Gutshot Player of the Month - Varun Meena

Gutshot Player of the Month Varun Meena Breaking The Shackles

By Donna Amo

Every month, the Advisory Board at Gutshot Magazine chooses the month’s best player from a list of nominees based on their online performances. With the online circuit filled with various talented players, for the month of August 2021, it was Varun Meena aka ‘Ganjababe’ from BLITZPOKER who was chosen as the Player of the Month. Hailing from the ‘Land of Maharajas,’ Varun is a 25-year-old Rajasthan-born poker professional. He made his decision to become a full-time pro player back in 2018 and since then has not looked back on his journey. He started as an MTT player and enjoyed a good run before turning his attention to Pot Limit Omaha (PLO). We spoke to Meena, who was excited and open to talk about his poker journey and the challenges he faced since becoming a professional. With an enthusiastic streak in him, Meena was surprised and happy about being chosen as the Player of the Month. Here is our conversation with this poker pro.

Congratulations! How does it feel to be chosen as Gutshot’s Player of the Month?

I feel very honoured to be chosen as Gutshot’s Player of the month. It means a lot to receive this kind of recognition.

Who introduced you to poker or was it something you discovered by yourself?

I was introduced to poker during my IITB days in a hostel social event by some seniors. I found the game very intriguing from the beginning. Once I learnt a little more about poker, I started playing with my batchmates. My shift to online poker happened when my college had an event with a site called StarPoker, they had hosted a freeroll for the students and I finished in second. This gave me the confidence to play online and the rest is history.

Poker tournaments always run late into the night; how do you keep your focus when pulling in the long hours?

I have always been a night owl, you could say that being an engineering student does that to you. I have also adapted my sleep schedule in such a way that I don’t have any problems while playing late at night. I sleep for at least 7-8 hours a day, you have to be well-rested to be on top of your game.

What was the most challenging thing you had to face as a poker player?

The most challenging thing I experienced as a player was in 2018, when I finally decided to quit my job and be a full time poker player. Apart from a few of my close friends, everyone lost their minds. But I was sure of my decision and I can say that it has been a good one.

You once shipped an Ultimate 6 Card PLO tournament, how was the experience and is PLO your preferred poker variant?

I absolutely love playing Pot Limit Omaha. Firstly, there is never a bad run in PLO, just variance. If you don’t get frustrated and remain on top of your game in the long run you will find success. I have shipped the Ultimate PLO tournament on

Username Total winning amount No. of tournaments played

Ganjababe 10,03,412 140 % win 9.33% Tournaments total buy-in amount 2,49,674 No. of times ITM 18 Avg.count of bullets fired in tournaments 67 Biggest win amount 492,712

Winning tournamet GTD Buy-in Bullets fired

Rank Winning amount Destiny 23 L 5500 0 2 492,712

Spartan Poker close to seven or eight times now. I was also a regular PLO-4 cash game grinder for 1.5 years before I decided to go back to grinding in tournaments.

You regularly grind on BLITZPOKER, what has your experience been like on the platform?

BLITZPOKER has a wide range of tournaments covering low, mid, and high stakes tournaments. The structure and the guarantee of its tournaments are currently best in India. The software is a lot smoother and provides a lot of customisation that makes it easy for players to use.

According to your performance on BLITZPOKER, you have managed to recover four times the amount you spent on your buy-ins, which is quite impressive. To what do you owe this incredible success to?

I regularly study the game at least twice a week. I also follow streams and YouTube channels of some very good poker players. Whenever I have a problem in a particular area, I always discuss it with my poker circle, so that I don’t get stuck in the same problem again. I think all these have helped me do well on the online felts.

What strategy do you follow when playing against certain types of players? Do elaborate a

little more. I used to follow this in my early days, so I’m sure small stakes players reading this would find it helpful as well, mainly because there are a lot of weak and passive players. a)Frequently bet when checked to, especially with hands that want fold equity. b) Make substantial bluffs when the board gets scary. c) When your opponents raise, fold your mediocre hands, continue with your best hands and draws that are getting correct odds. d) Understand that some players will call the river almost every time as they call the turn. e) Use bet sizes that make them feel as if their stack is at risk.

Since you started playing poker, what is the one tournament that you’re looking forward to shipping?

The one tournament I am looking forward to shipping would be the IOPC PLO Highroller. All the top PLO pros of the country compete in that one and to excel in it would be brilliant.

There is still a misconception about poker being a game of chance, what do you say to those who question your involvement in the game?

The thing is that people don’t want to really understand, the moment they see cards, they assume it’s gambling. I have tried to change the misconception of the people around me but there’s not a lot you can do if they are not willing to listen. I want to tell everyone genuinely how beautiful this game is. About how many things it involves from maths to storytelling to psychology and much more. I hope someday the majority of the people understand that poker is more than about winning or losing money.

For poker players going through a tough time, what is one word of advice you would like to give them?

If you want to be successful and move up the stakes, you have to be acutely aware of where your money is going to and coming from. Stay organized and disciplined, get rid of the “get-rich-quick” mindset, and focus on long term growth if you want to be successful in poker.