All Set! Poker Tournaments To Look Out For In Feb 2021

All Set! Poker Tournaments To Look Out For In February 2021

WORDS BY MRINAL GUJARE

Amajor tournament series like the IOPC January 2021 kept all hands on deck while it lasted. This poker festival concluded on February 1 with the Main Event–The Crown, being live-streamed. But wait, there is a lot happening after the first month of the year. Many poker tournaments, both domestic and international, will be taking place at various locations across the globe. Poker pros will be eyeing the top spots in these tournaments.

Let’s take a look at what we have for the coming future.

CPPT IX - DeepStack

Extravaganza I: This tournament starts on 2 February and goes on till 28 February. The Venetian Poker Room’s favourite, CPPT IX - DeepStack Extravaganza I is a highly anticipated event in poker.

APL North Queensland Poker Classic: This poker event will be held between February 3-7 to February. The APL North Queensland Poker Classic will be back in a bolder avatar. There are 12 events listed which

include the $ 330 Main Event, the $ 1,250 JACKSTAR High Roller and the $ 1,000 Big Bucks among others. The venue for this event is at the The Ville Resort-Casino, Townsville, Australia.

Tampa Poker Classic:

This poker fiesta will run from February 17-28 to February at the Seminole Hard Rock Tampa. The highlight for this tournament is its $200,000 guaranteed prize pool. The Main Event will have a buyin of $1,600.

WSOP Online Circuit

Series 2021: This WSOP tournament series started on 14 January and will see tournaments run till December 2021. Last year, Damian Salas won the WSOP Main Event and made headlines. This major win by Salas served as inspiration for poker fans. WSOP Online Circuit Series 2021 will include the tournament called Planet Hollywood Circuit. This tourney will run from 17-28 February and has 12 gold rings on offer. What’s more? A Freeroll worth $25,000 on 2 March. Don’t miss out on this one if online poker is your thing. will be back for its fourth edition in February 2021. The event is touted to go on from 12 February to 3 March. This exciting tournament is expected to have a $5,300 buy-in Main Event.

WPT Russia: Last year witnessed many live poker tournaments getting cancelled owing to the COVID -19 pandemic. But slowly things are looking up and live poker is returning. WPT Russia will begin from 19-28 February at Casino Sochi. This event will have a $3,300 buy-in for the Main Event. This one may not be a grand tournament but will surely give the players a sense of normalcy.

Players who wish to travel abroad to participate in live poker tournaments will have to abide by the laws and regulations put forth by the respective governments. Due to the COVID- 19 pandemic, all live poker tournaments were cancelled which left poker pros high and dry. But, things are looking up in 2021 as live poker makes a scintillating comeback.

Partypoker MILLIONS Online: This tournament

Suited Connectors

If there was ever a first couple of poker in India, it would be Yuvraj and Akanksha Singh. Known to us all as the Suited Connectors, this couple has been taking the poker community by storm with their hilarious and entertaining videos. On the occasion of Valentine’s Day, which also happens to be their seventh wedding anniversary, we find out just what makes this doctor-turned-poker-player couple special. “Our love song is ‘We Found Love in a Hopeless Place’ because we met at the hospital,” says Yuvraj, bursting into peals of laughter. Need we say more?

Who got into poker first? You or Akanksha?

Yuvraj: A few of us friends would play Teen Patti at the time. Akanksha was fascinated with James Bond, so one day she asked us if we knew anything about poker and how poker was played. Luckily, one of our friends knew poker and he taught us. Both of us learnt it and started playing it. That’s how it began… We used to work at the hospital at the time. I would go in for surgeries at 7 AM. After that, we would play poker for hours.

Akanksha: I think it was he who was playing more often. We were still dating at the time. And while I was into James Bond, it was more about watching these guys play. I used to wonder what is so great about it? Then I decided that I too wanted to give it a go. That day I won one or two hands and that’s when I said “This is for me!”

This was while you were dating. What role would you say poker played in your relationship?

Yuvraj: We used to spend a lot of time together because of poker. In the hospital she was in a different department and we used to work for maybe 18-20 hours at a stretch. We used to barely get 20-30 minutes over lunch to catch up with each other. But because of poker, we were able to connect.

Akanksha: Whenever we would get a break, we would go rushing to a friend’s place nearby. We would go there and play poker and then rush back to the hospital when would be called!

What is the best advice you have given each other as far as poker is concerned?

Yuvraj: (laughing) Don’t fold two-three offsuit! Akanksha: The thing is, I’m a bit conservative when it comes to playing poker. He keeps telling me to be a little more open, increase my stakes and take risks, basically. And I tell him the opposite! To go easy!

Is that your personality coming through in the game?

Akansha: Actually in life I am generally the aggressive one. But in poker I don’t know what happens. I’m a little conservative.

And what about you, Yuvraj? What are you like in real life vs your poker game?

Yuvraj: I love taking

chances, taking risks. I like playing high stakes. My motto is: no risk, no gain.

Akanksha: Which I completely believe! But somehow I’m not able to put it into action in the game.

What has the game of poker taught you about life?

Yuvraj: Poker is a lot like life. There are ups and downs. Bad days and good days. Poker teaches you how to deal with the swings, the heartbreaks, the wins and to move on. The beauty is that the game has to go on, just like life.

Akanksha: It also teaches that even if you win big, you need to be humble. It is the same with loss. You just have to move on.

Tell us about some memorable games you have had, playing together or otherwise.

