A Few Crucial Tips Every Player Should Consider for Winning a Final Table

Hitting final table in a live poker tournament is always big thing. It not only gives you a sense of accomplishment but also puts you in contention for the big prizes. Knowing what to look for and what adjustments to make can make a huge difference at the final table. If you are set on taking 1st place, you cannot be passive. Sure, you will have to play aggressively and take some calculated risks to extend your stack to put pressure on your opponents. You should avoid heavy confrontations with big stacks and should look for short stacks or passive and tight players who will fold to most of your heavy bets.

Your game also depends on the number of players remaining in a hand. If there are two to three players left and you are last to act with a good hand, you should play aggressively. Here is how you should play Finable Table:
Early Phase of Final Table

As Big Stacks
Being big stack at the final table, many players think that their job is to control the table and create pressure at the short stacks even with mediocre hands, which is a wrong approach. Your best weapon is your stack, don’t throw it away on daredevil moves by taking unnecessary risks, else you will lose your stacks in no time. You should apply pressure on your opponents when you have a good hand.

As Average Stack
As the final table begins, you should simply play your cards as an average stack. One of the biggest mistakes most poker players make is that they try to set traps or bluff opponents out of the pot. With many opponents remaining in the hand means someone may have a very good hand. So keep patient and simply play your cards. Don’t get caught in battles with the chip leader or other aggressive big stacks.
If you are an average stack, have a tight image on the poker table. For example, you are the button and only small blind and big blind are left in the hand. Now you have 73 off suites. A lot of offline poker players think it is a good spot to bluff or put pressure on the players in blinds, but this is a mistake. You are pretty much underdog with this hand and if someone in the blinds calls, you are likely to lose your stack. So try to steal only when you have a good hand and avoid confrontations with trash hands. Having a right image is very important especially when you are an average stack or a short stack at the final table

As Short Stack
When you are a short stack with less than 10 Big Blinds, you cannot afford to wait for long to make a move. But it does not mean that you should go all-in with any cards. Wait for playable hands like Ax-, K-J, A-K and go directly all-in. There is a no point of calling or raising when you have just 10Big Blinds. The best way is to get your stacks in pre-flop and steal blinds from short stacks or tight players. Going all-in can get good hands (like pocket pairs) to fold and to take down the blinds. But remember, you should make such moves when everyone has folded to you. You need to be very careful if someone has made a big a big raise before you, call or raise back to him with a good hand only.

Here is how to play as a short-stack at the final table:
• Pay attention to calling ranges 78s can be better than A3o
• Make a move after considering how many players left in a hand
• Mind your image. If you have raised 2 times in a row, fold your A8o
• Attack mid and short stacks and avoid confronting with big stacks
• Attack passive and tight players in the blinds to steal their chips
• If your opponent’s raise looks like a steal, bet 4 to 5 times to re-steal
• Identify a few players who you will be able to steal or re-steal chips
• If you are a small stack, try to quickly double up or triple up

Middle Phase of Final Table
When you have reached the middle phase of the final table, you need to open up your game a bit, because there are only 4 to 5 players left in the game and if you have a good hand, your winning probability is always higher. Hands such as A-7 offsuit, which you often don’t play in nine-handed, become raiser when you play short-handed table. To take the edge on the finale table, you need to steal one set of blinds in almost every hand, because you cannot wait for pocket pairs or other tops at this stage. If you wait for very big holdings, the blinds & antes will eat out your stack and you will be short-stacked in no time.

Some offline players become very tight and passive at this point and are trying to move up the payout ladder. They don’t want to take the risk of busting out. Take advantage of such players and steal their blinds. Don’t wait for big hands. Your holdings such as A-10, A-J, A-Q, and A-K are monsters at this stage. A-9 down to A-5 are your quality cards, and you can even play A-4, A-3, and A-2 with a raise. Watch out who is trying to accumulate chips and then try to re-steal from such players. Avoid calling all-ins,because whenever your opponents go all-in, they are likely to have a monster to kill your hand.
Here is how to play in the middle stage
• As big stack steal the blinds from small stacks
• As a short stack, don’t confront with big stacks
• Identify the loose players and act against them
• Don’t call all-ins especially if they are big stacks
• Avoid being passive, as it won’t help you to go far

Final Phase of Final Table- Heads-Up
Heads-up is the most crucial stage at the final table and it will decide who will win or lose. While second place will also give you a good amount, 1st place will be receiving double of your amount. It is a point of the game where you should think of strategies to win. Yes, it is an accomplishment to make a final table, but it is more of an accomplishment to make your way into heads-up play.

