GUTSHOT OCTOBER 2020

Volume 1 | Issue 3 | Mumbai |

www.gutshotmagazine.com

October 2020 | Pages 48

IPL 2020 PREDICTIONS Our editor shares his top picks

BENCB SPEAKS TO GUTSHOT Bencb shares his winning strategies at WSOP 2020

INTRODUCING RUMMY Tips, interviews and industry outlook

PLUS!

CATCH UP: MINISSHA LAMBA

TOP GAMES FOR MOBILE & PC

The actress shares what makes her a good poker player

NAVKIRAN SINGH: LOOKING AT

THE BIG PICTURE

CONTENT

05 Editor’s Note

08 Poker News

10 Rummy and Gaming News

46 Fun Section

POKER

RUMMY

12 Just Bluffing!

34 Online Rummy Tips

13 Festivals and Card Games:

36 Interested in Online Rummy?

Myths, Tales and Traditions 14 Poker Strategy: Freeroll

38 Online Rummy: Coming Up Trumps

15 Poker Strategy: Bounty

16 Interview: Bencb

18 The Crown Winner:

40 Introduction to Fantasy Sports

41 IPL 2020 Fantasy League:

Harshit Sanghi

FANTASY SPORTS

20 Gutshot Review: GGPoker

32 Minissha Lamba: When

42 IPL 2020:

Bollywood Reaches WSOP

Five Things To Keep in Mind Editor’s Predictions

COVER STORY

ESPORTS

24 Navkiran Singh: The Big Picture

43 Play On! Games for your PC

SPECIAL FEATURES

22 Prof Deano: Class Dismissed

HEALTH

30 Easy Ways to Get Fit At Home

and Mobile

44 Popular Esports Games 2020 45 Dota2: The International 9

EDIT Volume 1 | Issue 3 | Mumbai |

www.gutshotmagazine.com

EDITOR’S NOTE

October 2020 | Pages 48

IPL 2020 PREDICTIONS

Our editor shares his top picks

BENCB SPEAKS TO GUTSHOT

W

INTRODUCING RUMMY Tips, interviews and industry outlook

Bencb shares his winning strategies at WSOP 2020

PLUS!

TOP GAMES FOR MOBILE & PC

CATCH UP: MINISSHA LAMBA

The actress shares what makes her a good poker player

NAVKIRAN SINGH: LOOKING AT

THE BIG PICTURE www.gutshotmagazine.com

October 2020

Volume I

Issue 3

MANAGING EDITOR Sameer Rattonsey EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Peter Abraham CONTENT Dwayne Fernandes Manthra Koliyer Jonathan Pereira CONTENT STRATEGY Shriya Ghate DESIGN HB Design Pvt. Ltd. CREATIVE DIRECTOR Sajid Moinuddin Volume I Issue 3 October 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.

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

elcome to the second edition of Gutshot’s digital magazine, brought to you by the worldwide phenomenon Covid-19!

Yes, Corona-se-mat-Darona is still around and we need to do our best to work, play and live in this new normal.

For us, that means bringing you the latest news and information from the world of real money gaming and with this second digital issue, we are looking to spread our wings a bit. We’ve got plenty of features from the world of poker but we also bring you stories from other real money gaming verticals like rummy, fantasy sports and esports as well.

The smaller worlds within the real money gaming universe are merging and evolving in recent times. With that in mind, our cover story featuring Baazi Games founder Navkiran Singh, provides plenty of insight into how gaming platforms are looking to take it to the next level. And speaking of fantasy sports, the annual cricket extravaganza that has millions of Indians glued to their screens for the better part of 2 months is well underway and sponsored by India’s first gaming unicorn Dream11. The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 is being played in the Middle East within a bio-secure environment and we have some features on the IPL and cricket within these pages along with pieces of gaming strategy and fitness as well.

Going to keep it short and sweet for this note. Stay safe and keep crushing!

Peter Abraham Editor-In-Chief GUTSHOT

OCTOB ER

2020

05

ADVERTORIAL

Get Set For PSL V Qualifiers From 23 Oct! “Necessity is the mother of all invention. PSL Season 3 was supposed to be hosted in May and everything was locked and in place for the same.

We were about to go live and BOOM, corona! We could then either shut the league or find an alternative, and the latter is what we did.” Dwayne Fernandes from Gutshot reached out to Pranav Bagai, co-founder and CEO of PSL, and that’s what he said about the upcoming PSL Season 5, qualifiers beginning on 23rd October 2020.

India’s biggest poker league called Poker Sports League (PSL) completed two seasons and just as the creators were ready for the next season, coronavirus struck. That didn’t stop them from proceeding with their plans, although a few alterations

definitely had to be made.

That’s where the Hashtag Poker app came into existence, with the ‘Learn. Watch. Play’ tagline for users. The app is a free to play one, while users can watch the best poker content on it too.

Learning is another major part of the app which as of now is under development and we’re expecting big news here soon!

Regarding Virtual Poker League (14-17 Oct) and its production, Siddharth Mishra, co-founder and Head of Production at PSL, commented about the challenges faced. “People are used to watching videos of players and RFID cards. The first challenge was getting a cards-up table and the next was production with everyone in their homes,

and no control over sound, lighting conditions and stuff. We thought that the idea of bringing people together would be a challenge, but the community responded very well.

They’ve all happily taken 3-4 hours out of their playing time each day to be a part of this league.”

“In the league business, we realised we had to be independent to any specific brand or platform.

For people to watch and learn poker, there are platforms like PokerGO but no similar unified Indian platforms, so that’s how the idea of the app came up,” said Bagai about the Hashtag Poker app.

For those interested, the qualifiers for PSL V run between 23 Oct – 13 Nov 2020 on Hashtag Poker.

Don’t miss this chance as we are talking about India’s biggest poker league!

GUTSHOT

OCTOB ER

2020

07

POKER NEWS

GGPoker makes real names mandatory!

Being tested since May 2020, GGPoker finally decided to use real names at high roller tournaments and high-stakes cash games. Players had often been asked to verify their identities but had failed to do so, which led to this decision. In fact, this system was followed for all Final Tables at WSOP 2020 Online.

“We think it’s a good thing for online poker.

We don’t know yet if it’s good to do it for everyone [in] every format, every game type, et cetera, so what we’re doing is we are trailing it. We’re starting testing the waters, starting stepby-step,” said JeanChristophe Antoine, Head of GGPoker Network.

Daniel Negreanu gets the boot from Twitch Top poker professional.

GGPoker Ambassador.

Six WSOP bracelets.

So what?! Live streaming platform Twitch refused to spare the ‘DNegsPoker’ account (at least temporarily) when he went on a profanityladen rant due to a comment aimed at his wife. Negreanu told the person involved that he would “break his fucking teeth”

08

GUTSHOT

and “feed them to him anally.” His wife, Amanda Leatherman, later tweeted how she’s happy to have a husband who stands up for her.

The tweet included “Imagine being such a bitch that you’d wanna get someone banned from twitch? ” DNegs however has a long history of such outbursts, which you can read about here.

OCTOB ER 2020

Rest in Peace, Mike Sexton

I

t’s been a bad year for everyone and the poker community was no exception as we lost American poker pro and commentator, Mike Sexton. He spent 15 years as a commentator, was the sole member of the Poker Hall of Fame’s Class of 2009 and towards his latter years, was also Chairman of partypoker. A true ambassador of the game, Sexton passed away a couple of weeks before his 73rd birthday after losing a battle to prostate cancer. Mike, wherever you are now, may all of your cards be live and your pots be monsters!

‘Mandovi’ wins India’s fourth WSOP bracelet

2

017, Aditya Sushant.

2018, Nikita Luther.

2019, Abhinav Iyer.

We’re talking about gold bracelets at the World Series of Poker (WSOP)! It was a fourth consecutive bracelet win for Team India as anonymous player ‘Mandovi’ shipped

Event #64: $840 Turbo Bounty NLHE on GGPoker, where WSOP Online 2020 was being hosted.

He beat 2,207 entries and Russia’s Konstantin Maslak in heads-up for a whopping pay-out of $234,433 (~INR 1.75 Crore).

