, or good quality but wildly expensive. George filled this need, and now provides 60-70% of his business directly to consumers while also working with clients such as the World Poker Tour.

Resorts World Poker Room Staff

Other exciting aspects of the Mixed Game Festival are bubble protection for both tournaments, with free poker training site memberships donated courtesy of Pokercoaching.com. There will also be multiple daily merchandise giveaways courtesy of premium poker industry brands such as RunGoodGear, D&B Poker Publishing, and PokerGO.

Grand Prize Mixed Game Package for EPT Prague

The grand prize awarded to the winner of Thursday’s upcoming $260 H.O.R.S.E. tournament includes an EPT Prague prize package for the winner, sponsored by PokerStars and valued at over $3,000, which will consist of:

  • Mixed Game tournament buy-in up to €550
  • Roundtrip airfare for one
  • Four nights’ accommodation

The estimated total value of the prize package is over $3,000.

With the feel of playing in the world’s best and largest home game combined with the setting of a world-class casino, Cardplayer Lifestyle’s Mixed Game Festival brings together a mixture of friends you already know and friends you just met. Plus, especially in Las Vegas, you never know which vaunted poker pro or industry superstar might show up to splash around and join in the festivities.

]]> Poker’s Plus One Platinum Pass PSPC Experience https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/pokers-plus-one-platinum-pass-pspc-experience/ Fri, 03 Feb 2023 00:17:31 +0000 https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/?p=57395 The 2023 PokerStars Players Championship isn’t just an adventure for those at the felt. Poker fans, the members of the media who are lucky enough to be in Nassau rather than anywhere else in the world during this PokerStars festival, and family all play important roles.

One family member who is right by her husband’s side is Concetta Rand, whose other half Jon is also known as ‘Slow Poker’ on YouTube.

Concetta Rand Slow Poker Platinum Pass

Running for His PSPC Life

If you aren’t already familiar with the story of Jon and ‘Runner Runner’ then you missed out on the opportunity to win a Platinum Pass to play in the $25,000-entry PSPC. Spending three weeks as a fugitive, Jon had to evade capture by any would-be ‘bounty hunters’ out there as the world of poker fans turned sleuth in order to catch him and claim the Platinum Pass. If he evaded capture, then he would win the Platinum Pass.

There was just one cardinal rule, namely that Jon had to “come of of hiding” to play one hour of live poker every other day in a land-based poker room and publicly demonstrate proof of said poker play. Here’s what happened on his incredible journey.

Having successfully evaded capture for 18 days, thus winning himself the Platinum Pass prize package, Jon opted to bring his family out to the Caribbean as they travelled to Baha Mar Resort, the stunning location for the PSPC. His wife, Concetta, was drifting along the on-site waterpark’s lazy river one morning when she spotted yours truly in a pair of PokerStars swim shorts. I’m all-in on a poker trip, and I don’t mind wearing a ‘Spadie’ on my trunks. 😃

Concetta approached me, thinking that with Jon at the felt playing Day 1 of the tournament that “shouldn’t I be there, too?” That’s when I explained I was neither a player nor PokerStars staff member, but rather a member of the poker media corps. I then proceeded to ask her about her husband and slowly, but surely, uncovered the untold story behind Runner, Runner – the family Jon Rand was coming home to.

“We live in North Carolina and don’t have a huge poker circle, so it’s cool to see him in this environment,” said Concetta. “What Jon did on Poker.Org as Runner Runner…” she drifts away, clearly in awe of her husband. “He was approached with this opportunity; they said, ‘These are the rules — you’re going to be a fugitive’.”

Robbie and Concetta

The Family Man Explains

As you might imagine, Jon had a fair amount of explaining to do to his wife of 11+ years and their two children aged six and nine. Or rather, just Concetta.

“When he pitched it, he was like ‘I don’t know if I need burner phones, or if we can talk.’ I said ‘I gotta know where you’re staying, what hotel you’re in.’ I’d run into friends and they’d say ‘Is Jon away again?’ I had one very awkward conversation where one of my friends said ‘Where is he?’ I was like, ‘He’s away,’ and he was like ‘Where?’ He was genuinely curious. I found out after the fact that people were asking questions on the kids’ playdates. I couldn’t explain while it was happening [to the children] because kids talk! I told them ‘Dad’s going away for a couple weeks.’ He’s done playwriting commissions that might take him someplace, but they were broad strokes.”

