Robbie Strazynski is quite possibly poker’s busiest man. He’s the owner of his own poker media site, Cardplayer Lifestyle, and he frequently travels to the U.S. and abroad as the organizer and host for the Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Games Festival series.
Mixed Game Festival IX just wrapped up at the NAPT, and the series also included three different Cardplayer Lifestyle-sponsored mixed-game tournaments.
At home, Strazynski is married and a father of three. Home in his case is Karnei Shomron, Israel, located in the West Bank and the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
We sat down with Strazynski to talk about life on the road and at home:
In your own words, what’s happening in Israel right now?
The situation is war. If you need to sum it all up in one word, because war is complex and diverse, and books have been written and movies have been made about war. What’s been happening for 13 months is a situation of war, and the consequences of that war.
When most of the world turns on the news and see what’s going on in our region, you would think that war is raging constantly. And in a sense it is. But simultaneously, regular life for people on the home front continues. It’s a very irregular type of normal, but nonetheless, life goes on. There’s school, there’s work, there’s all that stuff.
‘Every aspect of our lives is affected’
How does that situation affect day-to-day life for you and your family?
(long pause)… It’s omnipresent. While I’m here in the States I wear this wristband that says ‘Bring Them Home Now,’ talking about the hostages. There’s a Hebrew verse that translates to ‘any Jewish person is responsible for other Jewish people.” So when we say “our hostages,” I don’t know who they are. I’ve never met them. But it’s my brother, it’s my sister, it’s my father. That’s who they are. They are with us, every single citizen, regardless of your political leanings, right, left, or center. You leave an empty space for them at the Seder table on Passover.
Every single aspect of our lives is affected, but, like I said, life continues. That means the joy also continues. My children will come home with a wonderful report card. We made a bat mitzvah. We go to attend a wedding. Things happen.
Life goes on. I’ve not just been to the U.S., I’ve been on three or four other trips abroad during this time. And the contrast is just uncanny, ok, this is what regular life is supposed to be like. Even though being in a poker tournament isn’t regular, normal life (laughs).
When you travel here to Las Vegas from Israel, under normal circumstances, how long does the trip take and what are the steps to get here?
Easy game! I’ll drive to the airport and leave my car there if it’s a short enough trip. There’s usually one stop. You usually go to, say, some European capital and from there straight to Vegas, Or, New York or Boston, then Vegas. It usually takes around 18 hours. Which is long, but that’s how long it takes. It’s 7,500 miles. I get here, sometimes rent a car, then get to the hotel and settle into the room. I never get jet-lagged going west. I hit the ground running, regardless of what time it is.
But now, because of what’s going on, no one is flying. We have the national airline, El Al. There’s one other smaller Israeli airline, Arkia. And all the other airlines have canceled. There’s no Delta, there’s no United, there’s no American, there’s no KLM. There’s El Al and then there’s Emirates, that’s it.
Which means that a ticket costs a fortune. A round-trip ticket right now to go that regular route, let’s say to New York and then to Vegas, costs $2,800 for an economy seat. So people that still need to go places, and this is what I did for this trip, you fly to a closeby place on El Al, then you switch airlines. So I flew to Paris on El Al and I stayed overnight. In the morning, I flew Delta to Salt Lake City, and then to here. It took 36 hours. And you know “poor me,” I travel well, so no biggie. But it’s irregular, you know (laughs).
Strazynski partnered with PokerStars to host three mixed game tournaments at the NAPT.
You’re known for your relentless positivity. You always have a smile on your face, we all know you love what you do. Is it hard to be “Robbie Strazynski” when you’re here with all of the things that are going on back home?
No. There are moments; if someone brings up a particular topic that I’m sensitive to, sure, it’ll touch some heartstrings. It happened at the World Series, there was an attack on some Jews in the street in L.A. And I found myself talking to Jesse Fullen at the time, and I just spontaneously broke out into tears. I grew up on that street. So yeah, with things that I’m sensitive to, I’ll just break down.
But, the thing is, it’s not hard. Because Robbie Strazynski is not a show. Certainly, I have to find some strength from within, but the positivity isn’t a brand. I’m just my authentic self. And I love playing poker, and I love Las Vegas. So that gives me the energy and it makes me happy.
Is there anything else you want to tell us?
(long pause)… Hmmm. I think empathy is very powerful. By definition, humans are selfish creatures. We look out for ourselves, and that’s normal. It’s a matter of self-preservation. We care for our own needs. Poker, by the same token, is a self-aggrandizing pursuit.
When you have empathy for someone, when you can always view things from someone else’s situation… even in poker, how is he perceiving me? How is this opponent to my left seeing me? When you can do that, it makes you a better poker player.
I would say also in life; when you’re able to empathize with whatever it is, genuinely care. Like really ask someone how they’re doing. It’s a very powerful thing.
Photos courtesy of PokerStars/Trevor Scott