Dan Bilzerian’s BLITZPOKER launches in India

WPT India set for first ever online series

Something he’d been working on for a few months, Dan Bilzerian eventually made his entry into Indian poker, with the launch of BLITZPOKER (Sign-up with “GSBLZ”). Popularly known as the ‘King of Instagram’, Bilzerian launched BLITZPOKER in August 2020 and announced India’s biggest freeroll to celebrate the moment. Beating a field of 9,503 entries, Gourav Saini aka ‘Cruel1’ took down the 10L GTD freeroll, winning the 1.5 Lakh cash prize, a brand-new Harley Davidson and an all-expense paid trip to party with Dan in Los Angeles!

World Poker Tour (WPT) India will host its first online series in India between 5-22 November after three successful live events at the Deltin Royale between 201719. Adjusting to the Covid-19 restrictions, WPT India Online will take place on Adda52 with a total series guarantee of INR 13.5 Crore! This includes 154 online events as well as the Mega POS and Mini POS Leaderboards.

Who do you think will be the last man standing in 2020?

GUTSHOT

Stoyan Madanzhiev triumphs at WSOP 2020!

This usually tends to be the biggest news story of the year in poker—the WSOP Main Event winner.

We were forced to go online for the first time in WSOP history and the GGPoker Network didn’t disappoint. It was an online poker record for the biggest prize pool as the 5,802 entries generated $27+ million in prize money and Bulgaria’s Stoyan Madanzhiev ended up taking home top honours. He had only three cashes in WSOP 2020 prior to this win and went on to bag the $3.9 million top prize!

OCTOB ER 2020

09

GAMING NEWS

RummyBaazi signs Vijender Singh as brand ambassador!

A

fter a brief stint as PokerBaazi brand ambassador, Indian Olympic medallist and boxer, Vijender Singh, was recently signed on as RummyBaazi brand ambassador to give an impetus to online rummy in

the country. “It gives me great pleasure to be associated with a young brand like RummyBaazi.com that’s giving a big push to sports in the country,” commented the champ on this new partnership.

AIGF appoints three gaming experts to Advisory Panel

F

ormer Supreme Court Judge and Ex-Chief Justice of Karnataka HC Justice Vikramajit Sen, leading educationist and founder of Agarkar Centre of Excellence (ACE), Fatema Agarkar, international cricketer and former captain of the Indian National women’s team, Jhulan Goswami— these three highly respected names were recently added to the All-India Gaming Federation (AIGF) advisory panel to help grow and regulate this already booming Indian gaming industry.

10

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2020

Spartan Rummy makes grand debut

B

eing a leader in the online poker space for a few years now, Spartan Group decided to launch Spartan Rummy in September 2020, with the goal of being a leader in online rummy as well. “Our area of focus is to give our players a smooth experience by constantly improving on our promotions and enhance their journeys with us by creating a lasting experience on our website,” said Amin Rozani, Group CEO, Spartan Group. To celebrate the

launch, a 25k freeroll was hosted. Other gaming companies have also ventured into online rummy in recent months. RummyCulture was one such brand to make headlines, with a record field of 109,000 entries being!

WTF Sports launches in India

M

uch like rummy, fantasy sports is another vertical that’s going through the roof in terms of number of players registering on the numerous platforms available in India. WTF Sports is another new brand that launched in August this year, signing Harmanpreet Kaur and Suresh Raina as their brand ambassadors.

be the face of Adda52, while Sachin Tendulkar was onboarded to endorse Paytm First Games.

A lot of similar signings were made in the gaming space. Raina was brought on as 9stacks brand ambassador, Rannvijay Singh was called on to

GUTSHOT

OCTOB ER

2020

11

F E AT U R E

Is Bluffing your thing? This article is for you.

Is Bluffing not your thing? This article is also for you.

– Manthra Koliyer

W

hen does one call a bluff? Generally, bluffing refers to when a person attempts to fool the opponent, making them believe that he/she can or is going to do something expected.

In poker, a bluff is a bet made with a hand which is essentially not thought to be the best hand. To bluff is to make such a bet. The objective of a bluff is to induce a fold by at least one opponent who holds a better hand. The size and frequency of the bluff determines how profitable it turns out for the bluffer.

We are one among those that believe bluffing is necessary for the game.There are four types of bluffing namely, Continuation Bluff, Semi Bluff, Stone-cold Bluff and Opportunistic Bluff.

Here’s a list of what you should know before bluff12

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ing for the very first time: Size of Bet When you are trying to bluff and place a bet, you must consider which size is the most profitable. A smaller size does not need to see as many folds as a larger size to make a profit, as it is not always clear where to hit at the first time. You must think in complete ranges and not think of a single hand.

Frequency of Bet The frequency is entirely dependent on the circumstances at that moment. Analyzing your opponent and wisely deciding based on which stage you are in the game is very crucial.

A single bet might not 2020

be enough to make your opponent fold, but that’s where your tactics come into play.

Know your opponent Oh boy! Besides the points in your hand, who you play against is the most important factor.

Your opponent should be a person that likes to fold, otherwise bluffing ain’t possible. Almost all players have specific tells when they open up and give opportunities to bluff.

It is you who needs to have a keen eye and be mentally prepared to bluff!

Lastly, bluffing is not an option, but a necessity.

Every game requires skills and some tactics to survive. You gotta play’em to win’em.

F E AT U R E

Festivals and Card Games Myths, Tales and Traditions - Manthra Koliyer

C

ard games are a large part of festivals celebrated in India, like Diwali, Navratri and Dussehra.

One of the myths surrounding card games and festivals is where goddess Parvati and lord Shiva were playing a dice game. Goddess Parvati was winning only occasionally. So, she suggested that card games be played instead and whoever played them would be prosperous throughout the year.

Card players abound in Hindu mythology. Who can forget the famous Shakuni mama or the loss of Draupadi at a game of dice? The Pandavas redeemed themselves by defeating their Kaurava cousins and winning back Draupadi on the day that

is today known as Govardhan Puja. This is why some say that it’s best to evoke goddess Lakshmi for good fortune before starting any game involving chance, whether dice or cards.

Whether it is a myth, or just a popular custom, there is no denying that card games bring fun and flavour to our festivals.

Rummy and Teen-patti are played in every nook and corner of India, and Poker too has become a new favourite.

In the times of COVID-19, it may be difficult to keep up the card playing tradition with our family and friends, but fret not! There is always the online route.

Several people have already switched to online sites to play card games and there is a good chance

that festival card-playing will be no different. According to a survey conducted on Statista, during the first week of a nation-wide lockdown due to COVID-19 in India (March, 2020), 74% people opted to play Rummy 13 Cards.

With changing times, attitudes towards card games have changed as well. There was a time when playing cards was a taboo in my family. My grandmother believed that card games were evil, and would expect my mother to take a shower if she had indulged in the ‘vice’. Today, we laugh as we recall this memory! I now write about the same games that were forbidden only a few years ago. Times indeed have changed!

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2020

13

P O K E R S T R AT E GY

Adjust For Freeroll Tournaments – Make The Most of Your Time

F

reerolls can be a great way to build your bankroll from scratch without investing any of your own money. While many of the standard strategy principles apply in these games, you want to make some adjustments to reach better results and avoid wasting your time.

Since these MTTs do not have any buy-ins, they attract all kinds of crazy and loose players, so better be prepared and know what to expect.

Survive early stages You will often see players moving all-in with random holdings at the start of freerolls just to build up their stacks, so take advantage of them.

Forget everything you learned about bluffing and play early stages extremely tight.

You will not be able to force your opponents to fold their hands, so you will only waste your chips trying to do so. Instead, 14

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concentrate on proper hand selection, and you will have a massive edge over your competition.

Go for value When playing freerolls, you should be going for maximum value with your strong hands. Depending on table dynamics, this might even mean open showing premium hands if you have players willing to gamble. On top of that, you should always opt for bigger bet sizing postflop.

Forget about balancing your ranges or betting 1/3rd of the pot trying to make someone to call. If your opponent has any piece of the board, he will call full pot size bets as gladly as the small ones, so always go for more chips in these situations.

Apply pressure and go for the win As the tournament progresses to later stages, you will see players tighten up and make tremendous mistakes.

This is where you 2020

should start stealing blinds and aggressively c-betting as often as possible.

Remember that your goal is to reach the final table instead of trying to mincash, so if you are not afraid to take some risks, you will be ahead of most of your opponents. Be patient, play tight at the beginning, and start building your stack as soon as the initial craziness ends.

