Romain Lewis, aka rLewis

Romain Lewis alias rLewis He is without doubt one of the most talented players of his (younger) generation. Romain Lewis has been around the live tables since he was 18, and has built up an impressive list of achievements, with several prestigious victories, including an unforgettable bracelet at the WSOP in 2021. The man who has accumulated over 4 million dollars in live tournament winnings has become a leader of Team Winamax, to the point where he now plays Highroller tournaments without batting an eyelid, all in front of the cameras of Inside the Mind of a Pro. He is a key figure in French poker.

For Romain Lewis, everything started with a gift. “My parents gave me a poker case when I was 10 years old, he explains. “To start out I treated it like a standard board game. I would play with them (his parents), my cousins or my grandparents.” It ended up being his brother, who is 5 years older than him, who started taking the game more seriously. “He was organising home games with friends of his and I would try to take part but they were having none of it!” It was finally through Zynga Poker, a play money game on Facebook, that Romain got his first true poker experience. “I used to get so tilted on there!” he admits with a grin. Soon enough, he started to play games with his friends. “We were playing with 1 to 5 euros with my school friends from Bordeaux, and we were taking things very seriously! The winner was allowed to mock the others for the whole week. My friend Willy and I were pretty good. It allowed us to have some pocket money.”

It was then thanks to table tennis, which he played as part of a team – he went up to 14th in the rankings for the more savvy in this field – that the player was able to move up to the next level. “Someone at the table tennis club who knew I was interested in poker told me about Pokersphère – a play money gaming association based in Bordeaux – where you were able to sign-up as a minor as long as you had your parents’ permission. My mother didn’t want me to go. At 18 years and 3 days of age I was there!” For one year, Romain learned all there was to know about live play and managed to make some life-changing friends through his progression. “Jonathan Therme coached me a lot. The one day, a good friend of mine, Ali, told me he wanted to stake me for 100% of my action for a €550 DSO at the Gujan Mestras casino, and divide my potential winnings equally between us. I had around €30 in my bank at the time so I thought that was just absolutely crazy. I accepted and ended up coming in second for €20,000.” A great first result before a string of many more.

Romain was 19 years of age at the time, and decided to go on to study mathematics, despite his incredible appetite for more poker. After three “serious” months, he attended Gruissan for another DSO and ended up at the final table once more for €9,000 in winnings. He then got into some firm negotiating with his parents to attempt to convince them that he was capable of a professional career in live poker. “My father accepted but it was impossible for my mother. She was already imagining me in rooms filled with cigar smoke and the smell of whisky.” Not easy to be the first sibling to stand out from the crowd after his older sister went to business school and his older brother went on to study medicine. However, all the efforts of convincing finally paid off and Romain had his permission for one year, which didn’t go as well as expected. “Whether it was live or online, I wasn’t winning overall, so I ended up successfully attempting to get into business school in Bordeaux.”

The summer of 2015 was coming to an end and Romain had no idea that he was about to experience his best weeks of poker yet. He started consistently winning with a ninth place finish in a DSO in Gujan, a victory in the Famous WPO in Dublin and, more notably, a fourth place finish in the Main Event of the National WPT in Marrakech for 355,000 Dirhams. Once again, the call to get back to the felt was lingering. “I stayed in school for about 4 months, but I was belating my payments,” he says, grinning. After being consistently absent from his classes, Romain was then given an ultimatum at the start of December: either he paid up or he had to go. We all know what he chose to do. “Just after, I came in second for a €2,200 side event of the EPT in Prague for €80,000.” That got the ball rolling.

Now slowly becoming a reg of the European circuit, the player quickly created ties with some of the most notable French players in the circuit such as Clément Thumy, Hugo Lemaire, Louis Linard and our former Team Pro, Guillaume Diaz. “They became my personal study books! I learnt an incredible amount from their experience and their mistakes. We played a lot together, and we even went to play in Costa Rica for a month. It was really great.” Having arrived in Prague in March of 2016, Romain still wasn’t forgetting his French roots. “My friends from school and I have remained very close, which helped me keep a certain barrier between poker and my personal life.” Between two tournaments, the player who spent the first nine years of his life in London likes to travel back to the British capital, coming back the club he holds most dear to his heart: Brentford Football Club. “The guy is crazy, he knows all the chants!” says his new team mate Ivan Deyra with a grin.

As he progresses, Romain develops a work ethic worthy of the best professionals: a healthy lifestyle and working on his game as part of a group, through his discussions on strategy with his new partners, Ivan Deyra, Adrien Delmas, Victor Choupeaux and Guillaume Diaz. In the style of Davidi Kitai – “He explains so many things that come from traditional books” – he is convinced that “there is more to the game than GTO. You have to stay creative and go beyond the simple trends of the game to try and constantly surprise your opponents.”

