Gutshot Magazine by Sajid Moinuddin

www.gutshotmagazine.com

Volume 1 | Issue 2 | Mumbai |

July 2020 | Pages 86

DNEGS SPEAKS TO GUTSHOT

COVID DISRUPTS LIVE SPORTS

An exclusive chat with the poker superstar

WSOP GOES ONLINE

For the first time in its 51-year history

How fantasy sports brands tried to stay alive

DESTINATION POKER

What’s it like to be locked down in Mexico?

GLITTER AND GOLD

IPC Awards celebrates India’s best poker talents

INDIA POKER

CHAMPION Rubin Labroo lifts the crown at the 2020 IPC Main Event

CONTENT

5. Editor’s Note 6. Indian News 8. IPC Awards 2020 10. Nikita Luther signed as Spartan Pro 12. You’re all (NOT) invited to Kitty’s Game 16. IOPC Jan 2020: A Booming Success 18. Say Hello to the End Boss 20. Boot Camp could be the Montessori of Poker in India 23. Strategy: How can one improve their MTT play? 24. WSOP 2020 Goes Online! 27. Strategy: Combining GTO and Exploitative Strategies 30. Kid Poker in conversation with Gutshot Magazine 32. COVER STORY: Rubin Labroo – India Poker Champion 2020 38. Pokerbros: Play poker the way you want, when you want 42. Challenges faced by payment gateways in India 44. Strategy: How to see more ‘Upswings’ in cash games? 46. Baazi Poker Tour welcomes 2020 with a 7Cr series 48. Chips, Champagne, Celebrations at IPC Jan 2020 50. The dilemma of legalizing sports betting 53. Level Up: Cool Gaming Gear you can buy 54. How Covid-19 put the brakes on a speeding fantasy sports train in India 56. Industry spotlight: Playerzpot 58. Blockchain: The way forward? 64. Make way for the Shahzzadi – Disha Pandey 66. Bill Perkins on playing the Choker Challengers Cup 68. Poker and Investing – Kanishka Samant 70. ‘Piece of Mind’ by Suited Connectors 72. Diary of an Indian poker pro stuck in Mexico 74. Raising the corporate button 76. Be your Own Hero – Meherzad Munsaf 78. Poker Royale – Aditya Wadhwani 83. Bringing the laughs since 1993 – Suresh Menon

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EDIT

EDITOR’S NOTE

www.gutshotmagazine.com

July 2020

Volume I

Issue 2

MANAGING EDITOR Sameer Rattonsey EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Peter Abraham CONTENT Dwayne Fernandes COVER IMAGE Ravinder Singh Photography STYLING Urvashi Bhardwaj SHOOT CO-ORDINATOR Shareef Punndith Films DESIGN HB Design Pvt. Ltd. CREATIVE DIRECTOR Sajid Moinuddin

Volume I Issue 2 July 2020 Printed and Published by: Peter Abraham for Gutshot Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., S/6-8 Khira Industrial Estate, B.M.Bhargava Road, Santacruz (West), Mumbai-400054 Gutshot Magazine is not responsible for the opinions or views expressed by individuals or writers that may be included in any part of Gutshot Magazine. The views expressed are for encourage - ment and entertainment purposes only. By being an author on this site all writers transfers copyright ownership of the manuscript to Gutshot Magazine. for publication in print, on line and in downloadable form. Permission is also given to publish all subsequent electronic media, reprints, and any other subsidiary print rights worldwide of this article for Gutshot Magazine. The author(s) will have the unrestricted right to reuse this material on condition that credits are included for prior publication in Gutshot Magazine, to include the issue and date of publication. Interviews are the personal opinions of the interviewee and are not necessarily the views of Gutshot Magazine or it’s Publishers Gutshot Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. take no responsibility for any of their answers or comments. All interviews are subject to editing spelling, grammar, and any content that is not useful may be disregarded when posted/published.

he most important five letter word in our lives is poker. However, in the last few months, it’s been virus or Covid for virtually everyone on this little blue marble called Earth. What strange times we are living in… This is usually the time of the year with a lot of excitement because the World Series of Poker, the ultimate dream tournament for any poker player, is well underway in the poker capital of Las Vegas. But up until a couple of weeks ago, the streets of Sin City wore a deserted look and it’s not all that much better right now either. Casinos are shuttered in pretty much all gaming hotspots of the world from Vegas to Europe to Macau and everywhere else in between. While it feels all doom and gloom, the Corona virus did give us an opportunity to add an ‘E’ in front of our magazine. With traditional print options and more importantly, mail and courier services deeply impacted, this was the only way we figured would allow our readers to consume our content. So welcome to the first ever Gutshot e-magazine! Our cover story features the latest star in the world of Indian poker – Rubin Labroo. This 30-something year old prolific player from Delhi crushed a record Main Event field at the January edition of IPC to be crowned the newest India Poker Champion! We’ve got coverage from some of the top live and online events which have taken place over the past few months, the fore-mentioned WSOP also scoring a ‘First’ with its first ever online series which will award bracelets, strategy content from some of the best minds in the business as well as some focus on travel and mental health. Stay healthy, stay safe and keep crushing!

PETER ABRAHAM Editor-In-Chief

Gutshot Magazine reserves the right to change, update this disclaimer and policy at will without any notice.

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INDIAN NEWS

Team India becomes IFMP Asian Champions

Rajasthan HC reiterates Dream11 as game of skill

power-packed team of seven Indians brought home the 2019 International Federation of Match Poker (IFMP) Asian Nations Cup after a 4-day long event. Taking place in Taiwan’s Taoyuan City, it ran between 5-8 November and Team India was crowned ultimate winners of the Asian event. Nations participating included Australia, Hong

Kong, India, Israel, Japan, Korea, Philippines and Singapore, and Team India consisted of Aditya ‘Bitti’ Agarwal, Krina Gala, Prateek Mishra, Rishab Jain, Tanmay Bagga, Tarun Mundkar and the captain Gaurav Gala. The road to success was topsy turvy but India didn’t fail to capitalize on their Day 1 lead, walking away victorious!

Aditya Agarwal parts ways with PokerStars India

f our poker community was Team India, Aditya Agarwal would be Sachin Tendulkar. Often looked up on as one of the leading lights of Indian poker, he’s arguably the best poker mind in the country, associated with the game for over a decade. In December 2019, he decided to part ways with PokerStars India, a brand he was associated with for 5+ years. A number of global poker pros have

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been splitting with PokerStars and this was the first time an Indian ambassador took this step. He posted about his departure on social media and the community showered him with luck for future endeavours.

dding further weight to past rulings in similar matters, Rajasthan HC in February ruled fantasy sports as a game of skill. A division bench comprising of Chief Justice Indrajit Mohanty and Justice Ashok Kumar Gaur reiterated an order given in the prior week by the Punjab and Haryana as well as the Bombay High Courts that the game cannot fall within the activity of gambling or betting. “The respondent company’s website and success in Dream11’s fantasy sports basically arise out of users’ exercise, superior knowledge, judgment and attention…. Equally so, before I conclude, I must express that gambling is not a trade and thus, is not protected by Article 19(1)(g) of Constitution of India and thus, the fantasy games of the respondent-company cannot said to be falling within the gambling activities as the same involves the substantial skills which is nothing but is a business activity.”

Reliance Jio may soon enter the online gaming market

Kunal Patni ends 5-year relationship with Adda52

he rapid growth in the digital industry has boosted online gaming in India, be it fantasy sports, poker, rummy or e-sports. And for Asia’s richest man (at the time), Mukesh Ambani, online gaming could be the next big thing here. Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani in conversation with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said there’s huge potential for gaming in India. “For many of us who don’t know what gaming is, it is very hard to imagine, but gaming will be bigger than music, movies and TV shows put together.” Google, Microsoft have plans of online gaming and if Jio enters the frame, there’s a possibility of users having access to several options in India.

oker pro Kunal Patni took to social media in April to announce the end of his relationship with Adda52, one of 5 years! Looked up to by hundreds of upcoming poker players in India, Patni left his fulltime banking job to turn to poker, after which he earned $460k+ in live poker. “Guys just wanted to share some development. I have been fortunate enough to have been signed as one of the first Adda Pros when they started the program and continued being with them for 5 long years. However, all good things come to an end and it’s time now for us to part ways. It’s been an absolutely amazing journey for me and I was blessed to have been with Adda for such a long time. Wish them all the very best for the future!!”