TADAS PECKAITIS: 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.

P O K E R S T R AT E GY

Strategy: Bounty Tourney – W3C.RAY

T

he past three years has seen an incredible emergence of the PKO format in poker tournaments. They have become well established and often have double or even higher guarantees than their non-KO counterparts. You can gain a fast and easy edge by just being aware and adjusting your game. I go over many of the biggest edges in my course, ‘Bounty Beast’ at Raise Your Edge (exclusive discounts for Gutshot readers), but here are a few that you can use right now!

sands in stack value chasing a bounty. In these situations it’s very common to have 4-5 times the regular prize pool (the prize pool which is paid per place) left compared to what’s left in bounties. Winning bounties should be considered more of a bonus.

Of course there are exceptions as players tend to see only the $ amount they 1. Being too tight in the early stages, and too loose can win if they bust out in the late stages or at the a player, and often forget that they have to invest final table. If you face an some chips, which are all-in early in the tournament, the bounty is worth essentially also $. The ratio a lot, compared to the on how many chips you chips you have to invest – have to invest compared to it’s not rare to see 80%+ of the $ amount you can win, all possible holding to go in is the key. In simple terms, profitably. risking two starting stacks to win one starting bounty At the final table, this is is a pretty bad deal but a very different scenario. risking two starting stacks Often, players punt away to win four starting bounthousands to tens of thou- ties is a great deal.

2. Too many people punt a lot in multiway all-in calling situations; calling too wide and the wrong combos.

Ace high hands are overvalued, and suited 1 gappers are undervalued. For example a hand like T9s shows a much higher EV in a PKO 3-way all-in calling situation than the A9s counterpart and completely beats A9o.

3. Players tend to iso-raise or rejam on a short stack all-in way too wide, if the bounty influence is medium or low. Not only that, but situations like 10bb EP push contain a relatively strong range, re-jamming a hand like T9s or KJo from the HJ into 4 uncapped ranges + a strong openjamming range is often just burning money.

Still, I see those plays daily dozens of times.

GUTSHOT

OCTOB ER 2020

15

INTERVIEW

experience playing online, his strategy through the Main Event, his toughest competitors, and of course, the major difference between WSOP being held physically in Las Vegas and the WSOP online, played on GGPoker in 2020.

“You either control your mind or it controls you!” Bencb - Manthra Koliyer

D

rumroll, please!

Gutshot conducted an exclusive interview with international poker player and world-renowned coach, Bencb! This is his first interview with an Indian magazine post the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Online 2020! The main talking point of the interview was his recent finish in the WSOP Main Event, where he ended 11th from 5,000+ entries!

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Benjamin Rolle famously known as Bencb is one of the world’s best online poker players. He has triumphs in both SCOOP and WCOOP events and has beaten possibly the toughest games in poker history. Bencb’s consistency is undoubtedly impressive and he even heads the renowned poker coaching school ‘Raise your Edge’ which helps pass on his knowledge and tact to young and talented poker players.

He spoke a bou t his

OCTOB ER 2020

Hi Benjamin! Tell us your strategy going into the WSOP Main Event?

For that matter, any tournament with 5,000+ entries.

I barely change my strategy. I play my game and adjust based on my opponents. You will face aggressive, tight, passive, and loose opponents in any kind of tournament regardless of the stakes.

Therefore, you need to adjust based on the players, not based on the tournament. Of course, I know that in a $5000 WSOP Main Event you will find more cautious players that are easier to bluff than in an $11 online tournament.

However, you will also find aggressive opponents who try to build a stack and it’s your job to identify who you are playing against.

Congratulations on the deep run. But honestly, how does it feel coming

INTERVIEW

Credits: PokerNews

so close and not taking it down?

It felt very disappointing of course, but after a couple of days, I was very grateful for another deep run yet again. That’s part of being a poker player. You’ll get teased quite a lot. A deep run doesn’t mean winning, so you got to accept the disappointing final two table placements. Among my toughest competitors in the final stages, I would say Samuel Vousden who was luckily not sitting at my table.

had a massive impact on all my winnings in poker. Better skip a series if you feel burned out.

We’ve always been a fan of the responsibility to make the star and are best out of it even though thrilled to have had such it might not be my fault.” a fun chat with him! For Considering this was those of you wishing to one of his best online be as good as him one grinds, the Raise Your day, why not pick up one Edge coach says, “I was of his courses? Gutshot While every live event has very happy with my perfor- readers get some exclueither been cancelled or mance in the WSOP Main sive RYE discounts too: taken to the digital space, Event (online). I saved my Bencb has a different tournament life multiple opinion about whether times where others would live poker will return to the have gone broke. I can’t same as it was before. He say if it was my best, but • Tournament Masterclass mentions that WSOP On- definitely one of my best.”

Experts: “GUTSHOTEXP” line is not the future of the for $150 off popular World Series and As one of the best pokthat live poker will return in er coaches, your advice • Tournament Masterclass 2021. “Since I am playing to those gearing up for Apprentice: mostly live, it doesn’t really similar high-value tour“GUTSHOTAPP” for $80 off concern me,” he mennament series in the • Bounty Beast: tioned. next few months?

“GUTSHOTKO” for $100 off Elaborating on the curMore and more series are rent lockdown situation, running. You don’t need to • Unchained: A Powerful Mindset: “GUTSHOTMIND” the poker coach said that chase every single tournafor $100 off he was unaffected and ment. You can create very has always been a pergood schedules with good son who adapts to every value tournaments. Take circumstance that comes breaks and make sure his way, good or bad. He to get good sleep and a says, “I take it as my own proper diet. This surely

RYE Discounts:

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OCTOB ER 2020

17

F E AT U R E

– Jonathan Pereira

“I

couldn’t believe that it actually happened.” At 4:21 am on 27 July 2020, Harshit Sanghi beat all odds and shipped the IOPC Main Event for INR 47+ Lakhs from the biggest ever prize pool of INR 4.08 Crores in the series. The 24 year-old will never forget the day he made a mark on India Online Poker Championship (IOPC) history.

The 18 day long festival hosted by Spartan Poker, IOPC was held in July and brought in 85,000+ en18

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tries. The Uttar Pradesh based winner finished the series on a high note.

“Although I did not play the whole tournament or chase the leaderboard, I did add some volume to it. The experience was great considering the huge turnout, which was shocking!”

Over 7,800 participants took home some fantastic cash prizes by participating in 121 events across the series.

OCTOB ER 2020

This grand festival saw players like Sanghi battling it out to grab a share of the staggering INR 32+ Crore prize pool. The festival beat its own record set in January when Spartan Poker promised INR 16+ Crore. The 2020 July IOPC set an industry benchmark where players can showcase their skills and take a shot at glory!

The Main Event consisted of eight starting flights across six days.

The six day bonanza saw a variety of players running to grab the 18K

The biggest buy-in event, IOPC #99 The Super Highroller was taken down by Anuj Yadav aka ‘tittooTauji’.

pure gold crown but it was Sanghi who outlasted the monstrous field of 4,081 entries. Walking us through his strategy, he said, “There was honestly no gameplan. Not even in my wildest dreams did I imagine shipping such a massive tournament.

It was crazy! I was constantly keeping a track of the number of people left in the lobby and slowly climbed the stairs to the top.”

Reaching the final table is always stressful and emotional. Sanghi took us deeper into what was going on in his mind at the FT. “Of course, I was cautious. Playing against the insanely experienced Sumit Sapra and just the fact that I was playing the biggest tournament in India made it very intense.

The pressure was always playing in the back of my mind when I was on the final table. I was overwhelmed to have reached there, to be honest. I did not think I would. And I just wanted to get it over with as soon as possible.”

After winning the crown,

the excitement, joy and happiness can be very overwhelming. That’s exactly what Sanghi experienced. His family erupted with joy although not at that moment since it was still in the wee hours of the morning. “My family was ecstatic. I sent a screenshot of the win to my mother and father over WhatsApp considering it was 6 am. When I woke up, I had to tell them why I was sending it at six in the morning. It was hilarious but when they got to know they were very happy and so was my sister.

Everyone had a shopping list to be catered to. All my friends wanted a piece of the win. It was crazy, the whole experience.”