This strategy worked wonders for the player. Just as he won the sixth edition of “La Maison Du Bluff” (a poker show on French TV), he shines a light on the circuit once again in Marrakech (runner-up in the WPT-N Super High Roller for €30,000) and Prague (4^th in the WPT for €39,000) before getting his biggest cash to date with a second place in the Pokerstars National Championship in Monte-Carlo (the successor to the FPS) for over €127,000. All this whilst piling up the online trophies, with four High Rollers and one Winamax Series Title since November of 2016.

These excellent results are just the beginning of a career that has seen the Bordeaux native win the Holy Grail of poker. He came close to realising his dream in 2018. For his second trip to Las Vegas, Romain finished in the money nine times and won over $860,000, thanks in particular to three huge scores in WSOP tournaments: two second places, first in a $1,500 event ($194,000) and then, to his own surprise, in a $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event ($293,000) – a variant that he is far from mastering – and finally, the icing on the cake, a bronze medal in the prestigious and highly competitive $10,000 6-max Championship, worth $325,000.

But it was in 2021, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, that Romain entered the poker hall of fame, winning his first WSOP bracelet in a $10,000 Bounty tournament for a prize of $463,885. A logical culmination in view of the man's career, but his story with poker is far from over. Having come close to his second bracelet in 2024 with a 5th place in a $2,500 Freezeout, Romain Lewis is more ambitious than ever. His future opponents can already start to tremble.

Surrounded by his partners who were already his friends and whom he considers as family, Romain is ready to take on his next poker adventure. Here’s a tip for you: if ever you are seated next to “rLewis” on our Winamax.fr tables, be very afraid.

Biography updated on 26 September 2025

Live tournament accomplishments

05/2025	WSOP No Limit Hold'em $3,000 - Las Vegas	16^th ($39,091)
04/2025	Winamax Poker Tour High Roller €1,000 - Aix-en-Provence	2^nd (€33,230)
09/2024	WPO No Limit Hold'em High Roller €1,000 - Bratislava	Winner (€17,800)
06/2024	WSOP No Limit Hold'em Freezeout $2,500 - Las Vegas	5^th ($111,222)
05/2024	SISMIX Main Event 5,500 MAD - Marrakech	7^th (200,000 MAD)
04/2024	EPT Monte-Carlo Mystery Bounty €3,000 - Monte-Carlo	4^th (€79,950)
07/2022	WSOP 6-Handed Championship $10,000 - Las Vegas	12^th ($39,529)
03/2022	EPT No Limit Hold'em Deep Stack €2,200 - Prague	2^nd (€59,600)
03/2022	EPT Hyper Turbo Knockout €2,150 - Prague	Winner (€25,570)
03/2022	EPT Eureka High Roller €2,200 - Prague	6^th (€69,930)
12/2021	TPM High Roller €2,200 - Paris	Winner (€90,000)
11/2021	WSOP NLHE Super Turbo Bounty $10,000 - Las Vegas	Winner ($463,885)
08/2019	EPT Side Event €2,150 - Barcelona	Winner (€79,500)
08/2019	partypoker MILLIONS Europe €10,300 - Rozvadov	3^rd (€428,000)
07/2019	WSOP Main Event $10,000 - Las Vegas	60^th ($142,215)
05/2019	EPT Hyper Turbo Knockout €2,150 - Monte-Carlo	Winner (€20,180)
01/2019	PCA Pot Limit Omaha $1,100 - Paradise Island	2^nd ($14,420)
10/2018	WSOPE Pot Limit Omaha €550 - Rozvadov	3^rd (€25,473)
07/2018	WSOP 6-max Championship $10,000 - Las Vegas	3^rd ($325,842)
07/2018	WSOP Pot-Limit Omaha $3,000 - Las Vegas	2^nd ($293,553)
06/2018	8-max $870 - Las Vegas	9^th ($11,200)
06/2018	WSOP $1,500 - Las Vegas	2^nd ($194,837)
03/2018	WSOP Circuit Main Event #1,500 € - Cannes	7^th (€16,450)
09/2017	WPO Dublin - High Roller	16^th ($30,922)
04/2017	PSC National Championship - Monte Carlo	2^nd (€127,385)
12/2016	World Poker Tour - Prague	4^th (€39,120)
09/2016	Word Poker Tour Marrakech - Super High Roller	2^nd (€30,088)
12/2015	FPS Enghien les Bains - High Roller	6^th (€15,700)
12/2015	EPT Prague - NLHE 2 200 €	2^nd (€79,390)
09/2015	World Poker Tour - Marrakech	4^th (355,000MAD)
09/2015	WPO Dublin - The Famous WPO Irish	Winner (€4,695)
09/2014	DSO - Gujan Mestras	2^nd (€20,500)
06/2017	WSOP 6 Max Championship $10,000 - Las Vegas	4^th (€12,385)

