Justin and Caitlyn Arnwine Reflect on Recent Success and Activism Both In and Out of Poker
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Last week, PokerNews had the opportunity to catch up with husband and wife poker players Justin and Caitlyn Arnwine at Maryland Live! Casino during the Maryland State Poker Championship. In a wide ranging interview, the two discussed success on and off the felt, their friendship with the late Mark Dickstein and plans for the future.
Justin Arnwine's Recent Heater
Justin Arnwine is not afraid of firing multiple bullets in the same tournament, something he thinks is key to longterm success.
"The value of min cashing isn't really worth it. If you think about it over ten thousand tournaments and you always play perfectly to get a min-cash but you refuse to fire more than one bullet, you'd be down because there are going to be plenty of times where there's nothing you can do against certain hands. If you win or get second or third, that's gonna be maybe fifty bullets. And on top of that, there aren't ten thousand of these [tournaments] a year. So you really want to maximize your chances to final table. It's usually my strategy to have triple starting stack by the end of registration".
That strategy was not, however, on display in Arnwine's recent victory in Event #10: $400 NLH Multi Flight at the Maryland State Poker Championship. Rather, he managed to navigate a field of 243 entries on just one buy in to take down the $17,956 top prize. It was such a rarity for the east coast grinder that he posed with a sign reading "1 buy in" in his winner's photo.
"At my first table, I fell down to under half starting stack and the guy who got me low kept bragging about how he never rebuys. That was on my mind. I definitely played tighter while he was still at the table. Then he busted and rebought and had to come back to the table before busting again. At that point I was like, yeah, this could be the one and ended up bagging the chiplead in my flight and fifth overall".
It certainly was "the one" as he rode his strong first day all the way to victory. Just a few days later, Arnwine took down a $400 Black Chip Bounty tournament at MGM National Harbor via a three-way chop for over $5,000, again on just one bullet. So maybe the longtime pro is considering switching up his battle tested strategy.
Caitlyn Arnwine's Efforts to Boost Women in Poker
Caitlyn Arnwine also boasts an impressive resume with over $200,000 in live tournament earnings since her first recorded cash in October 2021. As her profile within the poker community has grown, Arnwine has sought to parlay her newfound prominence into promoting the women's game.
"I held a women's event and a women in poker panel with eight different authors back in March at Horseshoe Baltimore and then I just hosted a women's event at MGM National Harbor in May. I just keep going on podcasts, talking about women in poker and how men shouldn't be playing in women's events. As a result, men haven't been playing in the women's events that I've been hosting".
Arnwine is likely referencing an infamous incident in April 2023 at the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown in which Floridian Dave Hughes won a ladies event for $5,555. In most states, it is illegal to restrict entry on the basis of sex. Tournament directors attempt to circumvent this regulation by offering women a 90% "discount", thus making it extremely unprofitable for a man to play. Still, there are some like Hughes who disregard the intent behind these events to play at a negative expected value. By running women's events herself, Arnwine has tried to ensure that the fields are truly ladies only, though she is quick to specify that is only in reference to self identified gender as opposed to biological sex.
Her efforts have already paid dividends, at least in her home state of Maryland.
"The event at Horseshoe Baltimore was the first one in Maryland where there was a ten times higher buyin for men, just like in Vegas for the women's events. And now that it is approved by the gaming commission, if other casinos so wanted to, they could use that same mechanism".
Activism Outside of the Game
While the Arnwines have been primarily focused on poker, that has not stopped them from engaging in activist efforts away from the table. One issue of particular importance to them is boosting civic participation through voter registration. On that front, Justin helps to produce the radio show Igniting Change, a non-partisan broadcast.
"We inform people on how to exercise their right to vote and participate in democracy. That includes telling people when registration ends in certain places and just helping to keep them aware about their voting rights".
Caitlyn, meanwhile, goes beyond the education side of things by working with other non-partisan organizations on the ground to improve access to registration systems and polling stations on election days.
Friendship with the Late Mark Dickstein
Last week, the poker world learned of the passing of lifelong player and mixed game enthusiast Mark Dickstein. A staple on the east coast poker scene, Dickstein was a friend of both Justin and Caitlyn Arnwine. Caitlyn fondly recalls being at the final table with Dickstein at the 2023 Winter Potomac Poker Open.
"I was going into the final seven as chipleader. So even though it was against his best interests, he told me you might want to consider playing tighter. And I was like, no. And then he went up to Justin [Arnwine] and was like 'tell her she needs to play tighter'. Justin was like, 'good luck trying to tell her that'. It was funny because when I knocked someone out and he made a payjump, he cheered because he was so excited. Later on he told me 'I'm so glad you didn't follow my advice' because I ended up getting second for $177,044".
Beyond that one instance, Dickstein and the Arnwines enjoyed a close relationship. "He was a good friend. Him and Justin exchanged history books because they're both history buffs so we actually called him Book Club. Every time we saw each other it was just a good time".
Plans for the Future
Looking ahead, Justin continues the grind with a stop at MGM National Harbor for the Potomac Poker Open this week while Caitlyn will be heading to Philly Live! Casino for the upcoming NAPT stop, which, incidentally, will be awarding three NAPT Gold Passes over the course of the series. Beyond that, the two plan on maintaining a busy schedule pursuing their work both in and out of poker.
"I work a lot with non-profits so there may or may not be a lot of travel. I may be in Pennsylvania or Florida or wherever. But I will be in Philly Live! on September 1st for the women's event. It's not only a five thousand guarantee but their first prize also has an added main event seat".
Regardless of the specifics, what is certain is that this husband and wife poker duo show no signs of slowing down anytime soon, whether it be running deep in big field events, organizing book drives to boost female involvement in the game or riding the radio waves to get out the vote.