With the lockdown in effect, it has been tough on poker players. “Playing live poker has always been a dream and yes, I was looking forward to achieving it this year but couldn’t. Hopefully after this pandemic gets over, I can get some time off to play live poker and enjoy the game in all its glory.”

As much as Sanghi is looking forward to acing the series once again, his advice to poker players who aspire to become the next IOPC ME winner

is one of hardwork and caution. “Just keep working hard and believe in yourself. Hard work does pay off and learning poker is very important. So is mental health.”

The IOPC brought in players across the country and was no doubt a huge success. One of the most prominent mentions in the series is Bhanu Prakash aka ‘spectre’ who collected 16,296 points to top the leaderboard. He took home a whopping INR 1 Crore prize as the Leaderboard winner and according it was by far his best online performance in terms of persistence and grit.

Bhanu Prakash a.k.a spectre

• Manish Lakhotia aka ‘thekid’ outlasted a monstrous field of 2,155 entries to win IOPC #25 The Millionaire United.

• Sitting 4th in India’s alltime money list, Raghav Bansal aka ‘thatssosick’ took down IOPC #54 High

GUTSHOT

OCTOB ER 2020

19

REVIEW

What sets GGPoker apart?

– Manthra Koliyer

T

he global online poker industry is growing on a daily basis and the competition on the business front is one of the biggest reasons for this-everyone wants to have the best features and gameplay possible for their users.

Now here’s a brand like GGPoker, which hasn’t grown just because of big prize pools and the chance to win a lot of cash daily.

The brand has jumped leaps and bounds because of other features and addons which most (or all) other gaming clients haven’t yet to introduced.

That’s part of the reason that when the Word Series of Poker (WSOP) had to go online in 2020, it was the GGPoker Network that won the rights to host the series! Today, we’re going to dive into some features and USPs of this leading online poker brand.

3D card squeeze GGPoker offers you an extremely interactive 20

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feature where you can squeeze your hole cards however you like during Hold’em, Omaha, Rush & Cash, Short Deck and other games, as well as during tournaments. You can squeeze hole cards during your turn, to get an experience as close to the live one on the tables. You can choose to open the cards normally, or you can squeeze them in all-in situations, showdown as well as on the turn and river. Players can even change their squeeze preferences on the game client!

SnapCam The stunning SnapCam feature is surely an added bonus among the already available features! In most other online poker clients, you can chat, send emojis 2020

and avatars and so on. However, GGPoker let’s you communicate in a much better manner with the help of the SnapCam feature! Won a big pot or had a bad beat on the river? Now share your real-life expressions with members of your table with the SnapCam feature.

Feature details: • 15-second video allowed per snap to record reactions and share with players via webcam and microphone on your phone/computer.

• 4 players per table time can utilize the feature at the same time.

• Players can also mute the SnapCam of a specific player through that specific player’s profile page. Muting in the chat box will block all videos.

“The broadcast of offensive content, such as racist or sexist content or images, is not permitted, nor can play-

Smart betting To complement the Smart HUD and Early Bird Protection features, players can take advantage of Mobile Smart Betting as well-another industry-first PokerCraft feature introduced by GGStaking No longer do you have to Poker. Basically, it makes it an easier and smoother find third-party apps and process for players to sesocial media channels to lect their bet sizes using a stake your favourite players. See some of these slider rather than manually players at a table?! Buy typing in your bet amounts their action immediately! every hand. If you’re confused about how much to Never before has such a feature been seen on pok- bet, you can use Smart er clients where you can Betting, which suggests There’s nothing more a buy action or even sell a bet sizes through an alpoker player wants than gorithm based your past to keep improving his/her percentage of your own personal table behaviour, pack for upcoming tourgame and that’s where naments. Your ‘Staking while also suggest the this feature comes into the picture, keeping track Profile’ will show you a list ‘Hottest’ betting trends.

Don’t like the suggesof your games and hands of possible investors and also show a brief summa- tions? Simply refresh and which can be replayed, ry of your past tournament ask for fresh betting sugfiltered and analyzed. As gestions! history on GGPoker. In and when you complete fact, the client even lets your hand, the footage of So that wraps up our you stake players on Day the same is directly sent GGPoker review. In case to the database which can 2 of a tournament, using you were wondering, the Adjusted for Stack then be viewed later to these are just a few of (AdjS) formula! watch and improve your the hundreds of feagame. PokerCraft can tures they have imvisualize sessions or plemented on their sets of hands in several exciting ways with platform over the past competitive stats befew months! Want to ing offered across all join GGPoker? Signkinds of games. up now with code This feature is avail“GUTSHOT” and get able on both desktop 100% bonus on your and mobile and can first deposit, up to help you improve your $600! ers use SnapCam to harass others,” is the strict message sent by the GGPoker team to avoid the use of this feature in the wrong manner.

game against specific opponents, on specific hole cards you’ve received, based on position, big hand moments and many other parameters!

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S P E C I A L F E AT U R E

Prof Deano: Class Dismissed Renowned former Australian batsman Dean Jones who passed away last month, will forever be remembered for that one courageous innings.

– Peter Abraham

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he year was 1986.

This was the age of B.C. (Before Cable i.e.), and I distinctly remember there being very few entertainment options.

One, you go outside and play with your friends or two, you could stay indoors and watch television. The video game console phenomenon had yet to hit India although I was fortunate enough to at least get a taste of that single joystick Atari courtesy of a neighbour who worked in an international airline.

So, for the most part entertainment equalled television and those days everyone gathered together to watch Chitrahar or the Sunday movie and, of course, cricket. India had just won the ICC World Cup for the first time in 1983 and also lifted the Benson & Hedges World Championship of Cricket in 1985. Only the mighty 22

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West Indies dominated world cricket at that point but the rough and tough Australians were always up for the challenge to taking over the top spot.

So, when the Australian team decided to do a tour of India, there was understandably a lot of excitement. It would turn out to be a test of fire followed by triumph for one particular member of Team Australia.

Dean Mervyn Jones was about 25 years old at the

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time and about to play only his third test. The legendary Allan Border was captain and prior to the Madras test he told Jones, “You’re my number three for the next couple years do you want it...?”.

In Jones’ own words, “I felt like I was 10 feet tall...

I felt invincible!” And that feeling of invincibility is probably what carried Jones through probably the toughest match in his life. The weather in Madras (Chennai today) was,

as you might expect, very hot and humid, and the Australians were having a tough time dealing with the weather conditions.

With many from his team succumbing to the heat and losing their wicket, it was up to Deano, as he was called by his mates, to fight the good fight.

And fight he did.

In the first innings, Australia managed to battle the elements and eventually declared at 574/7.

The Indians, on the back of Kapil Dev’s century, just about managed to avoid the follow-on scoring 397 all out. The Aussies then made 170/5 setting India a target of 348.

Greg Mathews bowled the last over of the match claiming the wicket of Maninder Singh (current Indian coach Ravi Shastri was the non-striker) on the final delivery of the match and when the umpire raised his finger for the LBW shout, it seemed like chaos on the pitch. I have very vague memories of this moment but I do remember Mathews jumping around with his team mates as they could not believe what had happened.

In the 2,000 odd tests played since 1877, this is

still only the second ever tied Test in the history of Test cricket. And while that was exciting enough, Jones top scoring with a monumental innings of 210 runs, which saw him battle at the crease for more than eight and a half hours, will be the two highlights of this fabled test match. Every so often, after facing a delivery, Jones would make his way to mid-wicket and hurl his guts out, wipe down and then return to the crease. Deano had to be hospitalised and treated for heat exhaustion once he was done.

It was a courageous batting exhibition, one that then Aussie coach Bob Simpson described as “the greatest innings ever played for Australia”. And indeed, it was.

Jones would be one of the pillars of the Australian Test and ODI squads over the next 6-7 years but his ODI exploits gained him more recognition in later years. He was probably one of the first of the new wave of aggressive batters in one day cricket, nimble on his feet and not afraid to smack the ball out of the park if the opportunity presented itself. Post his retirement in 1998, Jones would

find himself in various cricket roles from columnist to commentator and even a successful coach.