MS Dhoni signed as PokerStars India brand ambassador

aptaining India to 3 international trophies including 2 World Cups, breaking individual records, and proving his intelligence every single time, MS Dhoni has achieved almost everything at the highest level. Initially brand

ambassador of fantasy sports operator Dream11, MSD took them to new highs and in April 2020, he was signed by leading poker website PokerStars India as their brand ambassador. As per reports, the official announcement was delayed because of the postponement of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

GUTSHOT

Nazara buys stake worth INR 14.6 Crore in Halaplay

eople all around the world are turning towards online gaming, especially after the COVID-19 lockdown. One such gaming company, Nazara Technologies, acquired Kae Capital’s stake worth INR 14.6 Crore to become a majority stakeholder in fantasy gaming platform Halaplay. Comprising of fantasy cricket, kabaddi and football leagues, Halaplay rose quick in the industry and is a brand to look out for. “The company has now gone ahead and bought Kae Capital’s stocks in Halaplay making it the majority investors in the fantasy sports vertical,” a statement by Nazara read.

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I PC AWAR DS

IPC Awards 2020 Night of the Stars

tars in the backdrop of this breezy night in Goa. Guests seated on the deck of Asia’s largest offshore casino. A red carpet rolled out for the celebrities and best performers of the year. You could’ve easily mistaken this for a high-profile film awards night. But this night was about the beautiful game and the India Poker Championship Awards left no stone unturned

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to make sure they put together a night to remember! It was 2017 when IPC first decided to come up with an awards night. With players performing well in online and live poker across the country, it only made sense to call the best performers and felicitate them every once in a while. The first edition was in Bangalore’s Sheraton Grand Hotel, the second in Sahara Star Hotel in Mumbai and the third on board the Big Daddy Casino in Goa!

Apart from being a glamorous night, IPC Awards focusses on bringing to light the achievements of our hard-working poker players, and it’s the only one of its kind in the country right now. Celebrities from different fields were at the latest edition in Goa, while India’s best poker players and other top entities of the industry were also present. For the first time, IPC collaborated with a number of domestic online brands like Spartan

Poker, 9stacks, PokerDangal, FTRpoker and PokerHigh, who were invited to grace the event and also present a set of awards to their respective best players. TV celebrities like Anita Hassanandani, Karan Patel, Shruti Sinha, Basheer Ali, Suresh Menon and others were part of the guest list while there were some scintillating performances as well. An awards ceremony is nothing without its hosts and that’s

why IPC picked two of the best in their fields in Abhishek Goindi and Gursimran Khamba. Part of the now-disbanded All India Bakchod (AIB) group, Khamba is known as one of the top comedians in the country and he was there to set the mood for the night while Goindi is nothing short of a celebrity himself in the poker community. Players to be felicitated included IPC September 2019 winners, IOPC July 2019 win-

ners and the most consistent performers across other online platforms as well. To spice things up a bit, Goindi also announced his own set of fun awards called the ‘Machli Awards’. Of course, WSOP bracelet winner Abhinav Iyer was also felicitated towards the end of the night for his historic bracelet winning moment at WSOP 2019, where he became the first solo bracelet winner from India! GUTSHOT

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INTERVIEW

Nikita Luther is now a Spartan Team Pro!

ubbed the Superwoman of Indian poker, Delhi’s Nikita Luther now reps the Spartan Poker brand. She speaks to Gutshot Magazine about her latest partnership… Nikita, tell us how you view Spartan Poker as a brand? Spartan Poker is an energetic, dynamic and exciting brand that has always been at the forefront of innovation. Be it record breaking live events (IPC), unique tournament formats, massive guarantees, celebrity associations, female representation, award functions, owning a leading Poker magazine or just pure style and glamour - they are hard to keep up with! They’re tirelessly in pursuit of growing this beautiful mind sport of Poker. Partnering with Spartan was a natural progression for me and so far, it has been a delight. The team is very enthusiastic, proactive and efficient. The brand is sure to scale unprecedented heights and I’m happy to be part of this journey, contributing to that growth and growing with them. Any personal goals you wish to accomplish as

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Spartan ambassador? One that has always been close to my heart is encouraging female participation in the game. There are a lot of women that love playing but do so at a recreational level. They’re holding back from taking the plunge into turning pro. If I’m able to represent women well under the Spartan Poker banner, I’ll be able to help more women find the courage to consider going pro. I hope to be able to inspire women to be unafraid to break stereotypes in any field of their choice. How are you personally dealing with the COVID-19 situation? With online poker skyrocketing, players are keeping extremely busy. I’m playing online quite a bit and when not playing, I’m studying - learning new things every day is extremely interesting and enjoyable to me. I’m sad that live stops are cancelled but it’s an opportunity to better my online game. It’s hard to say when the live scene will improve but casinos around the world have started opening up with extra precautions and hygiene protocols. I’ll remain

optimistic and hope things start returning back to normal towards the end of the year when the spread of the disease is under control and risk is minimised. Words of advice for Gutshot Magazine readers I feel the following are sacrosanct in poker: • “Poker takes a minute to learn and a lifetime to master”. No truer words were spoken. Being the best at poker is a long commitment. Be prepared for it. • There are no two ways around it, you only get better at the game by studying. Study as much as you can, whenever you can. • Trust the process - there will be downswings and there will be bad beats but know that as long as you are making correct decisions, you will make money in the long run. • Follow principles of bankroll management strictly. • Maintain a solid mindset - control tilt, no ego plays and let go of toxicity and negativity towards others, in as well as out of the game.

INDIAN NEWS

YOU’RE ALL (NOT) INVITED TO KITTY’S GAME!

‘F

ull time pro poker player, I love traveling, drinking, challenging, don’t like be a normal girl, try to be special one’. That’s what you’ll read if you stumble upon her Instagram handle, @kittymstar. Truly, she’s a star in every sense of the word, having accomplished so much over the years, and becoming a highly rated poker player in the process. Add to that good looks and a witty personality too! We’re talking about Taiwanese pro Hui Chen Kuo, better known as Kitty Kuo, who has been playing poker since over a decade now. Her skills at the poker tables have earned her much respect over the years. She’s had deep runs in Macau, Taiwan, Las Vegas, England, Aussie Millions, EPT stops across

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Europe and much more, while also bagging titles like APPT Macau (Nov 2015), APT Manila (Apr 2012), Macau Poker Cup (Oct 2009) and a WSOP Circuit Ring at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas (Apr 2010). These add up to live earnings of over $2.3 million! A familiar face in live events across the globe, Kuo settled in Las Vegas to pursue her love for the game. When I spoke to her for this feature though, she was in Taiwan because there wasn’t much live action happening in Vegas (thanks to the coronavirus pandemic), so she chose to spend some time with her parents, sisters, and sister’s kids in Taiwan. With a Degree in Electrical Engineering, perhaps even she wouldn’t have seen a career as a poker professional coming up. She made trips

to Vegas during her studies every weekend where she played Blackjack a lot. Yes, EVERY WEEKEND! There, she discovered poker and her love for the game and soon, Kitty shockingly revealed to her parents plans of moving to Vegas to be a full-time poker pro! I can’t imagine their reactions but “If you give her $1 to play poker, we’ll get divorced” said by one parent to another is enough to gauge the tensions in the Kuo household at the time. Her first year in USA was especially tough since her parents weren’t talking to her for 6 months!

“If you give her $1 to play poker, we’ll get divorced” A member of the esteemed Natural8 ‘Team Hot’, Kitty is not one to back down from a challenge. “4 years ago, when the Natural8 boss contacted for becoming a Team Pro, he mentioned the common goal of making it the most famous poker site. I’m not a fan of big companies. I prefer joining small companies and making them big. This was more challenging. But if I’m valued, I can join any company, it doesn’t matter,” she said to us about her association with Natural8. Kitty claims to be a bookworm and a nerd when she’s not travelling the world for poker, so the COVID-19 lockdown didn’t hurt her

INTERVIEW

and bullying people at poker tables. And of course, it feels good when I win a trophy!

schedule much. However, not being able to go workout was one part of her routine which was majorly affected. Her poker plans too, were all altered. “All my WPT live tours and EPT stops have been cancelled. Most of the time, I travel every 2 weeks, but now I guess I can take a long break from the live poker tour.” 2012 was Kitty’s first time in a WSOP Main Event and she was very nervous OBVIOUSLY. In one hand, she folded with top pair over a bluff. Pissed about it, she said to her opponent, “You play like a fish.” Six months later, she had the same opponent on her table in a Main Event in Australia. “Do you remember me?” he asked, and her answer was an outright “NO”. That was Russell Thomas and today, the two are happily married with funny tales to tell about their first few meetings! Kitty, what does the game of poker mean to you? For me, winning a title is more important than winning 1 million at a cash table. If I just want to make money, I’ll run a business. I started poker because I enjoy reading

Do you receive any coaching or mentoring? Darren Elias (1 year) and Steffen Sontheimer (3 years) both coach me right now. They show up every week for 2-3 hours, one for cash games and one for live tournaments. They are poker geniuses and I am so lucky to have them. Tell us about Kitty Kuo off the felts… I only like shopping and a massage or two when I have additional free time - very expensive hobbies. If you were given $5 million to never play poker again, would you accept? That’s a right amount, yes. My parents offered me 2 million a long time ago and I thought the price is too low. Now poker is tougher, so 5 million and I will quit haha! At 4th place on the Taiwan all-time list for winnings in live tournaments, Kitty Kuo proves those wrong who say poker is a male-dominated sport. It was a pleasure speaking to Kitty who on a parting note said, “I wish all my poker fans come to my site Natural8 to play poker with me, and also support all the female players in the poker world.”

