Having spent so many years as a member of the poker community, I am blessed to count among my friends individuals of all sorts of diverse backgrounds and perspectives. In that context, I sit somewhat firmly to the right-of-center on the political opinion spectrum. As such, I’m probably the last person you’d ever think would write what I’m about to write.
And that’s why I’m writing it.
Poker Player Makes Deep Tournament Run: The Rail Jeers and Cheers
I don’t know Aubrey Williams, but I’ve seen her a few times over the years at the World Series of Poker. She tends to stand out a bit in a crowd because she’s quite tall for a woman; I estimate about 6’2. Other than that, there’s nothing ostensibly more notable about her amongst her fellow poker players. Well, to me at least. Just like anyone else who makes a choice to play this game we love for a living, she competes fiercely at the felt and wants to win.
Every poker player has a unique story though. Humans love great stories, especially when they’re well told. A couple years ago, curiosity made me click to learn Aubrey’s story. There was obviously so much more to this individual than meets the eye beyond the process of transitioning. I read it, appreciated Paul Oresteen’s great writing, and moved on with my life.
Aubrey just made her run of a lifetime, having finished runner up in the 2026 WSOP Ladies Event. And that’s awesome. And that’s all that should matter. Way to go, Aubrey! Enjoy your career-high score of $129,692.
Alas, if you take even the most casual of glimpses online to see the reactions to her achievement, what you’ll primarily encounter is bigotry. And hate. And fear of the “other”.
Not going to continue to beat a dead horse on this topic but poker is a mental sport if it’s a sport at all. Men and women compete with each other all the time. The people outraged just feels like bigotry disguised as a logical argument.
— MattBlagg (@MattBlagg) June 28, 2026
What a sad state of affairs to read the comments section. I wonder why some people can’t just live and let live. Nobody is forcing you to love, or to fly a flag, to share articles or spread the word, or even to wish her “good luck”. Just respect the poker player, respect the grind, and move on.
It would seem that Aubrey is aware of all this, too. To her credit, she brushes it off and focuses on playing her game. Even so, it can’t possibly be easy to tune out the noise. Kudos to Connor Richards for asking some tough questions at a tough moment.
Kudos as well to everyone I’ve seen publicly stand up for Aubrey on social media. You’ve done the right thing, and I salute you.
A Spade is a Spade, and A Bigot is a Bigot
Another recent hot-button issue that’s been being discussed in poker circles: the candidacy of current Poker Hall of Fame nominee Justin Bonomo.
A few days ago, I publicly called out poker’s most notorious bigot, making the case that he lost the respect of his peers and thus doesn’t fulfill all of the criteria to merit consideration for induction.
Before being shortlisted today as a Poker Hall of Fame nominee, @JustinBonomo said the following:
“I don’t think I’ll have a fair shot of being voted into the Hall of Fame because a significant percentage of the voters are Zionists.”
There are a number of ways to describe a… pic.twitter.com/AltVlknZWL
— Robbie Strazynski (@cardplayerlife) June 25, 2026
I thought long and hard, choosing each and every word I wrote with exceptional care, before putting the Tweet out there, to the point where I thought it was “unassailable”. To anyone who might take issue with my use of the word “bigot”, let me Google that for you:
I have zero respect for Justin Bonomo. I have not a single nice thing to say about him. When someone chooses to devote their life to not just challenging and questioning, but totally undermining my personal belief system — one that is ascribed to by millions of others — that leaves no room for tolerance or understanding, let alone constructive dialogue.
So, when I publicly call out a bigot like that and clearly explain how he fails to fulfill the established criteria for Poker Hall of Fame induction, you better believe I mean it with every fiber of my being.
In the immediate wake of my Tweet, many members of the poker community demonstrated their full-throated support. There was plenty of flag waving. Plenty of pride. A few select individuals even took the extra step of boldly speaking out themselves. And there were also plenty of people who didn’t say anything publicly, but nonetheless demonstrated their support with Likes and private messages. Thank you all very, very much!
Yet, I cannot mask my utter surprise at the almost total lack of overlap regarding “who spoke up and who didn’t”. The most vociferous defenders of Aubrey Williams’ right to express herself and play in the WSOP Ladies event have remained overwhelmingly silent in the face of the anti-Zionist bigotry publicly espoused by a Poker Hall of Fame candidate. Some even went a step further to verbally attack and abuse me.
It’s funny how the crusade for social justice seems to instantly dissipate when the issue at hand is “Zionism”.
Actually, it’s not funny at all.
I can’t help but take this issue personally. I’m worried, frustrated, and quite frankly pissed off.
Suddenly, a message excoriating bigotry gets questioned?
What a sad state of affairs to read the comments section. Why can’t people be a little more consistent? Nobody is forcing you to become the next Theodore Herzl, to move to Israel, to visit, or even to agree with everything the Israeli government is doing. Just acknowledge that bigotry is bigotry, regardless of the cause in question.
But it goes way deeper than that.
I imagine many of you who might only know me in a certain context might be wondering to yourselves by now: What exactly are Robbie’s points here? What am I supposed to make of all this? Well, to better understand my message, you need to understand my background and the people, education, and events that have framed my perspective.