This piece would be incomplete without touching upon some of the controversies that Jones found himself involved in over the years. There are two which were the “highlights” and both are doozies! In an attempt to unsettle the fearsome West Indian fast bowler Curtly Ambrose, Jones insisted that the former take off his white wristband. Ambrose didn’t take too kindly to this and had his tail right up taking 5 wickets in that match. And of course, none more controversial that infamous off-camera remark made about Hashim Amla which got him fired from his commentary gig.

An immensely popular figure among millions of cricket fans across the world, Dean Jones brought his unique flavour, sense of fun and love for cricket to the commentary booth. He leaves behind an enviable legacy which will last forever.

And with that, class dismissed. Professor Deano has left the building.

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COVER STORY

Navkiran Singh:

Looking At The Big Picture – Dwayne Fernandes

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young man working his first job as a TCS systems engineer headed to the United States on a project as many from the IT field do. However, in this particular case, the man also happened to be in the gaming epicentre of America i.e. Las Vegas where the World Series of Poker (WSOP) was on.

What caught his eye were the several operators carrying out online satellites to promote the game.

Upon returning to India, 24

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he recognised a dearth of online operators, a card friendly nation with the likes of Teen Patti and Rummy being played since decades. It seemed a good opportunity to enter a niche and after declining an offer to join his father’s business, Baazi Games was born in 2014.

We’re of course talking about Navkiran Singh, one of the well-known 2020

entities of the Indian real money gaming industry.

Co-founding this company six years ago, with brother Puneet Singh, Anirudh Chaudhry, Avneet Rana and Varun Ganjoo, not many would’ve expected the brand to scale the heights it has today. With the brand spreading its wings, Gutshot decided to speak with the Baazi Games CEO. He’s one of

the top gaming entrepreneurs in the country right now, running three independent gaming verticals –PokerBaazi, RummyBaazi and BalleBaazi.

“The initial years were only to prove something to my dad. Not joining him was a big step, so I needed to build an organisation rather than just being a part of one product. We gained data knowledge and marketing insights which we felt could be leveraged into other verticals. We raised funds at the time and considering it’s a cricket crazy nation, we sniffed an opportunity and entered fantasy sports followed by rummy. We are a technology company first and with the data we possess, it’s easy to move into new verticals,” says Navkiran about venturing into fantasy sports and rummy after already being an industry leader in poker.

For those who don’t know, their fantasy sports vertical BalleBaazi has grown leaps and bounds since its launch in January 2018. This industry saw 200+ fantasy sports portals pop up in the last couple of years but only the best (like BalleBaazi) stayed at the top. The

reason, you wonder?!

They had USPs like batting and bowling fantasy apart from classic fantasy cricket; they launched new formats like reverse and wizard fantasy; they innovated with dynamic and jumper leagues while also being the first to introduce rewards in fantasy sports. During Covid-19 times when fantasy sports struggled due to the lack of live sporting action, BalleBaazi stayed afloat because of their many improvisations.

Navkiran, tell us how Covid-19 affected business and BalleBaazi in particular?

This is the reason we decided to diversify, so that we could hedge our risks.

When the lockdown started, RummyBaazi saw a 100% MoM growth for the first two months while the poker business also grew 25-30%. There was a dip in fantasy revenue but not in retention rates because we own our own technology and it was easy to introduce elements like quiz, virtual fantasy and more.

Post lockdown, most users were back on the platform because we kept them engaged during the entire lockdown period.

Now that you already have rummy, poker and fantasy sports, what’s next?

We plan to add other hyper casual and esports games. But for now, it’s all about consolidating these three into a single platform. Each one of these can be a unicorn. We want to build these three as separate ecosystems and then integrate them into one platform called Baazi Games.

The end goal? We want to be the Netflix of gaming in India. The platform should be live in a couple of months but of course, reaching Netflix status will take some time. Future improvisations totally depend on what the data suggests and leveraging what has worked for us over time.

How did plans change with a packed sports calendar coming around?

We did well to retain players during the lockdown and now, it’s just the question of adding gasoline to the fire so to speak.

We had some funds in the bank which we wanted to spend for IPL 2020 which were preserved and now we’re just pressing the

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COVER STORY

gas, acquiring around 15k FTDs daily.

Where do you see the overall fantasy sports industry heading?

Every year, the market is growing at 200-300% CAGR so I’m not sure when this boom is going to end. In India, there are 70 Crore users that consume sports on television and the top fantasy company has around 12 Crore users, while we have 60 Lakh users with a very healthy conversion rate.

There’s a long way to go for everyone, especially in a country crazy for cricket. The more gas you add to the fire, the better for BalleBaazi right now.

I don’t see any saturation coming soon. Fantasy sports is growing sports apart from cricket in India.

People are choosing their teams and engaging more 26

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with football, volleyball, hockey and even kabaddi.

The last kabaddi season was superb for us and I see a bright future for BalleBaazi and in general, sports in India.

How do you compete with brands as big as Dream11?

When you’re up against someone with so much money, you try and get into guerrilla warfare.

There are things we do better and there’s knowledge of data we’ve acquired over the years. As a business, we need to keep focussing on our core expertise which is technology, data and marketing and better that every month.

Also, innovate more. As a smaller company, we have less time to execute A/B tests but we’re doing it well so far. We rely on innovation,

2020

product technology and data analytics when competing against the big boys.

Because of this, launching something like rewards was easy for us!

How are the business strategies different in different games?

The basic difference is understanding user behaviour as it varies from platform to platform. The variance also differs from players of different games and understanding how players react to certain situations is critical, which helps us communicate with them differently on the different channels.

Your personal favourite vertical in Baazi Games?

Poker for sure. I’m an ardent fan and my single biggest aim is to build the best poker software,

which we haven’t got to yet. We’re building a new software and that’s our number one goal right now. There will always be gaps with regards to the entire customer experience, but we’re trying to bridge them as far as possible.

BalleBaazi signed star all-rounder Yuvraj Singh as their brand ambasador last year, also one of Navkiran’s favourite cricketers. They have Olympic boxer Vijender Singh endorsing RummyBaazi so during our conversation, I had to ask who we can expect to be signed as the face of PokerBaazi. He sported an animated smile but decided to keep this ‘big news’ a secret. * SPOILER ALERT* Expect the announcement soon if it’s not already out by the

time this edition releases.

Playing poker since his college days, everyone’s aware of Navkiran’s love for the game and he even won a BPT title earlier this year in Goa. However, he claims to have played so much poker during the lockdown that he may have burnt himself out. Nowadays, he spends more time on BalleBaazi, enjoying IPL 2020 while & strictly at home and practising social distancing!

I thoroughly enjoyed the chat with Navkiran who kept it as simple and honest as possible. He knows what the brand lacks but is working round the clock to bridge those gaps and give users the best gaming experience. No interview is complete without a look into the future and on a parting note, he gave us a small glimpse into his personal goals. “Whenever I’ve started a business, I’ve

wanted to be number one, and we’ll always strive for it. Our vision is that 3 years down the line, Baazi Games will be the biggest gaming company in India.”

Rapid fire 1) Favourite Baazi Games co-founder? I can’t choose because they’re all close to me and my brother is in the team too, but maybe Anirudh because he does a lot of work for us and is super disciplined.

Best poker player in India? Jasven Saigal. He’s performed consistently and has had a good time outside poker as well.

Things you’ve learnt during lockdown? Yoga, gardening and cooking.

Who do you think will win IPL 2020? MS Dhoni has taught me so much about leadership, so I want Chennai to win, considering this could be his last season.

Favourite cricketer? Virat Kohli. His cricketing IQ is right up there!

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ADVERTORIAL

Spartan Games – Get Ready To Take Gaming To The Next Level As per a recent report, the market value of the Indian mobile gaming industry for the financial year 2020 was around 90 billion (9,000 crore) rupees, obviously getting a massive impetus because of the coronavirus pandemic that struck this year. Already growing at a rapid rate, the industry grew leaps and bounds this year, with millions of people at home during the lockdown turning to online and mobile gaming.

have also hinted at getting into gaming in recent months and currently, one brand ruling the roost in India is the Spartan Group.

Already known for leading poker brand Spartan Poker, the group is bringing to you the latest offering in online gaming, with the launch of Spartan Games! They’re all set to provide one of the best gaming experiences in the country, with every genre of digiAnd that’s not all. The tal games under a single estimates say that this roof. Remember those number could grow to board, shooter, card, 140+ billion rupees by arcade and adventure 2022, giving everyone games you’ve played on the chance to win big your smartphones for in the comfort of their years? Well, it’s time to homes, while also creatstart taking home big ing tens of thousands of cash prizes playing these new job opportunities. games as Spartan Games Some of the big conglom- goes live in the first week erates in the country of November 2020!