The heads-up depends on relative stacks. If you have an edge over your opponent, be prepared to shove around him/her. Try to get your opponent all-in whenever you have a better holding or you simply try to steal blinds whenever the opportunity arises. A few things you should apply in heads-up:
• Being big stack, don’t let small stack dictate you
• Get your opponent all-in if you have a better hand
• Don’t wait for big hands to keep your stacks size up
• If you are a short-stack, move all-in again and again

7 Common Mistakes You Need to Avoid Pre-Flop in Live Poker

Sure, poker sounds an easy game to learn but it is difficult to master. Many poker players believe that playing pre-flop is simple enough. It is for this reason that many players assume that pre-flop decision are trivial, which is not the case. In this blog, we are going to break down 7 common mistakes made by several players pre-flop and what we can do to avoid such mistakes with some simple adjustments:

1.Limping
It is when you enter the post by calling, rather than raising from the big blind. This is a very bad move to apply for a number of reasons. First, you cannot win pre-flop with an open-limp. Second, limping makes your opponents lives easier, as most of them call your action and your hand’s equity to win is decreased. Third, your open-limp is likely to face aggression from other players who are either looking to exploit or take the advantage of your weaker range by raising to you. So, it is better to avoid limps.

2.Not Playing in Position
The second pre-flop mistake is to fail to consider the relationship between your position and range. When playing pre-flop, you should always consider your position. If you open from early positions, you will not able to profitably defend your range and can be exploited by your opponents very easily. Your range should wider in these spots to defend or make profits pre-flop. When you are in the late positions, you always have an advantage over the players in early positions especially in the SB and BB. So from late positions, you should bet higher and try to steal blinds by forcing these players to fold.

3.Playing Too Passively
Another mistake, which many poker players make is playing too passively against raises from other players. Yeah, there are lots of players who flat-open with strong holdings as opposssed to 3 bettting. Choosing not to 3 bet pre-flop is again a big mistake for a number of reasons. First, 3betting will allow to extra more value from your opponents by increasing the size of the pot early. Second, 3 betting will also decrease the number of callers and hence increase your equity in that particular hand. Your chances of winning a hand with AKo/AKs or some other strong hands will increase many times.

4.Playing Too Tight in BB & SB
Some players play too tight in the big blind position, which should not be the case. If you are facing a raise from the small blind, you should frequently call considering the fact that you should defend your big blind at a high fequency. When there are only two or three players left and the action folds to you, the action should start with a raise in SB. There are a couple of big reasons as to why it is great move. First, you can steam big blinds if the player in BB chooses to fold to your 3 bet. By doing so, you also decrease the likelihood that you would have to play your hand out of position, which will put into risk.

5.Raising Too Wide or Narrow on Button
The button is one of the most valuale positions in poker and you should always take advantage of it. When you are in this positon, you have seen the actions of your opponents at the table and now you have this informational advantage over other players. When action folds to you, you should put pressure on blinds and try to steal their chips. While the button is an advantageous position, avoid over-raising in this spot, as you players in blinds may exploit you by 3 betting. While you should be careful in button, you should not raise too narrow or too wide. A good percentage of a raise in a hand should be between 40% to 70% depending on the tendencies or types of players in the blinds.

6.Calling Extremely Large 3 Bets
This problem is common in both online and live poker. Calling 3 bets form others players often comes out of ego especially when a player does not want to be percieved as weak player. Against 3bets, your odds are not very good. So, it is always better to fold your hands against 3 betting. However, if you have a very strong holding or if you observe a player calling 3 bets, you should exploit him or her.

7.Overvaluing Your Offsuit Hands
Many players overvalue hands like KJo/QJo, which should not be the case. This is a problem often in the middle positions where players are raising before you and you are calling them. You should have a tighter range in these positions in order to avoid a huge chip loss, which may lead you into trouble.

