Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive show news, updates, and more!
"I Hated Every Aspect of It": The Anonymous' Robbi Calls Out What Killed Her Game
An excellent poker face couldn't save Robbi from being seen as a threat by the new competitors.
Spoilers for Episode 5 of USA's The Anonymous!
If you were going to put money on a player to dominate the first season USA Network's The Anonymous, professional poker player Robbi Jade Lew was a safe bet.
From day one of the competition Robbi sized up her fellow players with accuracy — minus one! — and figured out how to play both an effective in-person and digital persona game. However, Robbi told USA Insider that winning the very first challenge put a target on her back that she was never quite able to shake.
RELATED: How The Anonymous Creators One-Upped Their Players with That Big Twist
Because of her solid game, Robbi was able to hold steady until week five when DANI sandbagged everyone's play by mandating a handle change in Anonymous Chat mode, and then surprise adding three new contestants: Bismah Ahmed, Wayne Nichols, and Victoria Vesce.
"When the new people came in, I hated it," Robbi said. "I hated every aspect of it. I knew that I needed a new handle but I would have much preferred a new handle without new people."
How did poker play inform Robbi Jade Lew's strategy?
As a poker tournament pro, Robbi said she took what's she's learned from the circuit and applied it to how she played The Anonymous from the start.
"I knew that I was going to go in with a strategy in place, forming an alliance with at least three people, or maybe a little bit more, just to make sure we make it to the end and have a good strategy in play," Robbi explained. "But I also knew, based historically on how well poker players do in these type of game shows, that I didn't want to come off as a poker player. Being that this game was a show about deception, about living this double lifestyle, I was convinced that that was not the right strategy going in, and that I needed to come off as a different profession."
Did game recognize game with Jack?
Arguably, the savviest players to date with their in-person game have been Robbi, Nina Twine, Xavier Prather, and the completely elusive Jack Usher. Asked if she ever got suspicious of his game, Robbi admitted that she did not.
RELATED: Anonymity Brings Out the Worst (and Best) in Us: The Science of The Anonymous
"I did not think that he had it in him to completely throw Andy under the under the bus like that," she assessed. "I'm so proud that he was able to do that. I think that Jack is somebody that plans things very meticulously and he stuck to his guns with the plan that he was gonna have. And he didn't get dissuaded from it.
"And I was very impressed to see him being Anonymous two times in a row," she continued. "He has what it takes to not only contribute to the prize pool, but also remain more aloof and hidden enough to be one of the last people standing. So, we'll see how he does. But everybody else, I was spot on about everyone else."
The game change that "ruined" everything for Robbi
As alluded to before, Robbi said the addition of the three new players immediately "ruined" her alliance plans.
"Our alliance was beautiful, and our goal in the alliance was to get rid of the weaker players first," she explained. "Now, I know there was a whole segment of players in the house at that time that wanted to get rid of the threats. You could see that everybody up for elimination the night that I was eliminated were threats, mostly, and it was mostly my alliance. Unfortunately, there was only one person up there that was considered a weaker contender — sorry, Andy! But the moment that Andy was safe, I knew I was in trouble because I knew right away that it was one of the new people."
How did she know that?
Robbi said it was because all three immediately asked of the original players: "Who's the biggest threat in the house?"
"When they started asking that, I was like, 'OK, I don't even get a chance to have my own first impression vibes with them, or to build my own relationship with them,'" she said. "Whatever the strategy is, whether they want to get rid of an OG person or the threat, if they get to be Anonymous, they're going to go with it. Now, I very much understand why Victoria got rid of me. I do feel that I would have been the last person standing if she did not. So, yeah... Good job, Victoria. You got rid of the biggest threat."
Watch all-new episodes of The Anonymous on Mondays at 11 p.m. ET/PT on USA Network.
The Anonymous is available to stream on Peacock.