IPL 2020 Freerolls No launch is complete without a giveaway and Spartan Games is giving you a chance to win during the IPL 2020 extravaganza, with a series of freerolls scheduled towards the end of the IPL 2020 tournament. A total of Rs.1 Lakh can be won for FREE through the IPL playoffs - Qualifier 1, Eliminator, Qualifier 2 and Final!

To be eligible to participate in these fantasy cricket freerolls, sign-up to Spartan Games with code “GUTSHOT” once the app goes live in the respective smartphone app stores! Don’t forget to sign-up to the Gutshot newsletter for all updates on this mega launch.

Spartan Games - COMING SOON to a device near you!

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H E A LT H

Easy Ways To Get Fit At Home – Jonathan Pereira

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t some point in life, we all decide to get fit but few of us actually follow a good health routine or join a gym.

Being fit is not just about fitting into your favourite clothes or increasing the size of your muscles. A daily routine of exercise will also boost your performances in your day to day life, whether at the desk or at the poker table. From a number of exercises available, here are a few moves that will keep you in the best shape of your life!

Sit-ups Sit-ups are traditional abdominal exercises. Due to its simplicity and effec30

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tiveness, this exercise will not only boost your performance but is also a great exercise to recover from muscle injuries by intermittently loosening and tightening muscles. Other benefits include balance, improving your posture and so much more.

Jumping Jacks One of the quickest and easiest ways to burn calories at a go is Jumping Jacks. It is a great cardio

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routine and you can do it in the comfort of your home. You can begin with 10-15 jumping jacks and gradually increase as you get used to this highly beneficial routine.

Push-ups ‘Drop down and give me 10!’ You’ve probably heard

this one in many movies.

Push-ups are one of the most effective exercises to do at home, gym or at the beach. Benefits of pushups are never ending. The exercise targets almost every muscle in your body, strengthening your torso, shoulders and triceps.

As most of us are quarantined at home, this is a great workout to keep you active after a long day’s desk work.

Squats Squats are not just for specific muscles but help

• A 155-pound person can burn 563 calories in an hour running 5 miles per hour.

• Daniel Negreanu, revealed that in a span of 9 months, he lost nearly 40 pounds and weighs just shy of 139 pounds.

Lunges When it comes to lower body routines, lunges can

be extremely helpful and very easy to do. As much as it strengthens your core, it also loosens your hip muscles.

Quick Facts:

in the growth of overall muscles. It is often considered as a leg exercise but it is beneficial for your entire body. From improving body balance to improving digestion, it does it all.

In order for you to stay fit, you need to have a well-balanced diet.

Eating a healthy balanced diet accompanied by regular exercise is essential in maintaining physical and mental health and wellbeing.

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• Even though the lockdown has brought us to a standstill, ‘Kidpoker’ has taken this opportunity to engage in a well-balanced diet with some muscles training to transform his body.

• Thanks to a prop bet with Bill Perkins that required Antonio Esfandiari to lunge everywhere he went for 48 hours, Esfandiari admitted to urinating in a container at the table during a break, a decision that stemmed from his inability to move due to muscle exhaustion.

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INTERVIEW

When Bollywood Reaches WSOP

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ere’s Minissha Lamba, the Bachna Ae Haseeno actress who is also an Adda52 Celebrity Pro. She’s represented India’s tinsel town by participating in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas and is the first Bollywood celebrity to reach such great heights in the industry, with her best performance being the runner-up finish in the 2018 WPT India 100k Highroller, where she claimed a prize of INR 23+ Lakh.

The actress was introduced to poker by a friend during a Diwali gaming night (like most of us in India). Lamba has been playing ever since and has a great sense of love and respect for the game. She made deep runs across several DPT and WPT India events, and more recently, she cashed thrice at WSOP 2019. Manthra Koliyer 32

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from Gutshot recently caught up with the actress cum poker player to learn more about her poker game and of course, her experience at the WSOP in Las Vegas.

Minissha, tell our readers your experience of playing WSOP in Las Vegas.

When you go to the WSOP for the first time, it’s a different experience altogether. There were a lot of players who were not from a poker back2020

ground and several poker professionals too. The thought of playing poker amongst so many people was itself very overwhelming. When I went to the WSOP in 2019, I planned to play very few tournaments. I budgeted myself to play 3 satellite events.

I made it through the first satellite and that was a huge deal as there were only 20 seats available out of 400 entries! That was the first satellite I have ever played, and it was a nail-biting experience. I

was taking tips from everyone before almost every game and I made it to Day 2. The fields are too large and it’s just about staying out there and lasting in a series where everyone is bringing their A-game. The organisation, the speed and efficiency of the series was mind-blowing.

How good does your mental health have to be going into such a big event?

It has to be very, very good. I have started to realise when tournament players bust out, they start questioning themselves about how good or bad they are as poker players or their abilities.

All the negativity rushes in and it takes over. Asking yourself the question of being good or bad in the game should not be the case. You have to realise that this is a game of massive variance. I lost 95% of my stack in the main event with Kings vs Aces hands. It doesn’t mean that I’m a bad player. It’s just that your fate is decided as and when your cards are distributed. You have to be able to dissociate yourself.

To become a successful player, you have to put

in a lot of volume to get that break-in. Personally, I enjoy playing every minute of the game. WSOP was a once in a lifetime experience and I hope to do it again soon!

Besides poker, any acting projects on the cards?

There’s a lot happening and there’s nothing happening at the same time.

There are plenty of talks going on about a couple of OTT platform projects, but we’re waiting for approvals on the same. If all goes well, those projects will be out for all to see soon!

er is to practise proper bankroll management.

Play as many satellite events as possible online before you head out to Las Vegas, because it’s overwhelming once you’re there. Every game is like a lottery. You go with a budget of X, but sometimes it might be X+2. Having strong decision-making skills is super important.

Any advice for newbies going out to place at WSOP? The only advice that I would give any newcomGUTSHOT

Rapid fire Favourite Hobbies Reading books and watching films mostly.

All-Time Favourite Hindi Movie Mr India One Word To Describe Minissha Lamba Extremely chilled out, unphased.

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online rummy TIPS – Manthra Koliyer

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pening a brandnew deck and shuffling those silky printed cards for the first time to play rummy is a beautiful feeling.

Rummy is the mother of modern card games. It has today evolved from being physically played to reaching digital tables as well.

For generations, your chachus and mamus played their tricks and won the game. Now you can do it all online!

phones, computers or tablets.

Although we do not get to shuffle the cards manually, all certified online rummy platforms use a system called Random Number Generator (RNG), which ensures a fair distribution of cards to all players, also used in online poker and card card/dice games.

Why play online?

Traditionally, card games required you to wait for other people to join you before playing a game.

Online however, all you are expected to know is how to navigate the client and play the game. This version of the game is hassle free and can be played at anytime from your smart-

Which websites to choose?

We have more than 5 million people playing rummy in India on a daily basis. Spoilt with choice, our prime motive should be to choose the right platform, especially since you will be investing time and money in the game.

When playing cash games online, players need to be 100% sure that the website is safe. Read the

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company policies and learn the differences.

Look for brands that give you a seamless gaming experience. One of the new platforms that assures such an experience is Spartan Rummy. Some other industry leaders include Ace2Three and Junglee Rummy.

Responsible Gaming A player must check which information is required and only provide that which is required to play. Any additional requirements for information should be carefully considered. As an adult that engages in online rummy, you must be responsible while roping in others.

Players should be 18+ to play.

Card games involving money are infamous for being mentally and physically tiring. To combat this, you must often keep a check on your time spent gaming. Always remember, ‘wisely played is well played!’

This is the era of digitization and you are one among the millions that are thinking of playing rummy right now! What are you waiting for? Join the bandwagon!

RUMMY

Interested in Online Rummy?

From novices to experts, check out how people have reacted to the question!