Meet The Biggest Winners of Deltin Poker Tournament (DPT) July 2017

While the July edition of the Deltin Poker Tournament (DPT) is in the books now, the excitement about Nitin Gupta who took down the DPT 35K Main Event title for a whopping INR 28.06 Lacs still continues. Gupta one of the new faces on India’s live poker circuit scooped the title in awe-inspiring way after dominating the final table of the 35K Main Event from beginning to the the very end. Another player who has become the talk of the town is the known face Rajnish Kumar from Patna who won the most coveted DPT High Roller title for INR 32.47 Lacs becoming the biggest winner of the series. While both Nitin and Rajnish were the biggest winners, there were other players who won impressive prize money for their grand wins. Here is a look at the biggest winners of the DPT July:

Who Earned the Most This DPT?
As mentioned above, Nitin Gupta and Rajnish Kumar emerged as the biggest winners of the 2017 DPT July edition. While Rajnish became the biggest earner of the series with INR 32.47 Lacs in prize money for his grand victory in DPT High Roller, Nitin Gupta came second, earning INR 28.06 Lacs for his win in the DPT 35K Main Event. It was a great series for Nitin, a new face who stunned everyone by winning the Main Event title. It was his first-ever DPT title and he was highly elated after this tremendous win.

Vishal Tulsyan Won INR 9.74 Lacs DPT15K Kickoff
The July edition of the Deltin Poker Tournament 2017 kiccked off in style with its opening event-15K Kickoff, which attracted an impressive field of 243 entries in total. Outlasting the field was the new face Vishal Tulsyan who beat Vikram Jain in the heads-up battle to win his first DPT title for 9.74 Lacs.

Among notables who took part in this opening event included Adda52 Team Pros Tarun Goyal and Kunal Patni, Adda52 Celebrity pro Minissha Lamba, Nishant Sharma, defending Main Event champion Mayank Agarwal, Manoj Pentakota, Sharad Rao, Shravan Chhabria, Rajat Sharma, Devesh Thapar, former Main Event champion Imran Khan, Mani Singh, Apaar Gautam, Gaurav Jain and Faiz Alam.

Gagandeep Malik Won INR 6.58 Lacs in DPT 15K Bounty
The4th biggest winner this DPT was none other than the former DPT High Roller champion Gagandeep Malik who emerged the eventual winner after defeating Ruhul Melwani in 2nd place in DPT 15K Bounty. Gagandeep earned 6.58 Lacs for his remarkable performance in this tournament, while Rahul Melwani settled down for INR 4.02 Lacs for making an impressive second place finish.

Among notable players who took part in this tournament incldued the notables present in the field were Adda52 Team pro Kunal Patni, Mayank Agarwal, PokerMet Team pro Dhaval Mudgal, Varun Gupta, Abhineet Jain, Anup Palod and the former DPT High Roller champion Manoj Pentakota.

Jasven Saigal Won INR 4.44 Lacs in DPT 15K PLO
The concluding event of the 2017 Deltin Poker Tournament (DPT) July edition was taken down by the well-known poker face Jasven Saigal who defeated Nishant Sharma in heads-up battle to take down his 2nd DPT title for INR 4.44 Lacs in the top prize money. Before this, Jasven won DPT 10K Kickoff for an impressive 8.8 Lacs back in February this year. Nishant won INR 2.70 Lacs for his 2nd place finish.

Sunita Sundar Won INR 70K in DPT 15K Ladies Event
The July edition of the DPT 2017 also featured 15K Ladies Event wherein Sunita Sundar emerged the champion and earned an impressive INR 70K for her remarkable victory. She defeated the well-known cash game lady player Manju Sauhlok in heads-up who won INR 40,000 for her 2nd place finish.

Rub Elbows with Your Favourite Poker Ladies in DPT July

This DPT is going to be more special, as it includes a specific Ladies Event, which is taking place for the first time in DPT and will guarantee a crazy action for women players expected to join in from various parts of India. It will be a freezeout event with a buy-in of INR 10,000. The tourney begins with a starting stack of 10, 000 and promises exciting prize money for the winner and ITM players. The tourney will have a late registration period, which will be lasting till the end of the first break.

