Meet Poker Pro Robin Kay, Part 2
Last week I wrote about Robin Kay and her family connections to the game of bridge. But that is just the beginning of her story. It’s poker that put her on a different path.
Robin met a man on the American Stock Exchange, who was both a bridge and poker player, that introduced her to the poker world.
In the 90s she played at the Diamond Club in New York City, where Ed Norton practiced for his role in “Rounders.” During a trip to Atlantic City, she played stud at the Taj Mahal and was hooked.
She honed her game in the pre-boom era before (Chris) Moneymaker won the Main Event in the 2003 WSOP and changed poker forever.
Around 2007, Robin decided she needed a vacation. She had heard so much about the L.A. Poker Classic held at Commerce Casino, so she grabbed a girlfriend and drove across the country, stopping every eight hours to play poker.
They arrived six days later when the stud tournament started, but Robin was so intimidated she played cash games instead.
Someone told her if she wanted to play stud she should visit Hollywood Park Casino. She took that person up on that bit of advice and loved the $20/$40 stud game so much, she moved to L.A.
Robin moved to Scottsdale, Arizona a few years ago, but she couldn’t resist coming back to L.A. to see the new Hollywood Park Casino. Robin is now a public relations player at the new casino. You can’t miss her – she’s the woman sitting next to you with the friendly demeanor and big smile.
I wondered how Robin could keep such a positive attitude, and she shared some practical advice, “Poker players have this thing where they have to win. Even the best only win 2/3 of the time. The key is to maximize your wins and minimize your losses.”
She continues, “You don’t win every day. You just have to win more than you lose. You must learn from your mistakes every day.”
Robin relates a story to illustrate this point: “It’s instinctive for people to ask ‘How’d it go?’ An old pro had the best answer, ‘I don’t know. Check back on December 31.’ The bottom line is you can’t let a bad day or week get you down.”
Robin’s longevity in the game shows she knows what she is talking about. We could use more Robin Kay’s at the tables today.