– Team Gutshot

vey reveals that the online card game is perhaps the ey, have you easiest to access, learn played online and play for a variety of rummy anyplayers, and specially so in time? Am quite interested India. … heard you can rake up What attracts many Indimoolah?!”–this is common an players is the fact that it repartee across office lunch is pretty familiar, therefore circles, kitty party convereasy to crack and easy to sations, college tete-a-tetes pick up cash winnings as and even amongst the non- your game gets better and IT sector businessmen. better. Not to oversimplify Since it took off a decade this phenomenon, but there ago, online rummy sites are abundant reasons why have mushroomed across online rummy is a game the internet. The takers and of choice for the fortune movers have increased in seekers and the people numbers. An informal surseeking ‘time-pass’ as well.

“H

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As interesting as the reasons are, even more interesting are the experiences of players as they interact and eventually engage with the game. We spoke to three ardent rummy lovers–Sathish has just about started playing rummy, Kaveri, who has been at it for some time and has gathered a good sum from online rummy, and Puneet who is old guard, having spent about six years playing online rummy. Here is what they voiced about their online rummy experiences:

“Oh! (Smiling broadly) What do I say now? It’s just been a month since I started playing. Actually, I was interested because I found online rummy to be a better investment for my time. I was playing the other adrenaline pumping games online but then, I can make money here while it’s not always the case in the other ones. And who would say no to a little extra pocket money!””

Sathish, College Student, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh.

“Actually, I saw this ad about online Rummy when I was watching my usual serial on YouTube. I thought, I am good at rummy at home, why not try it online once. My husband helped me with the registration and after that I could play on my own easily. I have picked up cash winnings of about Rs 12000 so far. But I don’t stick to one rummy site. I keep exploring (laughs broadly)!!

Kaveri, Home Maker, Jalna, Maharashtra.

“Namaste.

I have been playing Rummy online for more than six years now. The site I had started playing on is now overtaken by others. I am seeing how reward money has been skyrocketing. The competition has gone up and there are more people on rummy tables. But the game, I must say, has only gotten better thanks to technology.

I have good fun no doubt. And it’s great relief after a hard day at work.

Puneet, Businessman, Noida, Delhi.

All of them said, it looks like a good time to play rummy online. If where to play is your next question, do watch this space for more updates.

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REVIEW

Online Rummy: Coming Up Trumps – Team Gutshot

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as rummy left the household tables for the online tables? Seeing the increasing numbers of rummy enthusiasts online, could one safely predict so? Adda52Rummy is one of the largest crowd pullers now in India and we spoke to Head of Marketing, Ashish Bhakuni to check if our assumptions around online rummy are indeed right.

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Is it true that the online rummy market has been growing leaps and bounds? Does rummy beat other card games available online?

That’s true. Rummy has received an overwhelming response over the last decade in India. As of this year, the industry is witnessing a growth rate of around 6% per month and players from newer regions are vigorously lining up. The industry is cur2020

rently valued at INR 2,000 crore.

This is because online rummy has substantial perks on offer. Gamers love skill-based games and online rummy is the only card game which is easy, familiar to all and comes with generous cash winnings.

Tell us something about the online rummy landscape in India.

Rummy sites originally

started with the home favourite rummy variants.

But the markets have evolved and now we have a large variety from traditional 13 Card Rummy, to Gin Rummy to Pool Rummy and the 21 Card Rummy. Adaptations are also continuously happening.

Now everyone competes to offer high-value tables, humongous pay-outs, instant bonus or welcome bonus pay-puts to players which is a big attraction for minimal service charges.

Each rummy portal carries a USP—huge prize amounts, enhanced user experience, hassle free transaction and assurance of fair play, safety and legality. Almost all sites seek to be certified as having the Random Number Generator (RNG) so players may find them reassuring.

Almost three quarters of the player base is concentrated in South India with the eastern and western regions also picking up pace. As mobile penetration increases, online rummy usage via applications and websites are also growing. Sites today also offer users the convenience of transitioning across devices mak-

ing it easier to access a game left mid-way. That said, no stone is being left unturned in keeping players engaged.

While rummy sites will continue to compete in expected benefits such as prize amounts or bonus pay-outs, they will also attempt to augment What’s the future outthe offer with enhanced look for rummy like, user experience to secure especially amidst such customers from switching over. We will also see high-strung competition? more promotional efforts The industry is witnessing meant to educate unexan influx of online rummy plored customer groups sites and this should cater and drive increased consumption in existing ones. well to the rapidly growing player base. We are also seeing online rummy portals expanding into new game formats and also including popular game formats other than rummy like chess and strategy games. This is a new phenomenon, but its success needs to be seen.

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FA N TA SY S P O R T S

– Jonathan Pereira

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ver wondered how fantasy sports works? Well, it’s pretty easy to understand but takes a lot of practice to master. Fantasy Sports is an online prediction game where you put together a roster or virtual team of real players of a professional sport. Your team competes with other teams and earns points based on live performances of the players. The better your players perform, the higher fantasy points you accumulate.

There are a number of ways that you can play fantasy sports. The basic methods are league games and heads-up games in which you can either win a percentage of the prize pool or take the whole pot of money.

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The above two mentioned methods are the most commonly used and wary according to each sport given below: Fantasy Cricket The basic principle of every fantasy game remains the same in Fantasy Cricket. The most crucial part of the game is choosing your fantasy cricket team.

You have to pick 11 players from both the squads.

Every player is assigned a value called ‘Credit.’ Better performing players are assigned the highest value, whereas under-performers get the lowest credit value.

There is a set limit on the total value of 11 selected players (a budget) that shouldn’t be exceeded.

Fantasy Football Managers are given a specific budget to build their 2020

fantasy squad. Any formation can be chosen as long as the line-up includes one goalkeeper, at least three defenders, minimum two midfielders and at least one forward. Points are awarded to players on how well they perform in a match and the top performers have the opportunity to win bonus points, which will boost your overall score.

Captains and vice-captain points are doubled here too.

Fantasy Kabaddi Since the launch in 2014, the Kabaddi League has gained popularity among the masses. Similar to the above mentioned sports formats, teams are selected and rewarded points on the basis of their performance. The more points your team accumulates, the better chance you have of winning some great prizes! Here however, only 5 players per side play!

Now you know more about fantasy sports than you knew five minutes ago! With the 13th edition of Indian Premier League underway, you too can participate in this electrifying event. Keep reading for a few tips to build your own IPL team and win big!

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ant to win big in IPL fantasy league cricket? It all boils down to building a good team. Focusing on these five points will help you be consistent and hopefully grab several prizes in your journey to the top.

Build a strong core team To build a strong team, you will need to analyse each player you choose. Current form is greater than reputation, so players who are consistent should never be missed in your line-up.

Your team should be well balanced and have enough depth for bowlers and batsmen. A strong foundation at the team’s core will definitely benefit you in your upcoming matches.

7:4 ratio Understanding the rules of the game is critical. Your fantasy team must follow the 7:4 ratio in IPL fantasy league—seven Indian

players and four overseas players (with most fantasy sports providers). Choose wisely. Picking the right players will enable you to score valuable points. Likewise, choosing players who are not in form may cost you dearly.

All-Rounders Andre Russell, Hardik Pandya and Sunil Narine are just some of the all-rounders people will be rooting for. All-rounders are rated the highest when it comes to fantasy point systems.

Each team can feature between 3-5 all-rounders and you must utilize them in order to score big in each game.

Uncapped players Seasoned players are essential but picking a good uncapped player can definitely boost your team.

According to the official

rules, one uncapped player is a must and though these players may cost you the least points, they have proven to be explosive too.

The point system The key to scoring the maximum number of points depends on how well you understand the point system. For example, points earned by a team captain is 2x and points earned by a vice-captain is 1.5x. Once you familiarize yourself with the system, you can put your strategy into play and win big.

Fantasy cricket has been booming as millions of users participate in showing off their skills in choosing and competing in various fantasy gaming platforms.

Now that you have been equipped with some basic tactics in the IPL fantasy league, create your own team and grab a chance to win exciting rewards and cash prizes.

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Can RCB bring home the title in IPL 2020?

– Dwayne Fernandes 18 April 2008–the first ever Indian Premier League (IPL) match. It was the perfect setting at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, with fans across the world waiting to see their favourite global stars sharing dressing rooms in this new format of franchise T20 cricket.

