SCOOP champ ‘Pete_Robo’: “It’s nice to win one before Lukas!”

There are many great father and son duos in poker. Doyle and Todd Brunson. Barry and Jeff Shulman. Joe and Daniel Hachem.

Now we can add Pete and Lukas Robinson to the list. Pete “Pete_Robo” Robinson is the father of BBZ streamer and GG Poker sponsored pro Lukas “Robin_Poker” Robinson, but he’s also a talented poker player in his own right.

Pete_Robo recently took down a Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) title in an $11 Turbo Progressive Knock-Out event, defeating an enormous field of 15,549 entries to win $10,139, including bounties.

We sat down for a chat with Pete_Robo to discuss how it felt to take down the title, what he’s learned studying from BBZ coach Jonathan “apestyles” Van Fleet, and why his son was destined to be a poker pro.

BBZ Blog: Hey Pete! A massive congratulations on the SCOOP title. What does it mean to you?

Pete_Robo: Thanks! Now it’s sunk in a bit, I’m very proud to win the title and it’s nice to win one before Lukas did! We are super competitive so I know he is super proud of me but he also wants one of his own. I’m sure he’ll win plenty of titles over the next few years if he carries on working hard with Jordan and the BBZ team.

I know you’ve been studying the apestyles bundle, how has that helped your game?

When Lukas got signed by BBZ I started to have a look at the bundle. Honestly, it’s changed the way I play and think about the game. I think with any training courses I have done over the years it’s good to take little things, implement them and see how they go. After only really going through 75% of the bundle it seems to be working! Plus, apestyles has a very soothing voice and the classroom-style Powerpoint is what I was used to being an Account Manager in IT for 20 years, so it must have sunk in quickly.

Was there a particular spot you remember in the SCOOP tournament where something you’d learned from apestyles kicked in?

I played aggressively from the start of the tournament, got a $2.50 bounty, then busted my first bullet. I bought back in and just played aggressive and went for a few bounties early on, then as things calmed down a bit I just played my normal game and didn’t worry too much about taking people out just for their bounties. The main thing that the bundle has taught me is to control my aggression. I loved playing aggressive but now I have more structure to my 3-betting for sure. When I lost the chip lead with eight left I was just patient until I got my spot on the FT.

How did you first discover poker?

I played poker with my brothers and sisters and dad from about six years of age and loved it. My big brothers cheated me out of a bit of pocket money though! We just played 5-card-draw in those days.

I played NLHE for the first time ever in Las Vegas in the Mirage when my wife Vicky and I got married in 1997. I think it was a $0.50c/$1 cash game. I was just watching and they told me to sit down. I played until 4 am and was greeted at the lifts by an angry pregnant bride-to-be asking where I’d been!

Over the next few years, I didn’t play much until poker went online. Vicky’s dad called me from the Isle of Man and told me that we could play together online on Paradise Poker. So in the early days of online, I just played sit and go’s and low cash stakes as the kids were little and I couldn’t spend hours in MTT’s.

From then on I played a bit of live poker from time to time but mainly cash games. As a big Liverpool FC fan, we used to follow the club around Europe and then play in the casinos in Barcelona and Amsterdam, attempting to pay for our trips in the cash games.

When Lukas was 18 I started playing more MTT’s with him but working full time limited my hours again. It was only last April I really started playing a lot online in the first lockdown. I have always watched and loved poker but I never studied a thing until Lukas signed the deal with BBZ.

He started explaining to me about 3-betting vs limping and it got me curious. So when he was on his challenge and doing well I thought I would bite the bullet, stop thinking I’m too old for study and hit the apestyles bundle. I started to implement a few things I learned and started getting better results. Prior to the SCOOP, my biggest score came in March 2021 with a 7th place finish in the GG Zodiac Millions for $4.1k.

Lukas was into poker at a young age. How did poker become a big thing in the house and how do you think Lukas benefited from that?

Lukas didn’t really have a choice: he was either going to be a footballer or a poker player! I played poker with him when he was little and I knew he was going to be good when he called his Grandad’s bluff in a game on holiday in Tenerife for a big pot. He also sat and watched me and his grandad for hours playing. I am also a big gamer so the house was also full of consoles and I encouraged him to make YouTube Videos of Fifa and Call of Duty which he was really good at.

Obviously, you’re super proud of Lukas and what he’s achieved on Twitch. How nice is it to not only share a passion with your son but also to see him succeed?

It’s amazing to see him do something that he loves and is passionate about. I hope that all my kids follow their dreams no matter what they are. Vicky and I are super proud and have always supported him. He has always been a really good kid and we didn’t have any teenage troubles with him growing up, he is super dedicated and a real role model.

What’s it been like becoming something of a poker celebrity in your own right?

I love it! Having followed poker since I was Lukas’s age it’s great to be involved and getting a few tweets here and there. I think people must think I’m a bit mad sometimes with some of the stuff I come up with in chat but it’s all positive fun and banter, especially in Lukas’s Twitch channel.

Now you’ve had this great score, what’s next for you?

After SCOOP I’ll have a week off and then keep painting the house! Then I’ll maybe think about starting my own stream. I did a few days for Lukas after his challenge to keep his challenge going and I enjoyed it. Who knows, I could be the Dr Disrepect of Poker Streamers. One thing’s for sure, I will keep studying the Apestyles Bundle!