RAPID FIRE: Russell or you – the better poker player? We’re different. He’s smart and I’m a hard worker. Both good poker players, but I’m better like 51-49%. One goal you want to achieve in poker? Winning a WPT title is the next 5 years goal. And I want to become Molly - all businessmen playing at Kitty’s ‘Invite Only’ game. Night of online grinding or night of clubbing? Night of online grinding 99%. As I said, I’m a nerd. Favourite Team Hot member? Dong Kim because he’s a handsome man. Favourite sport apart from poker? Table tennis. Top 3 favourite female pros Maria Ho, Kristen Bicknell, Kitty Kuo. Taiwan or Las Vegas? Las Vegas 99%. My parents pay too much attention to me when I’m in Taiwan, so no freedom. Live or online poker? Live poker for sure. I like staying in different cities every month. Biggest fish in international poker? Kitty Kuo.

- With inputs from Dwayne Fernandes, Gutshot Magazine. GUTSHOT

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INDIAN NEWS

IOPC Jan 2020: A Booming Success As the Jan-Feb 2019 edition of India Online Poker Championship (IOPC) came to a close, Anurag Srivastava won the Main Event and walked away as the happiest man in the country, for sure!

n a poker series, the Main Event is always the biggest attraction - whether live or online. In India too, we have plenty of highlight events in poker series but no one has more bragging rights than the Main Event champion. Such was the case on Spartan Poker too, when they successfully hosted the India Online Poker Championship (IOPC) between 24 Jan – 9 Feb 2020, with an INR 16 Crore guaranteed prize pool up for grabs. Right through, Anurag Srivastava hadn’t really caused major issues for other competitors but he brought his A-game on the final day of the series,

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beating a field of 3,400+ entries to ship the most coveted Millionaire Main Event INR 3 Crore GTD title, which was the biggest ever tournament on Spartan Poker yet. With the buy-in at INR 11,000, the prize pool was smashed and inflated to INR 3.49 Crore, which only meant more prizes for all, especially Srivastava who played under the username ‘Norman Bates’ and defeated ‘PokerBadger’ in heads-up to collect INR 59+ Lakh from the tournament prize pool, making him India’s biggest online poker winner at the time, until his record was broken a few months later by Abhishek Maheshwari

(read that coverage here). 430 players were paid and it couldn’t have been an easy final table to get past, with the likes of Kanchan Sharma aka ‘Bubblegum’ (5th), Sriharsha D aka ‘Fish2050’ (6th), Sandeep Varma aka ‘effuno’ (7th) and others on it! You think this achievement was impressive?! Well, we did too, until we went over to Adda52 to realize he had also taken down the AOPS Millions INR 30 Lakhs GTD on that platform to claim another INR 8.92 Lakh in prize money. We’re still trying to fathom what it must’ve felt to be Anurag Srivastava that night! He showed pure analytical skill, compo-

F E AT U R E

DHRUVIN KOTHARI

sure, talent and well, there must’ve been a teeny-weeny slice of luck too, maybe! We asked him what was going through his mind at the time and he was clearly short of words, saying, “It’s just a surreal moment at 5:15am in the morning. It’ll probably take some time just to digest it. I owe all my success to my coaches in India Poker Pros (IPP).” The best part about IOPC is that it’s not a situation where one winner takes all. Everyone has the chance to win big and that’s exactly what happened. Winning an IOPC title in India is super prestigious and no one is going to forget you anytime soon, especially if you take down one of the features. No, it’s not a typo that has Dhruvin Kothari’s name up there twice. Some players were exceptional right through the series and he was certainly one of them. In the past, Kothari has won massive on Spartan Poker, once even winning a stunning new Mercedes Benz last year and his love affair with the platform surely continued earlier this year! “The SHR win was even more special as the player pool was small but very tough. It also validated the fact

IOPC Jan 2020 biggest winners: • IOPC Millionaire ME – Anurag Srivastava • IOPC Highroller – Manoj Pentakota • IOPC Millionaire Legends – Dhruvin Kothari • IOPC Super Highroller – Dhruvin Kothari • IOPC PLO Highroller – Gaurav Sood • IOPC Leaderboard – Amit Sur that the Millionaire Legends win was not a total fluke. Thus, it was even more special,” he said after winning his second major of the IOPC series! The most consistent of them all - Amit Sur 17 days of intense poker action on Spartan Poker and at the end of it, Amit Sur aka ‘Immortal Killer’ topped the IOPC Leaderboard (LDB). Just to give you some perspective into how tough it must have been, a total of 4,749 entries were recorded on the IOPC Leaderboard and Sur topped them all, finishing in the money in 57 different tournaments and also bagging two IOPC titles along the way, racking up a total of 11,637 IOPC Leaderboard points. Just to refresh your memory, Sur is no one-time wonder, having also grinded right through the IOPC July 2019 series, where he narrowly missed the top spot on the leaderboard, finishing second to Neeraj Kumar. But this time, there was no stopping him as

AMIT SUR

he won a swanky new MG Hector, and a lot of respect from the poker community as well. “Being runner-up in the last IOPC was very heart-breaking. But yes, it did help me as I had the experience of chasing the TLB and grinding 14 hours a day for 15-17 days. And it’s because of this experience from last time that I was able to build a stronger strategy this time to win the IOPC TLB,” he said after the series ended and he was announced LDB winner! Overall, INR 20+ Crore was given away in that edition of the India Online Poker Championship but Spartan Poker is always raising the stakes, having introduced the July 2020 IOPC edition with a record-breaking INR 25+ Crore series prize pool. Never before has such an amount been given away in online poker in India and it’s going to be absolute madness once it kicks off on 9th July. Read more here! GUTSHOT

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INTERVIEW

SAY HELLO TO THE ‘END BOSS’

he ultimate. The supreme. The legend. The showstopper. The one who goes down in Indian poker history. The END BOSS! Between 15-19 April 2020, India’s biggest ever online poker tournament called End Boss was hosted on PokerBaazi, where a whopping INR 5 Crore GTD prize pool was advertised, an amount which was unheard of and quite frankly, we didn’t expect the poker industry to reach here quite so soon. It was an ambitious effort by PokerBaazi but they managed to pull it off, breaking the guarantee to create INR 5.85 Crore in prize money over multiple starting flights and a 18

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total of 5,847 entries. The coronavirus pandemic surely helped their cause as almost everyone across the country was at home but let’s not take anything away from what was a historic achievement, a tournament where the top finisher would go home with a minimum prize of INR 1 Crore! By the end of the 5-day event, it was Pune-based Abhishek Maheshwari who took away this spectacular prize and grabbed the most coveted title of End Boss! As the tournament reached the business stages, there were plenty of known names in the running but when the final blow was dealt, it was Maheswari a.k.a ‘Human_AI’ who was declared champion,

and the community went into a frenzy trying to figure out who this then-anonymous player was. There was plenty of speculation but it only took a few hours before the secret was revealed and Maheshwari was showered with praises from top players from across the country. What a difference a day makes as Maheshwari was relatively unknown in this industry. 24 hours later, he’s the latest hero on the Indian poker circuit. In fact, as soon as the tournament ended, it was known pro Goonjan Mall who posted on The Players Group where he said that this was equal to the 2003 journey of WSOP Main Event champion Chris Moneymaker, a feat which revolutionized the

game of poker in USA. This statement was made because like Moneymaker, Maheshwari also sattied his way into End Boss and went on to claim this life-changing title. He deposited 5k, won a satellite, and went on to win the End Boss too! Maheshwari was introduced to poker by one of his friends in 11th Grade after which he used to play house games occasionally. However, it was much later in around 2018 when he started figuring out the strategies involved in the game, which led to him beginning his journey of grinding low stakes on online

who wish to learn!” Maheshwari named Phil Ivey as his number #1 role model while also mentioning Daniel Negreanu as one of his favourites and more recently, Garrett Adelstein too. No one reaches such highs without a lot of hard work and overcoming difficulties. Similarly, our winner said, “The biggest challenge I faced was tilt. Many a times, I felt like punching a wall and lost money because of a bad beat in the previous hand. I knew this couldn’t continue and started practising meditation, which helped me overcome tilt to a

poker websites. In the early days, the End Boss claimed that he used to play poker like Teen Patti, i.e. like a gambler. He claimed to have made a lot of mistakes but his game started getting better as he watched more videos and poker content on YouTube. “My passion for poker made me go through a lot of content on YouTube. I could sit through 12-hour videos of EPT (of course, with a little bit of forwarding). There’s so much quality content online for those

certain extent. As you learn the game more, you realize bad beats are a part and parcel of poker.” Abhishek, we’re going to ask you the most cliched question - How did it feel to go down in history as India’s biggest online poker winner? The feeling was super overwhelming and not something I couldn’t express in words. As soon as I won it, I couldn’t believe my eye and I couldn’t breathe. Varun (Ganjoo,