Jon has been an entrepreneur and creative professional for over 20 years. It fit in with his skills as a performance coordinator in schools brilliantly, and also with his recent adaptation to the poker industry.

“Jon started playing poker in late 2016. He didn’t have a lot of experience. He started playing in home games. When COVID hit and live performances stopped, he was trying to navigate a new path and has been on this creative experience ever since. On one hand, [Runner, Runner] seemed completely absurd and out of left field, but I believed him 1000% because the thing about his creative work that I love and celebrate — and struggle with at times — is you don’t know where it’s going to lead.”

Concetta freely admits that her husband Jon has ‘an incredible creativity and talent and a brain that combines art and science in a super amazing way’. For this challenge, those skills were relied on like never before, and both the Rands were blown away by Poker.Org’s trust in his ability to deliver. He didn’t let them down, providing drama until the very last seconds of the challenge.

“We’ve never been apart for three weeks since we met. Just knowing that his writing talent for so long has been concentrated with high school and parents and a specific niche, and now he’s exposed that writing and performing ability to adults – I was so thrilled it was with Runner Runner. Who doesn’t need three weeks on the road? What a cool thing. But I don’t want to take any credit for anything other than being a sounding board.”

Rating Their Chances of Victory 

Concetta says Jon was ‘more paranoid’ about his chances of success, and flew by the seat of his pants. For a ‘poker fugitive on the run,’ he couldn’t possibly plan every aspect of three weeks on the road ahead of time, having to be flexible and change plans frequently along the way, driving thousands of miles in the opposite direction at times.

“He was driving to Cherokee and [the Only Friends Podcast] mentioned [the casino] live on air. He said ‘You try to figure out as far as you can see’. One day he stayed up ‘til after midnight so that would be his day [playing an hour of poker every other day].

The process was a fascinating one to watch from afar in Concetta’s shoes. She thinks that the restrictions helped her other half this time round, but — should such a content happen again — that it might get tougher to outrun the bounty hunters in the future.

“It’s like watching Survivor season 1,” she says. “You watch it saying ‘Next time they’ll tweak it’. In my head I always believed he’d win. He has so many incredible gifts and talents and I remember telling somebody, ‘The internet’s not going to find my husband.’”

On the very first day of the challenge, Jon put out a clue of a photo of a Texaco gas station. It almost turned out to be a disaster.

“Within six hours, they knew where he’d been,” says Concetta. “The fact they pinpointed his location as quickly as they did was crazy. Had they published that security video [showing his face], then they would have caught him.”

Jon and Concetta Rand

When Jon outran the bounty hunters and won the prize, it was a magical moment, but Concetta couldn’t share it with him at the time. With Jon in a different time zone, communication was already difficult, but then a family drama threatened the announcement of the news.  A few hours before Jon won, he called his wife for a chat.

“Not only was it three in the morning but I was in the Emergency Department of a hospital on that Friday night. Our daughter had stomach issues and I’d begged a friend to pick my son up from the emergency room… then Jon called me. I had no plans of telling him [about our daughter] but he heard the hospital announcement in the background. We were going on a trip to the mountains on Saturday morning. Jon was going to fly in and meet us there.”

The family descended on the mountains after Concetta woke up to the news and sent back a flurry of emojis. The reunion was special.

“He met us in the mountains five or six hours after we got there. At this point, he was exhausted. It’s a really complicated thing to explain [to friends]. He hadn’t been with people that knew him [for so long]. It took me a day to realize the implications of him winning, and the release of not being alone as a single parent to get through it all!”

Jon and Concetta Rand

Coming to The Bahamas

Having Jon back was very special, and it wasn’t long before the couple brought their children to the Baha Mar Resort in The Bahamas.