Ladies Event, which seeks to promote poker as a ‘skill game’ in India is open to all women- professional players, amateurs and beginners. The basic idea behind this event is to get more women into the game and provide them a stress-free and welcoming atmosphere to help them build skills, confidence and experience to a level where they can enter open events and compete for the biggest prizes.

Ladies Event of the upcoming DPT(Deltin Poker Tournament) in July will be good for starters or for ladies who want to start to play poker. The organizers feel that there are hundreds of women who play the skill game of poker, but they don’t get right opportunities to showcase their skills and talent. This event on the DPT schedule will encourage such females to compete and win the big prizes.

Having more women in poker is valuable in many ways. First, it is good for the game when more people, whoever they are, play. Women represent an untapped market of India into which the game should expand in coming years. This is a worthy goal for DPT to pursue. Second, appealing to a bigger pool of players is a good thing for Indian poker. Poker is played in many parts of the country now, and winning hearts and minds will require showing that poker a game with mass appeal.

The upcoming Ladies Event of DPT July 2017 will serve as a wonderful opportunity for women looking to compete with the best poker brains in India. It will give them a chance to play with their favourite players or models they follow. To the delight of the poker ladies, they will be able to rub their elbows with the bollywood actress Minissha Lamba and other notables inlcuding Nisha Sareen, Maria Kirloskar and many other big names who are expected to join in this special tournament for women.

Of late in India, female players have been getting more media attention and becoming celebrities for taking down big events and picking up large cashes across various domestic and international events. If you want to join them or just wish to play with your favourite poker players, get ready for the DPT Ladies Event taking place on 23rd July at India’s largest and most luxurious Casino-Deltin Royale Goa.

Top 5 Ways Women Players Can Take Control of Poker in India

Ever since the skill game of poker has picked up in India, it has been known as a ‘male dominated game’. Whether played online, or played live in casinos, the number of women participants have been almost marginal. But the scene is fast-changing, as the beautiful game of poker has won the hearts of thousands of women and this is pretty clear with the increasing number of females participating across some national and international poker events. Women in India are breaking stereotype and changing the way the game is looked at and the way the world looks at India and female players.

Unlike early days when women were made to feel uncomfortable or unwelcome at poker tables, more staff and players encourage women to play in greater number today, but they still remain a glaring minority in poker tournaments. Only few female players including some well-know faces such as Adda52 Team Pro Nikita Luther, Muskan Sethi, Adda52 Celebrity Pro Minissha Lamba, Monisha Jain, Nisha Sareen, Niharika Bindra and Anju Abrol are seen in live poker tournaments and events. While men are trying to change the ways in which women have been traditionally treated, women should take the charge and change the poker scene in India. While it can be a long and frustrating process, there are several ways that women can try and take control of poker in the country. A look at 5 ways female players should try:

1.Improve the Game
If you really wish to compete and win against men in poker, it is important to spare some time to improve your game. Read best poker books, watch videos of the best players or take coaching from the best players if possible. Take part in free-roll or small-entry fee tournaments and cash games to practice and improve your game. Make sure you select the right starting hands, avoid playing too many hands, pay attention to cards or reach opponents at the table. Some men still think that women are not good players. Just work hard, play smart and change this perception about you!

2.Bring More Women
A message is better heard when delivered to more people. Follow the same and bring more women from among your relatives, friends andclose ones to the felts. When more women come to play, it will not only help to stand up against sexism and disrespectful behavior, but also it will increase the influence of women in Indian poker. Believe me, one person can be ignored by the offender or for that matter even by the management, but a group of people is more difficult to be ignored. At the end of the day, it is also good for the game, as it helps the poker market to grow up.

3.Use Social Media
This is the age of social media, which can serve as the best tool for awareness around poker. You can use it not only to learn and teach poker skills, but also to take your complaints about perpetrators at the table to the management of the poker room, casino, or tournament series. Social media is a great way to call out that behavior and generate support from others against unruly people. If you can bring attention to a particular situation on Twitter or Facebook, it can turn into a big cry for change, which will pressrize the management to take a stand for the fear of losing business.