Marketing Director of Poker Baazi) called to congratulate me and I said, “Dude, I might just puke right now.” Any advice to poker players who aspire to become the next End Boss? My advice would be to learn the game before playing online or even live. In the early days, I used to put in Rs. 500 and 1,000 and blow it away, gambling on the tables. I’d suggest you start with a plan and maintain a dairy if needed. People have got their “Indian Moneymaker” story and are going to enter the circuit hoping they get lucky and win big too. What they don’t realize here is that I did study the game for a long time, and the learning is something that never really ends. It’s a continuous process. Don’t get into poker hoping to just get lucky! I myself wish to start learning better bankroll management. I’ve got a head-start that most can only dream of, so I wish to make the most of it. Winning a prize like INR 1 Crore in online poker is something no one had done before and it’s a milestone moment we won’t be forgetting anytime soon either. Being a massive sum of money, Maheshwari mentioned that he’ll be donating around 10% of his winnings to the noble cause of helping migrant workers who were suffering during the initial phases of the lockdown, trying to make their way back home. Congratulations to the End Boss! GUTSHOT

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INT DEI A RV N IN EW EWS

BOOT CAMP

COULD BE THE MONTESSORI OF POKER IN INDIA!

“W

e believe that playing poker is a life skill, much like swimming and driving, and in teaching you that life skill. Once learnt, you can swim and drive, and likewise play poker correctly for the rest of your life. However, that doesn’t ensure you’re Ian Thorpe or Michael Schumacher. It ensures that when you get into a pool or sit in the driver’s seat of a car, you’ll know what to do. If you want to excel after that, it’s totally up to you. Our goal is to make sure you can play poker for the rest of your life. Wherever in the world you go, you will be comfortable to play poker and will know the best approach along with winning strategies. You can’t become a Schumacher if you don’t know how to use the

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clutch, accelerator and brake in sync. Similarly, we don’t promise that you become Daniel Negreanu, but that you make money out of the game, which facilitates your move towards becoming a Negreanu. We’re focussing on teaching people the process, indicators, approach and factors - stuff they won’t learn otherwise. Welcome to Poker Boot Camp India!” That introduction says it all about the Poker Boot Camp, founded mid last year by Abhishek Goindi and Tanay Hargunaney. Focussing on beginners and intermediates, they want to help grow and build the Indian poker industry, teaching newbies how to take on the game and sustain over a period of years and possibly even decades. Goindi obviously

needs no introduction - poker pro, commentator, host and now coach who has $300k+ in live cashes along with a few titles like the DPT Highroller title in February 2019. More recently, he’s made a smooth transition to online poker, with quite a few wins there as well. Hargunaney himself is an accomplished poker player. He completed a degree in Computer Science from IIT Patna, and it was during this time in college that he discovered the game, combining analytical and math skills to outwit all opponents. Together, they started the poker boot camp which has received a fabulous response over the last year or so. Dwayne Fernandes from Gutshot Magazine spoke to Goindi to know more about the boot camp, which is the

first of its kind in India. Abhishek, what does the boot camp do differently from other coaching setups? The regular coaches teach you how to 3-bet Ace King and how to play with 30-40 Big Blinds. What we teach you along with this is how to be a profitable player - that’s the main aim. By teaching the core skills involved in poker, you’ll be able to play anywhere in the world - online and/or live. Like I mentioned in the analogy above, I’ll teach you to swim. Once you learn that, you can choose if you want to do 100m, 500m or whatever else to take it to the next level. But if you come to the boot camp, one thing we’re assuring you is that you’ll know how to play for the rest of your life. You won’t be in a situation where you won’t know what to do next. You’ll know the concepts, which games to play, when to get out of a game, when to up the stakes, how to find the sucker on the table, how to manage your bankroll and how to apply yourself. If you want to be the next big star, you can go to Doug Polk or Phil Galfond, but they won’t teach

you concepts - they’ll assume you know these concepts and they’ll make you better from there. We’ll be the Montessori and high-school of poker. You can’t write a sentence if you don’t know ABC. We’ll teach you the ABC and how to string sentences, and you’ll survive. You want to go do a Masters or PHD after that?! Go ahead! One might argue that you don’t need to go to school to learn English. However, the ones that do have a solid fundamental approach and can snowball from there. Same with poker – you can learn the game without being trained and stuff, but… If you play the game without learning it, you’ll probably lose a few lakhs, say “F*ck this game” and not return. That’s not what I want and that’s not what the industry wants either. Our idea of the bootcamp is to help create longevity and ensure playing poker becomes a life skill, rather than just a phase of a few months.

Where did the idea of the boot camp come from? What was the initial response? When I was younger, I played a lot of sports and believed in coaching my teammates to help them get better, while learning from them as well. I noticed that model of teaching having great success over the years. As a poker player too, I didn’t get coaching or mentoring initially but as I kept getting coached, I saw my game getting better. Similarly, we saw drastic improvements when we taught others. We wanted people to fall in love with the game, and it has worked so far. I always wanted to get into the poker coaching sector. One day, Tanay approached me regarding content on my social media. We spoke a lot and I realized he wants to do something. I had a lot on my plate so I wasn’t committing to anything earlier but as I kept speaking to him, plans started getting more concrete. We initially thought of targeting players coming down for IPC (Sep 2019). We did it and realized that we may need to run separate workshops in Delhi, Mumbai and other cities too, rather than just Goa. It would give us better footfall and better revenues. There was a crazy response and

INTERVIEW

they all suggested we come to their respective cities. The initial batch in Goa left the boot camp with 100% satisfaction. We changed their perception towards the game. What can students expect from signing up to the boot camp? You can’t write essays if you don’t know the alphabet, and the first 4-5 days of the boot camp is ONLY for explaining the most basic concepts in poker – positions, stack sizes, hand ranges, math. Students have doubts and we try to clear these doubts for them. We give them information on how they need to think. Example: It’s not just about thinking that your opponent is bluffing you. It’s about putting him on a range of hands and then narrowing down to what he could be bluffing with. What are the reasons for betting in poker? 1. Bluff 2. Value 3. Eliminate your opponents 4. Hand protection These are the only 4 reasons. There’s nothing outside this. So, we try and teach these basic concepts. If your opponent gives you a fifth reason, you know what to do! The two of us split it up: Goindi – Mindset, profitability, approach, longevity, how to look at poker as a business – Holistic approach

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Tanay – Technical aspects – nitty gritty of the game. Give us some insight into the kind of training players receive in the boot camp... Education and awareness are the shortcomings of this industry. We instil the concepts and then tailor programmes based on your strengths and weaknesses. We also do a lot of experiential learning. We play games and discuss every hand. The game ‘Guess the hand’ helps understand each other’s thinking. We focus primarily on the thought process. We do live stream training too. I live stream my playing sessions and then run the students through my hands and decision making while playing. Different players want different takeaways from the industry. So, you have to ask yourself – “What do you want out of poker?” Fame, money, sustainability? If you want ONLY fame, don’t come to us. If you want sustainability and to make profits from poker, come to us. Fame is a by-product of everything else. Currently, with the coronavirus lockdown

in place, learning to play and make money from poker seems to be the right way to go about things! Clearly, there’s much to gain if you sign-up to the poker boot camp and you can get all details of the courses available on their website. You can sign-up and get access to a webinar and a FREE kit and you can choose from paid courses as well: • Hello Poker - Live Interactive Coaching – INR 24,999 • Think Like a Pro – INR 24,999 • Hand History Discussion – INR 11,999