Yuvraj: I’ll tell you a funny incident. We used to play a lot of games with a small group of friends. A friend of mine was grinding and eating spring rolls at the same time. While going all-in, she threw the spring roll into the pot instead of the chips! Akanksha: There was a really funny and slightly embarrassing situation that happened when I was playing once. It was at the Deltin Casino. I was wearing artificial nails. I wanted to go all-in, and in my excitement, one of my nails rolled off into someone else’s stack! The fellow handed it back to me saying, “I think this is yours!”

Between the two of you, who is the better player?

Yuvraj: I don’t want to sleep in the kitchen, so obviously, she is the better player!

Akanksha: I think that he’s a better cash game player. I’m a better tournament player because I’m a little more patient.

Yuvraj: Because I play more high stake PLO games, my psyche is more tuned to that rather than tournaments. They can get quite tough for me sometimes.

How do you prepare before a game?

Akanksha: I do yoga and meditation every day. It keeps me calm and helps me make better decisions and to think rationally.

Yuvraj: I just go with the flow. I go with my feelings and my reads of the opponents. I don’t plan anything. I just take things in my stride. Akanksha: His reading is actually very good. He can tell what cards the other players have. At times, he has given a king-high in PLO games, which is a big deal.

A lot of players have a ritual or superstition around their games. What about you?

Yuvraj: I am very superstitious! It’s really funny because poker is a skill based game. Yet, I have certain things that I believe in. For example, I don’t play the first hand…

…Even if you get Aces? Yuvraj: No, if I get Aces then I’ll do a re-buy! But in general, I fold the first hand.

I also have other tricks like not playing when certain people are around. I want energies to be acting in the way that I want them! I hate it when someone touches my chip stack. I immediately think I’m going to lose. And I don’t like to give dealer tips, because even if I’ve won a big pot previously, the moment I give a tip I start losing! I know this is superstition, but time and again it has happened, so I prefer not to take chances.

Akanksha: I don’t have superstitions like this, but I do get tilted very quickly. I am working on it.

Your videos are hilarious and entertaining. What inspired you to start making them?

Yuvraj: I used to make short films before, just for myself. In fact, one of my short films even won an award at the MAMI film festival. Before the lockdown we went to our hometown, Kanpur. After the lockdown was announced, we weren’t practicing or playing. We’ve both always had this filmy keeda since childhood. The lockdown gave us the opportunity to bring out our creative side. I could see the effect of the lockdown on people’s emotions and mental state. So we thought why not make them smile a little? We started making some videos and we got a great response. That kept us going.

Akanksha: Even before we started making our own videos, we were involved in making ads and writing lyrics. We had even spoken to Spartan Poker CEO Amin (Rozani) before the lockdown about some ideas. And then we had this opportunity to try something. But we never thought that we would ourselves be in the video and that we would write funny like this.

Tell us a little bit about the process of making these videos.

Yuvraj: Even a minute-long video requires a lot of effort. We brainstorm for hours on how to make it better every time. It starts with an idea that either Akanksha or I have. Then we think about the screenplay. Our main aim is to make it entertaining. If a person is spending even a minute of their time watching it, then they should get something out of it.

Akanksha: Sometimes the ideas are centered around a topic. At other times the ideas come from real life. For example, our “Chipkali” video came simply from the fact that there were lizards in the bathroom!

Yuvraj: I was in the bathroom and I saw many of them and thought, why not film them! After a week I had enough shots to make a story out of it. This is how we pick up things from daily life and try to make them funny.

Will you be releasing more videos soon?

Yuvraj: We are already working on so much new content for poker. Right from funny videos involving players, to our own videos and a poker based

web series. We will also be launching a new channel so that we can commercialize some of our content

How important do you think poker content is in India?

Yuvraj: It’s very important. Because of our videos I think people are finding out more about the game. A few of my friends have even taken up the game after seeing our videos. The subconscious message is that more people should take to this beautiful sport. At the same time, for people who are already playing, we want to make content that is light and entertaining. I would write poems. Since my younger brother is a music director, I started writing lyrics for him too. When I met Akanksha, I didn’t know that she too had that spark. One day I was working on some lyrics and she asked me if she could also give it a go. She went away for 10 minutes, and she came back with lyrics for an entire song! That’s how we started helping each other.

Akanksha: One of the strongest reasons for why I wanted to marry him is his ability to think outside the box. This is what he does in the videos as well.

You both are doctors, but also poker players. You have a production studio, you also write lyrics. Where does this creativity come from and how does it impact your relationship?

Akanksha: Even while we were at the hospital, we used to discuss a lot of creative concepts. He would have suggestions on how a particular ad could have been better. I used to listen to him and think, wow! These are all such great ideas! But never did we think that we would make them in reality.

Do you use this creativity while playing poker too?

Yuvraj: Yes, definitely. Poker is all about outplaying your opponent. If you play an ABC game, you will become predictable.

Akanksha: If we were less creative then maybe we would lose less!

Full of humour and a zest for life, it was a pleasure getting to know this couple. We wish them many happy years together and hope that we will get to experience more and more of their fun-loving energy through their videos.

RAPID FIRE:

Best poker player in India today?

Y: Raghav Bansal A: Yes, Raghav Bansal for me too.

Best poker player internationally?

Y: Daniel Negreanu A: Phil Ivey

What would you want to improve about your game?

Y: Every day and every hand has to be an improvement! A: Patience during the mid-stages

Favourite venue for live poker.

Y: Macau

Describe yourself in one word.

Y: Passionate A: Fun

Describe yourself as a couple in one word. Y: Suited Connectors!