4.Teach Other Women
One of the ideal ways to bridge the gender gap in poker is to bring in more women to the tables. Introduce some friends to poker, explain the game and teach them how to play and win in cash games and tournaments. They will see how intellectually challenging and stimulating game it can be. Women are no strangers to casinos, so pulling them toward poker will not only be good for the game but it will also help to increase the number of women participation across poker games and tournaments.

5.Have a Positive Attitude
Success is all in your attidude. Have a positive attidue and be passionate about what you do. Beleive me, there is no feild where women cannot dominate. All you need is passion and determination, as these elements will help you to overcome difficult moments and continue believing in yourself. Your attitude towards the attainment of success will for sure help you to develop skills and achieve your set goals in poker. Remember, there will be times when you will lose and again there will times when you will win or finish in the money. Don’t get discouraged if you lose in poker, as it happens to every poker player. Forget your loss, learn from mistake, improve your game and come prepared the next time. Approach your poker table with a new passion and fresh mindset so that you can compete and win against men.

5 Interesting Facts About India’s First Celebrity Poker Pro Minissha Lamba

Minissha Lamba born in a Punjabi-speaking family in New Delhi in 1985 is a gorgeous Indian actress who debuted with the film Yahaan (2005). Her notable films include Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. (2007), Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008), Well Done Abba (2009), and Bheja Fry 2 (2011). In 2014, Lamba entered as one of contestants on Bigg Boss 8. She is a graduate with English (Hons.) from University of Delhi. Something that many people might know about Minissha is that poker is a deep passion for her. She has been playing poker for about seven years now. She has been traveling to take part in India’s premier tournaments like Deltin Poker Tournament and India Poker Championship. She got highlighted in poker circuit in 2011 when she stood 4th in INR 15K Weekend Kickoff Tournament at India Poker Championship. Minissha also hogged limelight in 2015 when she tied knot with beau Ryan Tham. Now she is back in news for joining India’s largest poker site Adda52 as its first celebrity pro.

There are lots of interesting things about Minissha. Here are 5 of these interesting facts about her:

1.Minissha Wanted to Be a Journalist
Minissha who is a graduate with English (Hons.) from University of Delhi had a great love for writing. As a teenager, she was inspired by the bravery of CNN journalists and wanted to be a journalist after college but landed up in Bollywood. As mentioned, she made her debut in Bollywood with Yahaan and went on to work in several notable films. But his Bollywood career did not stop her from her passion of writing. Yeah,she still lived that passion of writing and wrote interesting blogs for Times of India.

2.Bollywood Career Came to Her Accidentally
When Minissha was pursuing her English (Hons.) in Delhi University, she was offered to model in ad campaigns for big brands like LG, Sony, Cadbury, Hajmola, Airtel, Sunsilk etc. She was also a part of the Femina’s Generation “W” ad. During an ad shoot for Cadbury, she was approached by the Bollywood director, Shoojit Sircar, who got impressed by her talent and looks and signed her to act in Yahaan (2005). So, she began her Bollywood career accidentally with Yahaan while still in college.

3.Got Married to Longtime Beau Ryan Tham
Back in 2015, Minissha came into headlines for her wedding with her long time boyfriend Ryan Tham. Yes, the gorgeous lady tied knot with Ryan Tham on 6 July 2015. Tham is a well-known businessman and the owner of Trilogy Nightclub Juhu, one of the famous and expensive nightclubs in Mumbai. Ryan met the beautiful actress Minissha in Trilogy Nightclub in 2013. They started as friends but soon their affection for each other grew more. They remained as friends for a period of 3 years and finally the marriage was declared by Pooja Bedi, cousin of Ryan who attended their marriage back in 2015.

4.She Has a Love for Travelling and Poker
Yup, Minissha loves travelling to beautiful and serene locations especially the beaches and mountains. When it comes to travelling where is never important but whom is what forms the best part of her travel. Luckily for her, she has been in a profession of acting which takes her to various exotic destinations. She has a deep love for poker, which ,like movies, enables her to visit beautiful places including Goa. Playing poker for seven years, she takes part in India’s prestigious poker tournaments.