Who the Hell IS This Guy?!
This op-ed is being written by an observant Modern Orthodox Jew. I’m a straight white male. A married 44-year-old father of three wonderful children that the Good Lord has blessed me with. My mostly conservative views coexist alongside what’s an exceptionally unconventional lifestyle compared to most other Modern Orthodox Jews. I make my living as a member of the poker media corps; hardly a stereotypical job for a “good Jewish boy”. Quite often, the reaction I receive among my compatriots is shock when I tell them what I do, some of the projects I’ve worked on, and stories of some situations I’ve found myself in.
Here’s some fodder for everyone to chew on:
A little over 15 years ago, my wife and I co-edited the prayer book for an egalitarian congregation in San Francisco. I would never pray out of the book, but I have nothing but love and respect for everyone who does, and it was a privilege to have helped bring the book to life. They’re hungry for a connection with Gd, just like I am. They just have a different approach. He loves all His People; I can, too.
A few years later, I gifted a copy of the book to my cousin who married the longtime love of his life when California legalized gay marriage. I actually have a number of gay cousins. I even have a younger trans cousin who has attended one of my Mixed Game Festivals. And I love them all.
My parents taught me the importance of love.
My mother of blessed memory demonstrated to me on numerous occasions that our gay cousins were always just as welcome at our Shabbat table (and our Sukkah, and our Bar Mitzvahs, and weddings, etc.) as were our ultra orthodox cousins. They’re ALL family. And we made efforts to attend everyone’s celebrations, too, regardless of where they landed on the spectrum of halachic observance.
When my (now-retired) father practiced medicine, he treated any and every patient who walked through the door. It didn’t matter what religion they practiced, what language they spoke, what line of work they were in, whether they were rich and famous or down on their luck and homeless. All he saw was a sick person who he could potentially help nurse back to health. His love for his work and for his patients always went well above and beyond the call of duty he pledged to when taking the Hippocratic Oath.
My parents sent me to a Yeshiva High School in Los Angeles right next door to the Museum of Tolerance. The museum was founded by Jews and stands as testament to the horrors of the Holocaust, but its name belies its main purpose: promoting tolerance. If you’ve ever stepped inside and taken a tour, you can’t help but instantly recognize the path that intolerance can lead down and the terrifying dangers that can result.
My Background and My Zionism
I’m a proud dual American-Israeli citizen. I moved to Israel in 1998. I’ve been living in Samaria (you may know it better as “the West Bank”) for the last 22 years. Zionism is in my blood.
My parents – those same parents I spoke of earlier who taught me all about love and tolerance – instilled in me the importance of Israel to our People, that it is among our biggest blessings that we have a modern day State of Israel.
They sent me to elementary and high schools whose educators preached the centrality of Israel to our religious beliefs and daily observance. They chose to uproot themselves and leave their Rodeo Drive mansion and thriving private medical practice in order to carry out the words Gd spoke to Abraham: “Lech lecha – journey to the Promised Land that I will show you.” They sacrificed plenty.
The woman I chose to marry? She lost her sister, then age 14, who was murdered in a terrorist attack while eating pizza in a mall with her friends five months before our wedding.
But she and her family didn’t pick up and leave. As mentioned, within a few months we married. Among us and her four remaining siblings (and spouses), we’ve produced 19 grandchildren for my in-laws.
Our response to terror is to keep trying to build a better world, and to show Gd that we will not forsake His Land; our Homeland. Many of my friends back home have served and/or will be serving in defense of our country as IDF soldiers. Israel has a mandatory draft, but many of them volunteer.
I see it as an immense privilege and honor to wear that uniform, and I know that when the time comes for my children to do so, I’ll be simultaneously worried sick about their wellbeing and completely filled with pride. Just like every other Israeli parent I know. I’ve been fretting about this quite literally since the day they were born.
Too many people see/hear the word “Zionist” and have chosen to believe what they read in the news about “millions of genocidal maniacs”. But here I am, a fellow member of your poker community, telling you in the clearest possible terms: that is not Zionism.
Bigots will always choose to hate Zionists, and the willfully ignorant cannot possibly understand or know how to feel; that’s also a choice. But the intellectually honest and emotionally intelligent will seek greater understanding.
To the latter, I humbly suggest that you take a good long look around your poker community for numerous examples of what Zionists do/have done to make the poker world a better place and to cast the game you love in a positive light.
CLOCK!
A lack of tolerance and a flourishing of selective outrage points to the fact that somewhere along the way too many people have forgotten what genuine empathy is.
It cannot exclusively be reserved for poker players who choose to self-identify by a different gender.
Similarly, we cannot afford to raise our collective ire solely to protest the possibility of an anti-Zionist bigot’s induction tainting the Poker Hall of Fame.
I didn’t want to spend 10 hours writing this and another 6 hours editing it. My first trip to Vegas this summer was the “work trip”. This is meant to be the “play trip”.
But it would have felt professionally irresponsible to not address two of poker’s mega news cycles and carry on “as though nothing happened”.
When you’re devastatingly heartbroken, you’re supposed to “look for the helpers”.
Action’s on you.
About The Author