In Match 1 itself, Kolkata Knight Riders put up 222/3 and Royal Challengers Bangalore was bowled out for 82, which 12 years later, is still the third biggest IPL loss in terms of runs. That’s how the bad run began for RCB, the jinxed franchise. 183 matches since that flashy debut in IPL 2008 and while they’ve reached the final on 3 occasions, they’re yet to bring home the silverware!

They have the swag and flamboyance you want 42

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in a team, owned by the ‘King of Good Times’ Vijay Mallya in the earlier days.

Having a gigantic fan-base and always sporting the best kits, RCB was even the first team to have home and away jerseys in the IPL. However, the big W has been elusive.

Going into IPL 2020, Virat Kohli’s squad is more balanced than it’s ever been.

A world-class batsman like Aaron Finch joined the ranks while his Aussie teammate Adam Zampa came in after picking 10 wickets in 3 ODIs against England; we’ve heard the UAE pitches tend to shower some extra love on spinners anyway!

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Being an RCB fan has been difficult over the years and while there are plenty of pros on paper, winning on the field is what counts. The side is talented and seems hungry to win but like we know with other games too, a little bit of luck is needed. So, our question still stands–can RCB bring home the title in IPL 2020?

My predictions for the IPL 2020 season (110% biased):

Playoffs predictions • Qualifier 1 - Sunrisers vs Chennai • Eliminator - Challengers vs Capitals • Qualifier 2 – Chennai vs Challengers • Final – Sunrisers vs Challengers RCB - IPL 2020 Champions!

ESPORTS

Play On! – Jonathan Pereira

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ith the pandemic on the rise, sitting idle at home can be quite stressful. All of us stuck at home have probably searched for new ways of entertaining and keeping ourselves occupied. Many of us want to embrace the world of gaming. There are also many who want to do so but lack a proper gaming system.

Presenting a list of games you can play on your standard personal computer, without the need of investing in a new system: Left 4 Dead 2 Often called L4D2, it runs great at full resolution and high setting but it works its magic even on basic computer requirements.

Launched in 2009 by Valve, this multiplayer zombie survival classic is just what you need to make your quarantine days more fun.

Counter-Strike 1.6 For most of the 80’s and 90’s gaming enthusiasts, CS 1.6 is where the love for gaming began. The

game has won the hearts of millions of fans around the world. It takes less than 300MB space; all you need to do is install and play.

With various classic maps, reminiscence your younger days by playing probably the best first-person shooter game ever created.

Fallout 4 This post-apocalyptic role-playing game is the fourth part of the fallout series. The cheapest graphics card you can use to play Fallout 4 on, is an AMD Radeon HD 7870.

But according to the developers the recommended graphics card is an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780.

The game takes place in a retro futuristic world in 2077, so dive in and experience the game first hand.

Hitman 2 Launched in November 2018, Hitman 2 was wel-

comed with many positive reviews over its predecessors, and has gained popularity among the gamers.

We all know Agent 47 and what he is known for; by playing this game you can be part of his paradise that offers dozens of hours of trial-and-error in giant environments.

Minecraft The best way you can keep your stress at bay is by playing Minecraft. From sandbox games to an adventurous one, the game has something in store for each and every one of you.

To get the best experience with Minecraft Dungeons, you’ll need to be rocking at least Windows 7 with an Intel Core.

What better ways to keep yourself occupied this quarantine?! Try out the games mentioned above and you will definitely thank me later.

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ESPORTS

Popular Esports Games 2020 – Jonathan Pereira

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any of us grew up playing classic games such as Road Rash, Mario Kart, Sonic and much more.

Games have evolved from playing on Mitashi cartridges to DVDs, and right now you don’t even need a hard copy of the game. You can just download the game online.

The multi-billion-dollar industry has started to gain a lot of momentum and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Check out the top esports games right now!

Fortnite Since its release in 2016, Fortnite is a free to play battle royale developed by Epic Games. This first-person shooter game allows players to adapt into numerous situations in the game by harvesting materials and building structures as they survive in 44

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open areas of the game.

With over 10 million players within two weeks of the release, today its net worth is estimated around $2 billion, with new modes and chapters to be released.

League of Legends Developed by Riot games in 2009, League of Legends is the most popular esports game in the world.

The multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) consists of two teams, each CS: Global Offensive team has 5 players that are Throughout the years, many playing a different champion that has certain unique first-person shooters have abilities. Each champion come and gone, but one starts weak and increases title shined relentlessly in in strength as the game the world of gaming. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive progresses. which released in August League of Legends re2012 is considered to be one mains one of the most popof the largest esports games ular esports globally today, with over 800 competitors in the world. The game is on 100 professional teams played between two teams across 12 regional leagues –– terrorists and counter-terrorists. The objective is to around the world. save the hostages and deEsports tournaments fuse the bomb planted by the have attracted millions of terrorist. viewers from all around the This year Counter-Strike world with massive cash celebrated 21 years since its prizes. Gaming is a real release and continues to stay career field now. Top esports competitors earn six relevant in the gaming world.

Developed by Valve Corpora- to seven figures cash priztions, this is the fourth iteration es. Do you want to be one in the Counter-Strike series. of them?

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Dota2:

The International 9 – Jonathan Pereira

Credit - dota2.com

The International is one of ne of the most the most highly anticipatpopular multiplayer ed tournaments in Esports online battle arena every year. The top teams in games (MOBA) in the world compete to claim the ultimate prize - the Aegis the world is Defence of the Ancient 2 or in other words of Champions. The prize pool for the International has Dota2. ‘The International’ been setting a benchmark is an annual Dota2 world championship tournament, each year. The TI9 reached a massive $34 million, which is hosted and produced by gaming giant, creating the largest prize in Valve Corporation. esports history.

In the game, two teams of The tournament format five players each compete is similar to the FIFA World to destroy a large structure Cup. Teams from all around known as ‘Ancient’ which is the world compete in a professional league called Dora defended by the opponent and vice versa. Each player Pro Circuit. 16 teams then qualify to compete in TI. The has a different character that has unique abilities and qualified face-off in a round robin group stage and then attributes, called a ‘Hero’. in a traditional bracket for the finale.

The tournament was held in China for the first time, at the Mercedes-Benz Arena. This massive arena can hold up to 18,000 fans as they witness the teams battle each other to

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claim the championship title.

This prestigious tournament had over 1 million viewership worldwide.

The reigning champions OG - a team of five members - claimed the TI9 title. The European squad defeated Team Liquid in a stunning fashion. They were the first team in TI history to reach the grand finals in consecutive years with the same roster. The record breaking $15.6 million prize money was divided five ways, making it the largest individual payout at $3.1 million each.

Above all, OG now stands as the first two-time champions of The International and arguably the greatest Dota2 team of all time.

Quick fact: • 16 teams were invited to play for the title which comprised of a staggering $1.6 million prize pool (with $1 million for the champion).

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FUN SECTION

Fill it up, win prizes

Think you know your game well? Here’s a fun crossword to test your knowledge about Poker terms.

Take a look, fill the blanks and stand a chance to win free goodies!

Email us at contact@gutshotmagazine.com and the first 20 entries will be part of a lucky draw!

Kunal Patni before the TikTok ban When the lockdown began, Mumbai-based banker turned poker pro, Kunal, Patni was busy entertaining the poker community with his TikTok videos. Gutshot decided to pick and choose some of his videos that we thought were the funniest of the lot!

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Share some stories, get featured!

In case you missed the meme contest, we’ve got another contest for you guys. All you need to do is tell us your poker stories, especially the funny and strange ones and wait for our next e-mag edition to see the best one being featured! Saw someone ranting online?

Saw someone fall asleep at the live tables? We want to know. Email us at contact@gutshotmagazine.com

Gutshot Meme Contest Winners Hello meme creators and lovers!

We conducted a contest on our social media handles to send in the funniest memes related to Gutshot. As promised, here are the top four memes that were selected from the entries that came in over the last few weeks!

Taemin Panu

Deb Rajdip Animesh

Prakash Chaudhary

Irshad Chaudhary

Suited connectors bring the laughs Meet Dr. Yuvraj Singh and his wife Dr. Akanksha Singh, doctors turned professional poker players. They understand the importance of mental health especially during times like these and have kept us entertained by creating relatable and fun content. Lots of love to Suited Connectors!

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