5.Recently Became India’s First Celebrity Poker Pro
Minissha picked up poker when some friends came from abroad and explained the game to her. Initially, she found poker a bit complicated but the more her friends explained it, she learned it and gradually developed a passion for the game. Later, she clubbed acting with her passion poker and started participating in India’s premier tournament like Deltin Poker Tournament & India Poker Championship. Her notable score came in 2011 when she finished 4th in INR 15K Weekend Kickoff at Indian Poker Championship. Now the hot actress is in big headlines for signing up Adda52 as its first poker pro and soon will play her first international poker tournament WPT 500 Aria in Las Vegas.

Five Tips to Read Your Opponents at the Poker Table

Reading other players at the table means being able to have information about your opponents and then make educated guesses, which helps to win many pots. Different players have different tells, which you can judge by the way they act, bet or behave at the table. But you have to be careful in reading your opponents. Make sure to keep your ears and eyes open at all times. You should play other’s cards at the table and not just yours. Having bad cards does not mean that you are out of the hand, because you can bluff players who are tight and fold quickly after a big raise from others. Practice the following steps to improve your ability to read your opponents and make good decisions:

1.Categorize Your Opponents at the Table
Although there is no perfect short-cut to hand reading, the categorization of players at the table can help you a lot. Find out how tight or loose they are or how passive or aggressive they are at the given table. Also, check out if they are constantly betting and raising, or just checking and calling. Consider their experience and thinking level. All this will help you make better decisions and win more hands.

2.Consider Betting Patterns & Positions
As a poker player, you should know what your opponents are doing. You should take notes on their betting patterns in common situations. Watch out what they do pre-flop. Do they limp marginal hands and raise strong hands? Do they often check and feld if they miss the flop after raising? Do they steal blinds in late positions?How often do they 3-bet? Do they seem to steal blinds from under the gun ? Do they check and call? Do they check-raise? Do they semi-bluff or bluff several times?How do they play their big hands? Do they bet hard? Do they slow play? The answers to all these questions will help you to make superior decisions and win so many hand from your opponents at the table.

3.Have Evidence Before You Go for the Kill
Whenever you go for the kill in a hand, make sure you have evidence in place before making such a bold move. A prompt check or a delay followed by a check often shows weakness. On the other hand, a delay followed by a bet indicates strength. A sudden big bet on the river card by a tight player after a bit of thinking is a sign of an excellent hand. Loose-aggressive players should be handled with a bit caution, as they are likely to often make the same moves to scare off their opponents at the table.

4.Keep Your Ears Open to Read Poker Tells
If you keep your ears open amidsts the tinkling of chips and loud music, you will be able to hear something else, which is often a sigh or a slight sound of disappointment. This is a tell, which often means that your opponent has a strong hand and is trying to quietly indicate otherwise. He/she might go extra mile, saying “bet” or “call” sadly. So, always keep your ears open to avoid being trapped.

5.Watch Other Players, Not just your Cards
Take time to read your opponents through some hands to make better decisions. When the flop hits, look at the other players reactions to the flop. If you a player quickly turns his/her attention after the flop, it means he/she is often holding a strong hand. When a player stares at you, it means they are probably acting to scare off you. Such players might call, but the raise is unlikely in that case.

Poker tells that indicate a player has a strong hand may include shaking hand, full relaxed speech, eyes open and not blinking, nose flaring, rapid breathing, glancing at chip stacks, impatient & wants to bet, etc. On the other hand, poker tells that show a weak hand may be fake smile, nail biting, hand over eyes, eyes blinking, lip biting, breathing through mouth, holding breath, broken speech, etc.

Five Indian Poker Players Who Left Their High-Paying Jobs for Poker

Poker is a fun game, which is fast catching the nerves of Indian masses. Although it is not an easy way to make a living, there are already many professional poker players who have developed the ability and skills to stay in the game and are earning enough money to live comfortably. In fact, these people think out of the box and probably don’t want to go back to working 60 hours. They prefer playing poker for living rather being stuck in those boring jobs. This is perhaps the reason why they have left their jobs for poker.