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COLUMN

How can one improve their MTT play?

any players are hooked on to tournaments from the second they try this format, yet struggle to excel in this game. If you ever wondered how you could improve your play, I will try to answer this question today. If you are ready for the hustle, you can reach a lot on your own by playing and learning alongside. Learn the math It is essential to understand concepts such as pot odds and equity to make the right decisions in poker, and you especially want to avoid costly errors in MTTs. Overfolding from the big blind is one of the most common mistakes. When antes are in play in later stages of the tournament, you are getting ridiculously good odds to call small raises and see the flop, so should do it with any even remotely playable hand. Even 62s will have more than enough equity to make a profitable call, so make sure not to overfold in these situations. Practice ICM While early MTT stages are very similar to cash games, you have to consider pay jumps and stack sizes when making decisions later on. This is where the Independent Chip Model (ICM) comes into play, and it helps you to understand your chip’s real-money value based on your stack and payout structure. Without going into complex calculations, the main takeaway here is that chips you lose are worth more than chips you gain, so sometimes you have to fold even in a positive chip EV situation. Without understanding this concept, you will have a hard time beating MTTs, so use available software to study ICM and keep practicing it at the tables. Review your sessions When you have these fundamentals, you should start playing more often. In the end,

there is no substitute for your own experience. However, only playing is not enough, and you should spend some time reviewing your sessions. Many players like to review only big pots or hands where they lost the tournament, but that is just not the best option. If you commit to reviewing your session, review it from start to finish, and I am sure you will see things in a different light when not playing. You are likely to notice small mistakes that can cost you a lot in the long run, and that will be time well spent. Form your network Like in all fields of life, having a strong network of like-minded friends in poker can massively boost your progress and results at the tables. Most professional players constantly discuss hands, various situations, and learn from each other, so you should also take advantage of this option. Form a study group with your friends or find poker enthusiasts online, and you will soon reap the rewards. Author bio: Tadas Peckaitis is a professional poker player, author, and poker coach at MyPokerCoaching.com, where he helps other poker players to excel. You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

Top 3 inside tips from a poker coach: • Early stages – Proper hand selection and patience can take you very far. Instead of playing random hands, target weaker players, and try to play more pots with them. • Mid-game – Start stealing more blinds when antes are introduced in the game and attack shorter stacks who are afraid to bust. • Late stages – one of the best ways to build your stack is to target players who are opening too much by 3-bet shoving over their raises. This is a point where you have to take some risks.

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WSOP Goes Online and Now Everyone has a chance at a Gold Bracelet! COVID-19, what have you done? The WSOP moves online for the first time ever in 2020 but the possibility of live action hasn’t been ruled out yet!

ou’re sitting at a table where seven, eight or even nine others are seated, and there are hundreds of similar tables to your left, right, front and back. Such is the setting at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) which takes place each year in Las Vegas – undoubtedly, the most prestigious annual poker event across the planet. When you look at a sport like tennis, there are only one 24

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or two competitors on either side of the net, and in games like football and cricket, we have a maximum of 22 players on full-size grounds at any point of time. With the WSOP, hundreds or more likely thousands of people are at the same venue at any given time; all from different parts of the world, using different transport systems to get to Sin City. So, if the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the English

Premier League (EPL) were suspended in cricket and football, and Wimbledon, the world’s oldest tennis championships could get cancelled, there was no question about the WSOP being cancelled, or at least postponed. Officials said they were studying the coronavirus situation since as early as January 2019, and it was in April when the official decision finally came around WSOP 2020 POSTPONED!

In the case of Wimbledon, it was the first time the tournament was cancelled since World War II. That’s how grave this COVID-19 situation is, in case you didn’t already know! As for WSOP, it’s the first time in the last 16 years that the series stood postponed. It was in 2005 that the series had a different start month and a fall schedule could be the first ever in WSOP’s 51-year history, since Johnny Moss was declared world champion in 1970. Those who realize the seriousness of the situation know that they can not only contract the virus but can be a vehicle for its continuous spread too. WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart mentioned the chance of the series being hosted online, which was probably be the best solution for everyone involved. Right enough, the announcement of shifting WSOP

2020 online “Bright light city gonna set my soul, gonna set my soul on fire, there’s a whole lot of money that’s ready to burn, so get those stakes up higher. There’s a thousand pretty women just a-waitin out there, and they’re all livin’ devil-may-care. I’m just the devil with a love to spare. Viva Las Vegas. Viva Las Vegas!” Lyrics from King himself, Elvis Presley, perhaps the most apt description of the spectacular city, one which is always buzzing and up to some mischief. Yet, Vegas looked nothing less than a ghost town after being hit by coronavirus: 50 bracelets waiting to be won on GG Network! Postponement or cancellation! These were two solutions for live sporting events when COVID-19 first struck. The Summer Olympics takes place once in 4 years and the up-

coming global event was postponed to July 2021. For an annual event like WSOP, being moved a year ahead is as good as being cancelled. Over the last few months, plenty of live poker brands like Asia Poker League (APL), Asian Poker Tour (APT), Triton Poker and others cancelled one or more of their events immediately. If a short-term problem, it makes sense to cancel your tournaments. Now, consider that fact that we haven’t yet found a cure for the virus. World governments are preparing their citizens to learn to live with the virus, just like we do with dengue, cancer or even AIDS. Yet, did you believe that cancelling is still the best option?! It made sense for brands to turn to their focus to the online business. World Poker Tour (WPT) partnered with partypoker for a couple of online

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events, APL luckily launched their online platform just before the virus went widespread, and most recently, APT hosted two online series on the GGPoker network. “It wouldn’t be Summer without WSOP. While we are thrilled to be reopening our venues and optimistic about future offline events, we couldn’t be more excited about deepening our relationship with GGPoker and watching some history unfold online this summer,” said Ty Stewart after announcing that WSOP 2020 will be moving online. After offering a whopping $100 million in the WSOP Online Super Circuit on GGPoker, they were the favourites to host this event and what we assumed came true eventually. A total of 85 bracelets will be awarded online which has never happened before in the history of this series. The event begins on 1st July on WSOP.com and between 19 July – 6 September, at least 50 gold bracelets are waiting to be won on the GG Network. While this was the best possible solution, it’s going to have its share of problems too. Players from around the world will have to login at different timings. 1pm in Las Vegas is like 6am in Melbourne and these erratic timings may not be fancied by everyone. Additionally, WSOP’s highest attendance comes from America themselves. How do they then participate when only few states across the country are allowed to play online poker in USA?

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Can India’s dream run at WSOP continue? 2017 - ADITYA SUSHANT There’s Milkha Singh’s gold medals at the 1958 and 1962 Asian Games, Prakash Padukone winning the All England Badminton title in 1980, India winning the ICC World Cup in 1983, Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi reaching the men’s doubles finals of all 4 Grand Slams in 1999, and others that go down as historic moments in India’s sporting history. Aditya ‘Sushi’ Sushant winning India’s first WSOP gold bracelet with partner Nipun Java is right there in that list! 2018 - NIKITA LUTHER The following year, it was Delhi’s Nikita Luther who went on to win top honours in Las Vegas, shipping the same Tag Team Event that Sushi was successful in, with German partner Giuseppe Pantaleo. She was India’s second overall and first female to triumph at the WSOP. 2019 - ABHINAV IYER WSOP 2019 saw the most recent champion in Vegas and India’s first winner in a solo tournament. Iyer shipped Event #84 The Closer, which was also the title of the last edition of Gutshot Magazine. Winning over half a million dollars, Iyer has inspired thousands of young Indian poker players since then! A hat-trick of gold bracelets is what we’ve achieved so far, and India will be eyeing its fourth consecutive year

of success. Whether live or whether online, we have plenty of contenders gunning for gold whenever and wherever WSOP 2020 does take place. In a recent survey conducted by Gutshot, the community voted Sriharsha Doddapaneni as the best all-round tournament player in India. So, he’s surely a contender. However, we won’t be surprised if desi players end up capturing multiple bracelets this time around. Remember, Indians have way more experience grinding online than live, so ‘WSOP Online’ may definitely work in our favour

Did You Know? One of the premier tennis events in the world, Wimbledon cancelled its 2020 edition to collect on pandemic insurance! After the SARS outbreak of 2003, Wimbledon’s governing body, the AllEngland Lawn Tennis Club, inserted into their insurance contract a global pandemic clause for which they paid an extra $1.8 million every year in premiums totally $31 million from then to now. By cancelling the Championships, the organisers were able to collect close to $124 million in claim damages!