“He’s working all the time because he wants to put on his own blog, the downloads of the competition, so I have him back, but I know he’s so excited to be a part of it and make it a great experience for everyone. Stepping into this ‘Slow Poker’ experience, seeing this persona and content that brings people a lot of joy – that flow state – is super attractive. When you see your partner doing what they’re meant to be doing, and in a way no-one else could do… its what we should all want for each other.”

Jon and Concetta Rand

Jon – who essentially began his content-led journey to Baha Mar during COVID – put his head down and did something new. Concetta admits it’s made her ‘itch’ for more travel.

“No two days have been the same, and in a place so extravagant, what I take from it is that I hope we get the chance to come back. I haven’t thought about [Jon winning] because Jon has said its highly unlikely. The stuff we love in life doesn’t cost anything. It’s more about the journey and what he’s doing. I just want people to see his channel and what he’s creating.”

Poker’s Runner Runner, Jon Rand, managed to execute another deep run, outlasting over 75% of the field in the 2023 PokerStars Players Championship. While he found two bags along the way and made it into Day 3, his run ultimately came to an end a few dozen spots away from an in-the-money finish.

Concetta’s reaction to her husband’s PSPC run was telling, “the stuff that we love in life doesn’t really cost a ton, and while it would be insane to have a windfall, to us it’s more about the journey and what Jon’s doing. I just want people to see his channel and what he’s creating. The money side of it is very much an afterthought. I want him to be proud of what he does and be energized by the experience. I would love for him to surprise himself and run way further than he thought he would.”

While making the money proved elusive, it’s abundantly clear to the poker community that Slow Poker is a winner in the game. And from having gotten to meet and speak with his wife, Concetta, and learn about the rich family life of Jon Rand, it’s clear that he’s also quite the winner in the game of life as well.

Jon and Concetta Rand

*Ed. note: Thanks to Paul Seaton for his behind-the-scenes assistance with the crafting of this feature.

]]> The Bernard Lee Poker Show (9/6/22): Robbie Strazynski & Chad Holloway https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/the-bernard-lee-poker-show-9-6-22-2022-robbie-strazynski-and-chad-holloway/ Sat, 26 Nov 2022 18:45:58 +0000 https://cardplayerlifestyle.com/?p=56004

Bernard Lee, Robbie Strazynski, and Chad Holloway Wrap-Up 2022 WSOP including the move to Bally’s/Paris & HOF

Bernard Lee, Robbie Strazynski and Chad Holloway Discuss and Wrap-Up 2022 WSOP main event

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Robbie Strazynski and Chad Holloway

In this episode of The Bernard Lee Poker Show on the Cardplayer Lifestyle Podcast Family, Bernard Lee reviews the 2021 WSOP with guests, Robbie Strazynski, Founder of Cardplayer Lifestyle and Chad Holloway Executive Editor, U.S. for PokerNews.

At the start of the interview, the three poker media stalwarts discuss impressions of the WSOP move from Rio to Bally’s/Paris. The gentlemen talk about the stories that stood out. They also discuss the 2022 Poker Hall of Fame induction of Layne Flack and the possible future backlog.

During the second part of the interview, the trio discuss the highlights of the 2022 WSOP Main Event, including the final table. As the 2022 WSOP concluded, the panel gives their final thoughts and final stories.

0:00 Welcome to The Bernard Lee Poker Show as this week’s guests Robbie Strazynski, Founder of Cardplayer Lifestyle and Chad Holloway Executive Editor, U.S. for PokerNews.
1:37 RunGood Gear Ad
2:20 Bernard welcomes guests Robbie Strazynski, Founder of Cardplayer Lifestyle and Chad Holloway Executive Editor, U.S. for PokerNews.
3:48 The trio discuss impressions of the WSOP move from Rio to Bally’s/Paris.
12:49 The gentlemen talk about the stories that stood out this year.
24:29 They discuss the 2022 Poker Hall of Fame induction of Layne Flack and the possible future backlog.
31:43 Poker League Of Nations Ad
32:45 Bernard welcomes back Robbie Strazynski and Chad Holloway.
29:51 The trio discuss the highlights of the 2022 WSOP Main Event, including the final table.
44:06 As the 2022 WSOP concluded, the panel gives their final thoughts and final stories.

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