A Look at Successful Poker Faces Who Left Their Jobs To Become Professional Poker Players:

Kunal Patni

Kunal Patni is a banker hailing from the commercial capital- Mumbai. Right from the start, he had guts to become a successful professional poker player. Initially, he used to play poker recreationally with freinds and colleagues since 2012. However, he became serious about poker when had a great run in the Asian Championship of Poker (ACOP) in 2014. Later, Adda52 (India’s largest poker website) approached him to be a sponsored pro for them in January 2015. That was really when he took the call on giving up his banking career for poker. Since then, there has been no looking back for Kunal.

Today, Kunal Patni is a star player from India with several big milestones in his kitty. Having over $175,073 in total live earnings, he had many deeps runs and cashes across several big money events including Deltin Poker Tournaments (DPT), World Series of Poker (WSOP), World Poker Tour (WPT), PokerStars Championship Macau, APT Asia Poker Championship, Macau Poker Cup and many more.

Tarun Goyal

A software engineer worked in IT hub of Bangalore, Tarun Goyal hails from Bathinda in Punjab. First time he heard about poker was from adda52. He picked up the game back in 2012 and started playing on major sites like Adda52, PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, etc.

He is also one of the few players who left their full time jobs to pursue their career in poker.Playing poker for about 5 years, he is now a well-known name in live as well as online poker circuit. He was living his poker dream back in 2016. That year, he won DPT 10 Kickoff for a whopping INR 635,000 and then he followed up with several big wins in online events on India’s largest poker site-Adda52.

He not only won big online tournaments, but also won the Adda52 POY 2016 title. Recently, Tarun caught up media attention for his winning 3 heads-up events in Poker Sports League (PSL), which concluded on 29th May 2017. Like many players, he has also this dream of going to WSOP and winning the bracelet for India.

Abhineet Jain

A management graduate from XLRI, Abhineet Jain is one of the prominent names in India’s poker industry. Like many others, he too got introduced to the game of poker during his college days. After college, he joined Tata Motors and worked there as a manager for few years.Despite a tight schedule at office, he put decent volume online and also played some of the live tournaments in Goa bagging cashes across several events in Deltin Poker Tournament and India Poker Championship (IPC). His recent cash includes 16,098, which he got in 15K Bounty at Deltin Poker Tournament February 2017. After quitting his full time job at Tata Motors, he is enjoying success in his new passion & career-poker.

Well-known by his online name as ‘pokemon13’, Abhineet has earned a big name in India’s poker industry, especially in the past few years. Be it high stakes PLO cash game or online MTTs, he has excelled in all popular poker games and tournaments. Today, he is one of the best PLO players in the country and is approached by several well-known pros for PLO coaching. Though his forte is PLO, he plays many Texas Holdem games as well. He has won several big money live and online tournaments.

Mayank Jain

The story of Mayank is amazing. Like most youngsters, Mayank Jain picked up the game during his college days. Studying at IIT-Roorkee, the engineer got inspired by a few poker professionals and took their cue to start playing the game to kill his time initially. Though he played poker, but he never thought of taking it up professionally after college.

He first became an entrepreneur and started a music website called musicfeels.com. The website came in headlines when Gaana.com offered to purchase it and Mayank sold it off and worked with Gaana.com. Later, he quit his job in 2015 and wrote a book on the lessons he learnt from his first start-up. During this time, he visited Goa for a New Year celebrations and won huge money playing poker. This was actually when he fell in love with poker.

Mayank lived in Gurugram and played online poker to make a good sum of money. Dissatisfied with life in Gurgaon, he moved to Goa and took up poker professionally. The proximity to casinos helped him build his skills and he finally took up poker a full-time profession. He says,” Being an engineer from an IIT background, I knew I had the required maths skills to be successful in the game.”

Today, he is one of the prominent players on the Indian poker circuit. He plays both live and online tourneys. Back in 2015, he finished 8th in INR 10,000 + 1,500 No Limit Hold’em – Super Knockout at IPC ( Indian Poker Championship). Recently, he finished 37th in No Limit Hold’em Kick-Off at DPT February 2017.

Manoj Pentakota

The 29-year old Mechanical Engineer, Manoj Pentakota hailing from Vishakhapatnam quit his job with a US-based trading firm in Pune to pursue poker professionally. The decision seems to have paid off now, as he has been doing quite well in his poker career.