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COMBINING GTO AND EXPLOITATIVE STRATEGIES TO WIN AT POKER

fter AI called Libratus went on to claim victory in a poker match over some of the best players in the world in 2017, a growing interest had sparked in using computers to find answers to poker decisions. This landmark event coincided with the release of affordably priced poker solvers such as PIOSolver, leading to a lot of players developing an infatuation with GTO. Unfortunately, despite some of their best efforts, many GTO enthusiasts found that adopting a GTO approach to the game didn’t ensure winning results or even at times a significant edge over their rivals. These players were left scratching their heads, thinking, “What do I need to do to beat the games I’m playing in?” Whilst use of a solver fits nicely into a poker learning

Pro Jack Sinclair says his success started after taking the PokerNerve course

“What do I need to do to beat the games I’m playing in?” regime, it certainly isn’t the be-all and end-all of poker learning. “Students of the game shouldn’t rush into using solvers and model their game around the solutions they generate,” says 2018 WSOP Europe winner Jack Sinclair, well known for his creative poker play. “The basic idea of GTO, or an equilibrium strategy, is to play an optimal strategy that can’t be exploited in any way by an opponent also playing a ‘perfect strategy’. But more often than not, players at the table are making sub-optimal decisions. After all, they’re only human!” A lot of the players have never used solvers or are

even trying to implement a steadfast set of rules for hands they play. Some players might have read a poker strategy book and have a starting hand chart they refer to; others still might have played around with solvers. It’s this mix of recreational and pro players that creates a swirling sea of possibilities at the poker tables. Here’s where those seeking answers from solvers tend to struggle. Applying an approach that assumes your opponent is playing perfectly when they aren’t results in a lot of missed value at the table. Whilst you can try to customize solver settings to reflect the play of a hand and a specific opponent’s strategy, it’s generally a painstaking process and if not done meticulously, can result in inaccurate data. Although poker game meta seems to be slowly evolving, by no means are we close to the point where we can simply rely on a GTO playing style to make maximum money. The top players are still using human brains as best they can and making a ton of money in the process. This always trumps GTO strategy in the majority of games people play. It’s part of what GUTSHOT

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makes PokerNerve’s Road to Success Course so effective. It doesn’t drop players in the deep end. It starts off teaching core fundamental knowledge and then expands to more advanced concepts, enabling students to become smarter all-around players, equipped with the skills required to outthink their opponents, without relying on memorizing data outputs. We’re not saying solvers aren’t useful. In fact, PokerNerve’s strategist Kelvin ‘Acesup’ Beattie uses solvers and is a PIOSolver specialist. Students who enrol in Road to Success can gain a lot of familiarity with the software, learning not just how to efficiently use it, but importantly how to get the most out of it. Poker solver GTO outputs allow students to see how the game would look when played perfectly. This can serve as a reference point or ‘baseline strategy’, helping players better understand the game. When these players detect their opponents are deviating from the baseline, they can adjust their strategy accordingly to take advantage. It’s difficult to know how much to adjust your play without having the baseline as reference. Example: If a player should c-bet 50% in a given spot but we suspect them c-betting 100% of the time, it leaves them vulnerable to counter plays such as check-raising and calling more than normal. Executing these adjustments makes all the difference when 28

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‘Acesup’ believes Indian players have an excellent mindset for poker

it comes to beating the game. Implementing a purely GTO solution doesn’t take advantage of opponent mistakes and effectively leads to a lot of players playing defensively by not trying to ‘give anything up’. This is where Acesup feels many players are currently failing and Gutshot spoke to him for further insights. “The best approach is to stay offensive and look for opponent weaknesses to attack. Solvers can help clue us in on how to do this by highlighting where your opponent is deviating from an optimal strategy, but ultimately, it’s up to the player to be poker savvy. They need to be prepared and able to adapt to the myriad of decision-making spots that come up in the game.” It’s this integration of solver solutions with lessons like Multi-level Thinking, Piecing Poker Information Together and Poker Psychology that give PokerNerve a depth no other poker course has, giving its students an edge on the felt. Combining what AI has to offer with the human element, Acesup has developed an excellent recipe for beating the game. This galvanization of GTO with exploitative strategies gave players like Jack Sinclair

the skills required to achieve great tournament results. He used the knowledge he acquired to obtain some very impressive results. Now, with 4+ million dollars in live poker winnings, Jack said, “The Road to Success Course was life-changing. Within 2 years, I went from a low stakes grinder to playing competitively in some of the highest online and live games against the very best players. For such a small investment, getting the Road to Success course was a no brainer. I wouldn’t be where I am today had the course not helped me get the skills I needed to compete at a high level. Huge thank you to PokerNerve!” For those interested in improving their tournament poker game, like Jack, Gutshot highly recommends the Road to Success Course. It’s comprehensive and we particularly liked the semibluffing, stack size, donk betting, lead betting, over betting and small blind play lessons. We went on to negotiate with PokerNerve to bring you the course at a very affordable price. Using code ‘GUTSHOT’, you’ll receive a flat 25% discount! Be sure to take advantage of this offer today!

We had some more questions for Kevin ‘Acesup’ Beattie… Kevin, is your course the only one a player will need? It really depends on what your goals are. I’ve personally done every course online. At PokerNerve, we believe we’ve put together the best course for aspiring poker players - strategy content that can help you reach an extremely high level of play. If you want to compete regularly at the highest level, being open to whatever quality information you can access is going to be a plus. So, I always recommend going back through the course several times and then trying other courses because in poker, you can never afford to

stop learning. You’ve been in the industry 20+ years now… I remember holding a hand ranking chart in the casino to see if a flush beat a straight back in 1999. I was fascinated with the game but basically a fish! So, I got a couple of poker books and that helped a lot. The game started to get easier and I was winning. Back then I never thought I’d go on to win over $5,000,000 playing and have students win over $1,000,000 in a single tournament! But the trick was just to stay a student of the game. I really can’t stress that enough for people trying to excel at the game. Everyone loves to play but those who spend time studying the right

strategy material rise to the top. Any experiences with Indian players at the tables? I’ve played online with Aditya ‘Intervntion’ Agarwal quite a bit and also Raghav Bansal and Kunal Patni in live events. In Macau and more recently in Cambodia, there were several Indian players at my tables. The thing that stands out to me is their temperament. They seem to have a great mindset for the game and constantly be ‘locked in’ to what’s happening at the table. And away from the table they’re always friendly, so it’s a nice environment. I hope poker continues to grow in India!

KID POKER IN IN CONVERSATION CONVERSATION WITH WITH GUTSHOT

ow does it feel to have conquered Mount Everest?! You’re literally on top of the world and there’s not much more to achieve, is there? You know you’ve scaled these heights because of struggles, hard work, determination and perseverance – this applies to every field of life, and the formula doesn’t change when it comes to poker either. How does one feel when they’ve been at the top of the All-time poker list for over a couple of years, with 36 WSOP Final Table finishes, 6 gold bracelets, a best live score of $8.2 million, total live tournaments earnings of $42+ million, WSOP Player of the Year awards in 2004 and 2013, and an induction into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2014?! It could get boring at the top, right? I sometimes think there’s nothing left to achieve in his career but American poker

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MAGAZINE!

pro Daniel Negreanu thinks otherwise. Having accomplished almost everything in the poker world so far, he still has unchecked boxes on his bucket list. “The WSOP Main event, while a long shot, is still the tournament to win! Secondarily, I would say the Poker Players Championship which is also a WSOP bracelet event. Finally, the Super High Roller Bowl - I came second just a few years ago and would like to add that title to my resume.” Gutshot caught up with none other than ‘Kid Poker’ Daniel Negreanu, who is often considered the best poker tournament player in the world, currently #3 on the All-time money list after Bryn Kenney and Justin Bonomo, arguably the biggest ambassador of the game over the last decade or so. His achievements are abundant and is a hero to every college kid wishing to become a poker pro one day!

