Back in November, Poker After Dark: Game of Gold generated award-winning buzz in the poker industry with a fresh take on the poker TV format. The cast included some heavy hitters in the world of poker including Daniel Negreanu, Jason Koon, Maria Ho, and Fedor Holz among others. Big names with big poker fan bases to match.
But in the midst of its reality TV meets gameshow format, some up-and-coming players were put in the mix as well, and most of them took the opportunity to step into the poker spotlight.
The youngest among that group of fresh faces was Lukas Robinson, the now 25-year-old online poker streamer from Liverpool, England. Before he was showcased on Game of Gold, Robinson made a name for himself in poker by playing marathon livestreamed online sessions, including a stretch of 1,000 hours over 100 days. For Robinson, getting into the Game of Gold arena was a different experience entirely, taking him well out of his comfort zone.
“By far I was the least experienced, having not really played much live poker at that point,” Robinson said. “It was an unbelievable experience – super nervous going into it, and I’m sure people can see when they’re watching it. But to play against my idols growing up, Daniel Negreanu and Maria Ho, to play against people like that was literally a dream come true.”
One thing Robinson wasn’t prepared for coming off Game of Gold was poker fans. The finale of the show aired just as the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas was getting into full swing, and as Robinson made one of his first major forays into live poker, he noticed a little bit more attention.
Four months later, as he stepped on WPT Voyage, nothing could have prepared him for what was to come.
“At the WPT Championship in December, there were a few people that came up and recognized me,” said Robinson. “But this, [here on Voyage], has been insane. There’s been so many people coming up and like asking for pictures and it’s pretty surreal, to be honest. It’s given me a taste of what it’s kind of like maybe for celebrities, and I couldn’t be a celebrity. I’m glad that poker [popularity] is only big in poker. I couldn’t walk down the street with people asking me for pictures, to be honest.
“I love chatting to new people and stuff, but I think I’m one of these people where I kind of suffer through some level of imposter syndrome,” said Robinson. “I’ve worked hard, but it feels weird, people coming up to me and asking for pictures when I’m one who wants to be going up to people and asking the high stakes guys or people I’ve watched on TV for pictures.”
Robinson found himself among many of those high-stakes pros as he played the WPT Voyage Championship Event as well as the WPT Voyage Prime Championship. It’s a step up in stakes – his average buy-ins don’t typically rise above $500 online – and a step forward in live poker, following the WPT World Championship and a handful of local stops in Europe as Robinson expands beyond his day-to-day online poker pursuits.
“I just thought it was time for a change, to be honest,” said Robinson. “I’ve played online for three years, professionally, and I wasn’t really playing much live. I’ve started to fall in love with it a lot more. Playing WPTs, I got my first taste of that in December, and now I want to play the WPT World Championship every year. Now, if this Voyage is on every year, I want to come to this every year as well. I’ve definitely got the live bug.
“Obviously, my bread and butter is online poker, that’ll always be that way,” Robinson continued. “But it’s just nice to mix it up. When I’ve been grinding online, and I get sick of doing that I can come and play live.”
Robinson’s main purpose on WPT Voyage is playing poker and creating content as a member of PokerNews’ Ambassador Team. But with the ship’s itinerary shaped around stops at Grand Cayman and Bimini, during which time all poker onboard is put on pause, Robinson has taken advantage of that part of his adventure as well.
His trip to shore brought Robinson face-to-face with someone he’d likely prefer to avoid at the poker table and elsewhere.
“I played in the tennis competition at Grand Cayman, and first round I got [the event’s host,] Tony Dunst, which is running bad,” said Robinson. “But we had a good game. He won 6-3, and I just couldn’t get my serves going. Last couple months I’ve been getting back into tennis, I played tennis as a kid and I’ve just started getting back into it. But I’ve not been playing any matches – that was the first competitive match in 10 years. I said to Tony, give me til December at the WPT Championship, and let’s play another match.”
On Wednesday, Robinson was back on his live grind in the Day 1C field of the WPT Voyage Prime Championship. And as he continues to chase down some poker dreams, in pursuit of a major title and a payday to match, Robinson can’t seem to shake a smile from his face for very long.
“It’s been honestly amazing and a dream come true,” said Robinson. “I quit my job four years ago to give poker a go professionally, and if you would have told me four years on I’d be going around the Bahamas and Grand Cayman playing WPT Championship events, is pretty surreal.”