Pentakota has tasted considerable success in both online as well as offline tournaments. Like Abhineet Jain, he mostly plays high stakes online PLO cash games, but he is good enough at playing Texas Holdem. Back in February 2017, he won DPT 60K High Roller after defeating a packed 202-entry field to claim his career’s best score of INR 33 lacs. His recent cash in DPT includes his win in No Limit Hold’em – Tag Team at DPT April edition 2017. Like any serious poker aficionado, Pentakota wants also to make it to the WSOP and win the bracelet for India.

Three Most Popular Live Poker Rooms in Goa India

Live poker rooms have always been one of the things that has attracted card players. In India, one of the most sort after live poker rooms are in Goa. From style, class and the live feel of the game, these poker rooms are an experience worth a visit. So, if you want to experience, live poker rooms in Goa, India, here are the three most popular casinos to try out.

Deltin Royale, Goa

This is the latest and one of the most luxurious additions to the live poker rooms in Goa. This is a floating casino and one of the most happening places to be this holiday season. It is spread over an area of 40,000 square feet and has over 120 gaming tables, along with a gourmet restaurant. This is India’s only casino that has a dedicated poker room, for nonstop gaming and nonstop fun. If you want that rich and classy feeling, there are exclusive VIP gaming suites that can be booked.

The entry fee to Deltin Royale, Goa starts from Rs. 2000/- per person Monday-Thursday and for Friday-Sunday it is 3000/- per person. This cost includes unlimited food, alcoholic drinks, entertainment and playing chips allotment. The casino is open all 7 days, 24×7. However, the entertainment starts from 7 PM onwards. There is also a dress code, smart casual and no shorts, flip flops or sleeveless shirts.

Casino Pride, Goa

Casino Pride comes second in the list of live poker rooms in Goa. This is a place, where you can find big poker tournaments live in action. You can also enjoy Bollywood style live acts at this casino. The casino is spread over 30,000 square feet with three floors, along with a 10,000 square feet Weather Deck. This place really comes alive with parties and New Year celebrations. Kids are also allowed in this Casino and there is a dedicated Kid’s Zone with computer games to keep them entertained.

The entry fee for this Goa casino is 1500 for Monday to Thursday and you get a Play Coupon of 1000 per person. For Friday-Sunday, it is 2000 per person and you get a 1000 Play Coupon. Also included are unlimited buffet, unlimited drinks, while playing at the table. The casino is open 24×7 for all seven days and the live entertainment starts around 9 PM every evening. The dress code is smart casual with no shorts, sleeveless shirts or flip flops.

Deltin Jaqk

This casino was previously named Casino Royale and was in 2013 renamed as Deltin Jaqk. This casino is spread over an area of 12,000 square feet and three floors. This is one live poker room in Goa, where beginners can also play comfortably. Players can also find special learners’ tables, helping them get the real experience, live in action.

The entry fee here is Rs. 2000/- for Monday to Thursday and the player gets a onetime Play Coupon worth Rs. 1500. For the weekend, i.e. Friday to Sunday it is Rs. 2000 and you get one time Play Coupon of Rs. 1000. This amount also includes unlimited buffet and drinks while playing at the tables. The casino is open 24 hours for all days of the week and the live entertainment starts at 9 pm. Once more, the dress code is smart casual with no shorts, flip-flops and sleeveless shirts.

There are other live poker destinations in Goa, however, for the best experience, at least one visit to these casinos is must.

Bangalore boy wins the DPT 10K Kickoff event

Vidwath Shetty wins the 10K Kickoff event of DPT Nov edition after defeating Keshav Chadda in the heads up match at Deltin Royale.

Vinod got eliminated in the 3rd place, heads up began between Vidwath and Keshav Chadda in the Deltin Poker room Goa, both the players went all-in during pre-flop. Vidwath had Js-Ks and Keshav had Qc-10c. The board ran out Kh-4c-Ac-5d-8s, giving Vidwath hit a pair of Kings, which was enough to cover up his opponent and win this most coveted title of the day. Vidwath took home Rs. 4,30,000, for the first prize, where as Keshav Chadda got Rs. 2,70,000 for the runner up finish.