2019 was the year of massive change for Negreanu. He had 12 years of being a PokerStars Team Pro, growing together across the globe. However, he decided to call it quits on this super long association in search of a new challenge. A week before that decision in May 2019, he got married to longtime girlfriend, Amanda Leatherman. He dared to make the call of switching from a global leader to GGPoker, a newbie in the industry. However, GGPoker is slowly but steadily rising and making its presence felt around the world. “We’ve raised $277,000 for COVID-19 charities, aligned with the WSOPC, all kinds of freerolls and promotions for new players, but if I had to pick one thing, it’s definitely the software. It’s focused on fun! It’s customer-focused, creating an experience that is like nothing else you will find anywhere. All the added bells

INTERVIEW

and whistles set it apart from anyone else in the industry,” he said about the move to GGPoker and what he loves most about the relatively fledgling brand. It was a massive decision and somewhat a risk to shift alliances to a new company, so Gutshot wanted to know more about this move. Mentioning the major differences in the two global poker brands, DNegs said, “Obviously, PokerStars is a very large company that ultimately had a very corporate feel to it. With GGPoker, they really take risks when it comes to innovation all in the name of bringing poker back to its earlier years, where it was seen as a fun, friendly social game rather than a cutthroat game for professionals.” Name some tough opponents from the old school generation and the newer ‘internet generation’. From the old school lot, hard to believe he is old school now, but my good friend Phil Ivey. He is still as tough as they come. Scott Seiver has also been tough to play against and he is a bridge between old and new. From the new school, I would say Adrian

Mateos is a guy who I think is very talented. In your opinion, how do we get more women to play the game of poker? There is no secret formula for this, but there are things that we can do. Primarily, get women playing online first. It’s far less intimidating, and if they are introduced to software like we have on the GGPoker platform, most importantly, they will have fun because it’s so engaging. Tell us your favourite and most obnoxious purchases with your poker earnings. Favourite - In 1999, I was in Atlantic City looking at this SOME THINGS NEW PLAYERS SHOULD KEEP IN MIND, PARTICULARLY THOSE TURNING PRO? Have a backup plan! There is

Mickey Mouse purse covered in diamonds. I wasn’t really sure what it was, so I asked, “What is that?” The lady said, “It’s very expensive.” The next day I won the US Poker Championship for $210,000, went back to the store, pulled out bricks of cash and bought it for my mother. It felt like my ‘Pretty Woman’ moment. Most obnoxious - I would say the professional golf green with a bunker in my backyard as well as the state-of-the-art golf simulator I had put in the house. How’s married life? Can we expect lil’ Daniels or Amandas in the near future? We’re working on it! We are planning to adopt first. We both had planned to, then we watched the movie Lion together and that only inspired us to do it even more.

luck in poker and sometimes, no matter how good you are, the cards can turn against you for long periods of time and if you aren’t careful with your bankroll you could find yourself going broke despite immense talent for the game. Take it slow and play stakes you can afford. Thank you!

You’ve been a great ambassador of the game over the years. Who do you think will take the torch ahead? Guys like Jason Somerville and Lex Veldhuis have done a great job creating a following while being entertaining too, so possibly these two. Any plans of visiting India to play poker, or even for a general trip? Of course! Unfortunately, any travel plan is put on the back burner right now while the world deals with COVID-19. Once the world gets better, we can start planning again! GUTSHOT

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COVER STORY

Rubin Labroo: India Poker Champion 2020 32

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“My

mom was watching the live stream back home and she kept texting me, which I checked during breaks when allowed to use my phone. She didn’t realize that the stream had a 10-minute delay and when I called her after winning, she thought I busted. I told her about the delay and that I won, and she burst out crying, in happiness. She woke my dad and sister and they were all very excited at like 5:30 am!” Professional players not allowed to use their phones during a game; parents jumping in joy at their child’s success at the highest level; media houses present at the spot to capture the live coverage. Sounds much like what we’ve grown up seeing in cricket, football, hockey and the likes, right?! Well, we’re talking about poker, a sport which is not behind the rest in any aspect, with India Poker Championship (IPC) being the top poker brand in the country currently. When he stepped off the plane in Goa, Rubin Labroo didn’t really picture himself winning the IPC Main Event title. In fact, he was experiencing a prolonged downswing in the game. Usually a crusher in online poker, he was short of major scores and he bricked the Baazi Poker Tour (BPT) too, which took place just before IPC. He even held the chip lead on Day 1B at BPT, but would end up busting before

the money! Here’s the story of what happened a couple of days before his victory. After a runner-up finish in Vietnam in September 2019, Rubin wasn’t doing all that great. “The day before the IPC Main Event began, I booked my flight back for Delhi. I went home, slept for a few hours and told my friends I’m leaving in the morning. All I got in response was an ‘Are you crazy??!’ in chorus. I wasn’t going to have any of it but they managed to talk me into staying because of all the value IPC had on offer and I cancelled my flight.” Little was he expecting to beat 693 entries (Day 1A – 360, Day 1B – 330) to win the IPC 50k Main Event, while also becoming the 2020 India Poker Champion – a title awarded after a gap of 3 years! Gutshot had a long conversation with the winner, who took home a career-best INR 45+ Lakhs top prize after a 4-way deal on the Final Table on board Goa’s Big Daddy Casino, the host venue of the championships. We spoke about his poker career, life off the felts, his strategies used to win (which he does all the while) and his magnificent journey to being crowned the India Poker Champion. Rubin, walk us through your game-plan for Day 2 of the Main Event… I bricked 1A and qualified in 1B, that too with a small stack of like 12-13 Big Blinds. On Day 2, I had absolutely no expectations. The problem

is always expectations (I had to add, “Even in life”). Here, I’d lost so much already that I said “Fuck it, kya hoga?” I played without expectations and started making small moves. I ran good that day. Obviously, you can’t just say I played perfectly; you need to run good as well. But I felt the focus build in me too. I was in the zone, and wasn’t just fiddling with my phone and stuff. I noticed every player and slowly, started making myself a stack. Once I reached around 550k, I was confident - not yet of winning, but that I could play from there. I was chip lead when 40 were left and don’t think I lost it after that, except maybe for a little bit on the FT. Were you not intimidated of the high-quality players on the FT? They were good players and I was hoping they’d get a suckout. In 4-way, we had to make a deal because there were really ONLY good players left. I was most worried about Pradeep Sharma. I’ve played a lot with him online and he can do a lot of creative moves. He’s played and run deep in several highrollers and he’s not much worried about money. Such players, you should be worried about. In 4-way, Pradeep took the chip lead and we suggested a deal. Pradeep said no, waiting for another knockout since the shortest stack was around 12-13 Bigs at the time. But I sucked out on Pradeep and then, he agreed on the deal. GUTSHOT

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The prize pool was split and we then had to play for the sponsorship, watch and of course the title and trophy.

FINAL PAYOUTS:

1. Rubin Labroo – INR 4 5.34L ( deal) 2. Siddharth Mundada – INR 37.72L (deal) 3. Alok Birewar – INR 36.21L (deal) 4. Pradeep Sharma – INR 34.26L (deal) 5. Jagdeep Singh – INR 15.64L 6. Mubeen Saudagar – INR 12.48L 7. Manish Gandhi – INR 10.34L 8. Alexandr Moiseev – INR 8.23L 9. Abhishek Katiyar – INR 6.18L I considered the possibility of winning the title on the FT but I’ve played enough poker to know it wasn’t over until I closed it. I’ve lost a poker tournament from a 200:1 chip lead as well (!), so I’d only celebrate when I won. K7 diamonds vs 99 in the final hand and the flop opens AQJ with 2 diamonds. 1-over, gutshot, and flush draw for Siddharth Mundada and it goes brick, brick. I breathed a sigh of relief but the win doesn’t hit you then. You get 34

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exited but you don’t know how to channel it. I realized it the next evening and thought, “Fuck, I just won a lot of money.” The 32-year old is a regular winner online as well as live. Having done his Computer Engineering from Manipal University, his parents (like most others) weren’t happy about him wanting to take up poker as a full-time option. In fact, he moved out of home to be able to study and pursue the game in peace. A few years later, the same parents who didn’t approve of poker are now crying tears of joy because he was crowned India Poker Champion, at an event where the crème de la crème of India’s poker fraternity was present. Poker can often be a rollercoaster of emotions, and who would know that better than Rubin himself?! We all know there’s tons of variance involved in poker and here’s a prime example. One minute

he’s winning every online title possible, next minute he’s on a downswing and the minute after that, he’s on top of the world again. Talking about his attitude towards the game after a big title, he said, “You need to take a break for a while, after a massive score. You can face the problem of desensitization to money and will find it tough to play 10L guaranteed tournaments and stuff. You need to hit the RESET button after you win big - take a break and when you’re ready, go back in with a blank mind. Or else, you play with pre-conceived notions and the idea that you deserve to win.” Mind you, Labroo isn’t a newbie to big wins. In July 2018, he bagged the PPL Main Event title on PokerBaazi where he earned INR 35L. You can add several online titles to his list of achievements as well. “Once I’m in the zone, I’m good. I think my late-stage game is

pretty good. Initially, I fire a lot of bullets and when I have a stack, I can dominate. My game is aggressive late stage and that’s the reason why I have so many deep runs. But again, aggressive can’t mean senseless aggression. The balance is very important and that’s something I think I do well when in the zone. When not, I end up spazzing out.” For those who don’t know, it wasn’t just the massive prize money up for grabs. Once a year, IPC crowns the India Poker Champion and this time, there were benefits galore as Labroo walked away with the hefty trophy, an INR 20L pro sponsorship deal with Spartan Poker and

