When you get right down to it, Maytag may be good, but at the end of the day, she's still a casual/ amatuer player. She basically plays for FUN, not for a LIVING.
Now, I dunno about you guys, but IMHO, there's usually quite a big strength gap between the amatuers and the pros. So, it seems pretty "correct" to me for Maytag to get cocky and challenge the best player around and get beaten. Plus, AFAIK, the really really good players who do it for a living will gravitate towards the big money and not really spend all their time gambling in the poorer towns. So, it's quite logical that up to now, Maytag has only been facing players of a certain calibre, and the really REALLY good players haven't bumped into her until now.
Also, frankly, Maytag is being far too cocky and prideful, which just goes to show how she's a real amatuer/ casual player.
Just now, she was playing on BORROWED MONEY, in order to try to make enough money to achieve her goal (soundstones).
A PROFESIONAL player would choose the richest, weakest opponents possible. Their goal here would be to MAKE MONEY.
Maytag? Er. She sets out to prove that she's the best there is. And goes all or nothing against the best player in town.
In the real world, even the best poker player in the world knows that he can have a bad night and can EASILY lose against the 2nd or 3rd best player.
Also... what was Maytag's plan, originally? Challenging the best player in town is NOT a good way to make money. If you lose, you lose. If you actually beat him, you suddenly gain a reputation, and now none of the marks will play against you. If you're a good player and new in town, far better to play among the idle rich who have money to burn, play badly, and don't mind losing money to a beautiful woman.
So, in conclusion, it looks to me as if Maytag actually has some insidious plan going, and this whole thing is not about a poker game at all... hmm. Pretty expensive way to use 3000 gold though. I hope her plan is worth it.