Poker is, without any doubt, one of the most popular games among people in India. The reason why people adore this game is pretty easy to understand. It is not a typical luck-based game where you can’t control anything. Poker requires in-depth knowledge of the game as well as other abilities that can raise your chances of winning.
Logically, the first thing you have to learn is how to bluff and how to recognize a bluff. These two skills are crucial, and they can help you win almost any game. Of course, this also means that poker is not the game for everyone. If you are a complete beginner, you should start your gambling journey with some other games. Something that does not involve money.
Apart from everything we just said, players must be patient and control their budget properly. No, one won’t become rich if one takes higher risks. On the other hand, one won’t either become a pro if they are not willing to risk. However, every risk that the player plans to take should be supported with the mentioned knowledge and skills.
Online World Made Poker Even More Popular
This is the fact that we have to mention. Nowadays, it is easier than ever to become a poker player, and everyone can find a good poker site and start playing right away. That is the reason why poker has never been this popular among Indian players. All one has to do is to get a decent smart device and connect to a reliable Wi-Fi connection. Most gambling sites offer a rich catalog of poker games for the players.
However, if you truly want to succeed, hard work sometimes won’t be enough. The stories of the most successful poker players from India can confirm that. They had to get out of the box to become professionals in this industry. Keep in mind that competition in this industry is pretty tough. There are fantastic poker players from all around the world. These individuals certainly are something special.
The question is – who are they? Well, if you want to find out their names and career path, we suggest you continue reading! Let’s go!
Vivek Rajkumar
If you are regularly following poker tournaments in the past 20 years, then you certainly know who Vivek Rajkumar is. Believe it or not, he managed to end up as a winner of the World Poker Tour Borgata Poker Open Main Event. That event happened in 2008 when he managed to warn nearly 1.5 million dollars. However, something more impressive about his victory is the fact that he entered this tournament as an underdog.
His final hand in that tournament was especially interesting. His opponent had A Q while he had A J. Most people that watched the tournament from their homes believed that he is going to lose. However, with his bluffing skills and ability to recognize a good opportunity to raise his bets, he managed to win.
Apart from this tournament, it is also worth mentioning that he won 2 more tournaments. One happened in 2009 (L.A. Poker Classic $9900 No-Limit) and another one year before that (L.A. Poker Classic $2500 No-Limit). Both wins were pretty handsome which automatically puts Vivek in the first place on this list. (source: the following video)
Aditya Agarwal
The story of Aditya is actually something that most of you will consider inspirational. We do not know what his secret to success is. However, his career story itself is pretty motivational. Believe it or not, he made his first steps in the online tournaments. Yeah, he didn’t have a lot of money and the chance to participate in some huge tournaments. Because of that, he started this way many years ago. His online gambling games helped him make progress and improve his skills.
Because of the improvement he made, he managed to win the No Limit Hold’Em Main Event Championship in 2017. If some online sources are to be believed he managed to earn more than 2 million dollars this way. Around 50% of all of his earnings come from online gambling.
Ankit Ahuja
The career this poker player has is not too long at all. He is 33 years old and he is playing this game at a professional level for only 2 years. The previous individuals we mentioned are primarily poker players. However, Ankit Ahuja is primarily a tech consultant. The gambling industry (more precisely, poker) is some sort of hobby for him. However, so far, this hobby has brought more than 600 thousand dollars to his bank account.
As you see, no one says that poker should be the only thing you are doing. You can work in some of the highest-paying work positions in India and still be a poker player.
Abhinav Iyer
This player is born in Mumbai, India. Currently, while we are reading this article, he is the fifth-best player in India. When you look at his earnings, they are currently at nearly 900 thousand American dollars. 2 years ago, he was the winner of the India Poker Championship 2020. Since then, his career started to change a lot and the victory he established opened many doors.
Can you guess what is his biggest win? Believe it or not, he earned around 565 thousand American dollars in one live game. That’s one of the biggest winnings of all time made by Indian poker players.
Raghav Bansal
Last, but not least Indian player that deserves to be on this list is Raghav Bansal. When you look closer, he may not be the best poker player from India. However, he certainly is the most POPULAR gambler that is a big fan and expert of this game. So far, he managed to earn more than $700 000. There is one tournament title that we have to highlight. Believe it or not, at Deltin Poker Tournament (organized in Deltin Royal, casino in Goa), he earned more than 3 million dollars! Not many players around the world can be proud of that big amount.
Conclusion
As you see, all the players from our list have different backgrounds and success stories. Some of them were online players while others consider poker to be a hobby. However, all of them had a similar tactic.
(Disclaimer: In case of any doubt, TheYouth does not ask or indicate or encourage any of its readers/visitors to play games such as rummy or casino. It is only an informative article based on information collected from online sources. We do not necessarily vouch for some of the information given above as we solely relied on details available on the internet. Ergo We do not ask or motivate or indicate our readers or visitors to click any of the links on this web page or site or advertisement box- as it may lead to a commercial or misleading website(s). The Youth is not responsible for any sort of content available on websites other than www.theyouth.in. You can play the game only if it is legally allowed in your country/state and only if you and your age are considered okay in the eyes of laws of the country or state you reside in. It must be noted such games come with their fair share of financial risks or losses and they may be addictive. Either you win or lose, TheYouth shall not be responsible under any circumstances.)