“My Hyundai i10 downstairs is less expensive than this watch!”

a stunning Panerai Luminor MS Dhoni Edition watch. “My Hyundai i10 downstairs is less expensive than this watch!” exclaimed Rubin’s father when he was gifted the watch by his son! How would you describe the IPC brand? It’s amazing! As mentioned before, I planned on skipping it but my friends convinced me to stay because the value addition is insane. After winning it, I think about it and realize that even aspiring to win the IPC title is crazy. It’s anyway a huge event that promised 60+ Lakh up top – some people work their entire lives to earn that kind of money. IPC promotes themselves really well too. They have a lot of celebrities coming in and playing which is important for the game. I think there’s no comparison with IPC and the other Indian live poker brands, in terms of promoting and organizing. And how excited are you about being a Spartan Pro? People used to joke about me being a Baazi Pro because I used to win big amounts there, but I never really thought about being an ambassador before. However, I spoke to Amin (Rozani) and Rajeev (Kanjani) at length and now that I’m a part of this, I feel it’s a brilliant platform, especially to be able to promote poker – something I’ve always wanted to do. When I meet people and explain the game to them,

they’re always so amused. When I was coming here (Mumbai – for this feature), I got a very chatty cab driver and he was really inquisitive about what I do. Initially, I lied and said I’m into trading. But he kept asking questions so I finally told him I play poker. He was so interested and obviously I had to explain to him it’s not ‘juaa’ and not Teen Patti, because people automatically relate card games to Teen Patti in India. There’s so much more skill and control over the game in poker and I was explaining that to him, and he was very fascinated especially since I told him I go to Goa to play often. It’s that awareness that’s lacking in India - the skill in the game separates it from gambling and that awareness I’ve always wanted to spread, among the general masses. Luck, skill and how disciplined you have to be – people should know this. Being a Spartan Poker Team Pro is a crazy opportunity. I can play for free and it’s a chance to make myself a brand now. I’ll be doing social media posts, panel discussions and stuff for them, but said NO to speeches as public speaking isn’t my thing. What kind of coaching have you taken in poker so far? None. No coaching at all. I used to watch a lot of videos on YouTube and Twitch. I’d watch it like a movie, all day. Not even advanced stuff, but more of the basics. This GUTSHOT

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was earlier but nowadays, our players are so good - the stable players especially. They know so much, so just a regular stream won’t help as much anymore. We need to go more in-depth and I’ve started doing a little bit of Raise Your Edge (‘Gutshot readers get up to $150 off on each course:’) Tournament Masterclass Experts: “GUTSHOTEXP” Tournament Masterclass Apprentice: “GUTSHOTAPP” Bounty Beast: “GUTSHOTKO” Unchained: A Powerful Mindset: “GUTSHOTMIND” and RunItOnce, and watching hand history reviews to try and fix plugs in my game. I’ve been a bit lazy about this so far but I want to do more going forward. When you’re in a stable, you have to do it. It’s like school homework, where you just have no choice, no excuses. And they’re clearly getting the results. I was thinking of getting one of the foreign coaches - BBZ, Bencb and others – they’re 36

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expensive but really worth it. Just having an opportunity to resonate your ideas with someone at that level is a good thing. The game obviously evolves and you have to get better on a regular basis too. I also need to do a bit of meditation and mental training. I’ve done meditation before and

If you had to choose between live or online poker, what would it be? I feel that my live game is way better - there’s only one table in front of me and I’m more focussed. Online, there’s more money to be made and if you find that discipline, it’s a gold mine. You can hit big scores but discipline is

Rubin Labroo 16 February

I have had tilt issues forever and I’ve said unwanted things to people on tables online and live. I feel terrible about it. I am weak, temperamental and trying to work on these issues. Heartfelt apologies to anyone I’ve hurt with my words. Hoping this situation does not arise again. You, Muskan Sethi, Kunal Patni and 139 others

I’m procrastinating to do it now again, but I’ve seen results when I’ve done it in the past. I recently started a Bencb course called Mental Mindset and I feel that everyone should do a course like this. Everyone tilts – the difference is the level and intensity of tilt. But everyone goes through it, so it’s a good course for all. Here’s something Rubin Labroo posted to social media a few months back about tilting. “The problem with poker (like most other sports) is that when you’re running good, it gives you the feeling of invincibility. You feel there’s no one better than you. But when you’re one a downswing, it can be very humbling. That balance is very important in poker.”

16 comment Comment

SUPER important. When you’re playing 7-8 tables online and you run bad in three, the others get affected and that’s something which can be the biggest problem when playing online. Overall, it’s more lucrative and if I had to choose, it would be online. Your feedback on the recent live poker scene and where do you think our industry is headed? The growth is ridiculous players are getting better and the drive they have these days is amazing. Professional players are joining stables, the recreational players are getting better and the turnouts at live events are just insane. The poker websites are the reason for this growth, promoting the game very aggressively and doing a

lot to increase the inflow of players. Plus, the guarantees are so big online and almost every Sunday, you find a 1 or 1.5 Crore GTD tournament on either of the sites. Spartan Poker specifically, has been doing well in this regard. Every Sunday feels like a Main Event now. I don’t think any poker player misses a Sunday these days, especially after COVID-19 struck. Even recreational players don’t miss Sundays and that’s probably just because of the thought that you can make 20-25 Lakhs in one night! The idea in itself is crazy. There’s definitely growth but I’m fearful of the market drying up from here. I think the guarantees need to slow down a little bit – multiple re-entries and stuff in a 5CR game - people could go bust. We’re going to keep growing but my only worry is that the industry doesn’t swallow itself. Legally, I understand that some states are banning the game to protect their own interests but I feel the category of poker needs to change. It can’t be classified as gambling and be put in the same category as games like Blackjack – that’s just ridiculous. Once awareness comes to people about the skill involved in the game, we’ll be on the right track. Just because people can go broke in poker, it’s not gambling. I’ve seen people go broke in the stock market as well but I don’t see that being illegal. Do you think you could be playing poker when you’re

60 too? Why not?! I mean, Doyle Brunson is still playing poker! I’ve been playing for 11 years and professionally, 3 years now. I love the game. Too much of anything can make you sick and lead to burnout, but the passion and the love shouldn’t go. The drive shouldn’t go. It’s not about how much money you make but more about playing to win. Money is just a by-product of your drive to keep getting better and winning. If you’re playing only for money, the drive could go!

is an example of the same. He’s always at these final tables, with the best in the business. Surely, he’ll be looking at defending his title of the India Poker Champion when he takes his seat at the next edition of the IPC, this time playing with the Spartan Poker patch too!

As the new India Poker Champion, do you have any advice for upcoming poker players? Bankroll management. I can’t stress too much on its importance. You can’t play outside your bankroll. You can’t have a 15L bankroll and decide to go to WSOP – not at all. Of course, you can be a one-hit wonder story, but you need to understand that chances of that happening are super low. You can take the shot but you need to realize that the chances of coming back broke are way higher. If you’re buying in to the Main Event and stuff at the WSOP, I think you need a bankroll of at least 1 Crore.

> Best friends in poker? Mahboobani, Nasa, Chiggy, Lakshpal > Top Indian pros? Sushi, Adi Agarwal, Sahil Agarwal, Mahboobani, Sriharsha > Favourite food? Steak > Favourite singer/band? Korn (Duh!) > Favourite sportsperson? Virat Kohli > One thing you can’t leave home without? My wallet > If not a poker player? Script writer, director or studying psychology > Someone you’d like to play poker with? Phil Ivey > First purchase after the win? Beers for everyone at the casino! > There’s an IPC tournament in 2025. How many entries would you guess? 1,400! > Do you see yourself winning WSOP bracelets? I haven’t pictured multiple but a single bracelet, yes.

When you look at all of India’s top feature tournaments – online and live – you see so many familiar faces on the FTs. Why?! That in itself should tell you how much of skill is involved in this game and Rubin Labroo

- With inputs from Dwayne Fernandes

RAPID FIRE

>>>>>>>>>>>

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