Tournament accomplishments on Winamax

03/2025	Highroller €250	2nd (€3,465)
03/2025	Gravity €250	3rd (€4,733)
01/2025	Winamax Series Trident Mystery Championship €250	Winner (€12,180)
01/2025	Winamax Series Mini Highroller Space KO €100	4th (€11,238)
12/2024	Main Event Black Mystery Sunday	2nd (€17,601)
09/2024	Winamax Series Mystery Championship €250	2nd (€27,792)
01/2024	Winamax Series Super Championship Mystery Master €500	5th (€18,116)
05/2023	Highroller €250	4th (€3,491)
05/2023	Highroller €250	Winner (€12,286)
03/2023	Highroller €250	3rd (€4,713)
09/2022	Main Event €125	9th (€2,876)
09/2022	Highroller €250	5th (€3,224)
09/2022	Winamax Series Marathon Championship €250	9th (€3,577)
09/2022	Winamax Series 6-max Championship €250	3rd (€19,612)
04/2021	Winamax Series 6-max Turbo Championship €250	Winner (€20,807)
03/2021	Grand Tournament Funday €500	2nd (€23,148)
01/2021	Winamax Series Event #133 - €100	7th (€1,833)
11/2020	Purple KO €500	6th (€4,071)
11/2020	Battle Royale €200	2nd (€5,776)
10/2020	Prime Time €50	3rd (€4,415)
10/2020	Prime Time €50	4th (€2,279)
10/2020	Monster Stack €50	2nd (€1,290)
10/2020	Battle Royale €200	4th (€1,661)
05/2020	Go Fast €50	2nd (€2,742)
03/2020	Battle Royale €200	3rd (€5,355)
03/2020	Highroller €250	4th (€3,294)
03/2020	Highroller €250	2nd (€5,938)
02/2020	Main Event €125	5th (€7,975)
01/2020	Battle Royale €200	Winner (€8,209)
01/2020	Battle Royale €200	2nd (€3,457)
01/2020	Winamax Series - Event #149 (€10)	3rd (€4,526)
19/2019	XTASE €100	2nd (€2,789)
19/2019	Highroller €250	Winner (€15,193)
04/2019	Winamax Series - Event #95 (€100)	Winner (€7,324)
04/2019	Winamax Series - Event #75 (€50)	Winner (€8,054)
03/2019	Battle Royale €200	3rd (€2,439)
03/2019	Highroller €250	2nd (€5,767)
03/2019	XTREM €100	3rd (€4,191)
12/2018	XTASE €100	2nd (€2,495)
10/2018	Rush Hour €50	Winner (€3,246)
03/2018	Highroller €300	2nd (€5,100)
03/2018	Highroller €300	2nd (€12,253)
02/2018	Highroller €300	2nd (€3,453)
01/2018	Winamax Series 8-Game Championship €300	4th (€3,150)
12/2017	Highroller €300	Winner (€4,848)
08/2017	Highroller €300	3^rd (€2,633)
06/2017	Highroller €300	Winner (€4,318)
05/2017	HIGHROLLER €300	Winner (€5,763)
02/2017	HIGHROLLER €300	4^th (€2,701)
01/2017	W SERIES Event 39	Winner (€8,384)
01/2017	GO FAST €50	Winner (€1,956)
11/2016	HIGHROLLER €300	Winner (€15,480)
11/2016	HIGHROLLER €300	Winner (€7,846)
11/2016	HIGHROLLER €300	Winner (€4,344)
11/2016	HIGHROLLER €300	3^rd (€3,516)
05/2016	HIGHROLLER €300	2^nd (€7,323)
05/2016	HIGHROLLER €300	6^th (€3,546)
04/2016	MAIN EVENT - DAY 2	4^th (€9,596)
11/2015	HIGHROLLER €300	2^nd (€4,744)
10/2015	HIGHROLLER €300	2^nd (€8,948)
10/2015	HIGHROLLER €300	2^nd (€4,128)
10/2015	HIGHROLLER €300	2^nd (€2,907)
09/2015	W SERIES Event 57	2^nd (€18,003)
08/2015	TOP 50	2^nd (€2,558)
01/2015	W SERIES Event 54	2^nd (€5,524)

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