Gutshot E-Magazine July 2020

DNEGS SPEAKS
TO GUTSHOT
An exclusive chat
with the poker
superstar
WSOP
GOES
ONLINE
For the first
time in its
51-year
history
DESTINATION
POKER
What’s it like to be
locked down in
Mexico?
GLITTER AND
GOLD
IPC Awards
celebrates India’s
best poker talents
COVID DISRUPTS
LIVE SPORTS
How fantasy sports
brands tried to stay
alive
Volume 1 | Issue 2 | Mumbai | July 2020 | Pages 86
INDIA POKER
CHAMPION
Rubin Labroo lifts the crown at the
2020 IPC Main Event
www.gutshotmagazine.com

G U T S H O T J U LY 2 0 2 0 0 50 4 G U T S H O T J U LY 2 0 2 0
C O N T E N T E D I T
MANAGING EDITOR
Sameer Rattonsey
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Peter Abraham
CONTENT
Dwayne Fernandes
COVER IMAGE
Ravinder Singh Photography
STYLING
Urvashi Bhardwaj
SHOOT CO-ORDINATOR
Shareef Punndith Films
DESIGN
HB Design Pvt. Ltd.
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Sajid Moinuddin
Volume I Issue 2
July 2020
Printed and Published by: Peter Abraham for Gutshot Entertainment Pvt.
Ltd., S/6-8 Khira Industrial Estate, B.M.Bhargava Road, Santacruz (West),
Mumbai-400054
Gutshot Magazine is not responsible for the opinions or views expressed by
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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
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Gutshot Magazine reserves the right to change, update this disclaimer and policy
at will without any notice.
T
he most important five letter word in our
lives is poker. However, in the last few
months, it’s been virus or Covid for virtually
everyone on this little blue marble called Earth.
What strange times we are living in…
This is usually the time of the year with a lot of
excitement because the World Series of Poker,
the ultimate dream tournament for any poker
player, is well underway in the poker capital of
Las Vegas. But up until a couple of weeks ago,
the streets of Sin City wore a deserted look
and it’s not all that much better right now either.
Casinos are shuttered in pretty much all gaming
hotspots of the world from Vegas to Europe to
Macau and everywhere else in between.
While it feels all doom and gloom, the Corona
virus did give us an opportunity to add an ‘E’
in front of our magazine. With traditional print
options and more importantly, mail and courier
services deeply impacted, this was the only
way we figured would allow our readers to con-
sume our content. So welcome to the first ever
Gutshot e-magazine!
Our cover story features the latest star in the
world of Indian poker – Rubin Labroo. This
30-something year old prolific player from Delhi
crushed a record Main Event field at the Jan-
uary edition of IPC to be crowned the newest
India Poker Champion!
We’ve got coverage from some of the top
live and online events which have taken place
over the past few months, the fore-mentioned
WSOP also scoring a ‘First’ with its first ever
online series which will award bracelets, strate-
gy content from some of the best minds in the
business as well as some focus on travel and
mental health.
Stay healthy, stay safe and keep crushing!
July 2020 Volume I Issue 2
www.gutshotmagazine.com
PETER ABRAHAM
Editor-In-Chief
EDITOR’S NOTE5. Editor’s Note
6. Indian News
8. IPC Awards 2020
10. Nikita Luther signed as Spartan Pro
12. You’re all (NOT) invited to Kitty’s Game
16. IOPC Jan 2020: A Booming Success
18. Say Hello to the End Boss
20. Boot Camp could be the Montessori of Poker in India
23. Strategy: How can one improve their MTT play?
24. WSOP 2020 Goes Online!
27. Strategy: Combining GTO and Exploitative Strategies
30. Kid Poker in conversation with Gutshot Magazine
32. COVER STORY: Rubin Labroo – India Poker Champion 2020
38. Pokerbros: Play poker the way you want, when you want
42. Challenges faced by payment gateways in India
44. Strategy: How to see more ‘Upswings’ in cash games?
46. Baazi Poker Tour welcomes 2020 with a 7Cr series
48. Chips, Champagne, Celebrations at IPC Jan 2020
50. The dilemma of legalizing sports betting
53. Level Up: Cool Gaming Gear you can buy
54. How Covid-19 put the brakes on a speeding fantasy sports train in India
56. Industry spotlight: Playerzpot
58. Blockchain: The way forward?
64. Make way for the Shahzzadi – Disha Pandey
66. Bill Perkins on playing the Choker Challengers Cup
68. Poker and Investing – Kanishka Samant
70. ‘Piece of Mind’ by Suited Connectors
72. Diary of an Indian poker pro stuck in Mexico
74. Raising the corporate button
76. Be your Own Hero – Meherzad Munsaf
78. Poker Royale – Aditya Wadhwani
83. Bringing the laughs since 1993 – Suresh Menon

0 6 G U T S H O T J U LY 2 0 2 0
I N D I A N N E W S
G U T S H O T J U LY 2 0 2 0 0 7
Team India
becomes IFMP
Asian Champions
Kunal Patni ends
5-year relationship
with Adda52
A
power-packed team
of seven Indians
brought home the
2019 International
Federation of Match Poker
(IFMP) Asian Nations Cup
after a 4-day long event.
Taking place in Taiwan’s
Taoyuan City, it ran between
5-8 November and Team
India was crowned ultimate
winners of the Asian event.
Nations participating
included Australia, Hong
Kong, India, Israel, Japan,
Korea, Philippines and
Singapore, and Team India
consisted of Aditya ‘Bitti’
Agarwal, Krina Gala, Prateek
Mishra, Rishab Jain, Tanmay
Bagga, Tarun Mundkar and
the captain Gaurav Gala.
The road to success was
topsy turvy but India didn’t
fail to capitalize on their
Day 1 lead, walking away
victorious!
If our poker community was
Team India, Aditya Agarwal
would be Sachin Tendulkar.
Often looked up on as one
of the leading lights of Indian
poker, he’s arguably the best
poker mind in the country,
associated with the game for
over a decade. In December
2019, he decided to part
ways with PokerStars India,
a brand he was associated
with for 5+ years. A number
of global poker pros have
been splitting with Poker-
Stars and this was the first
time an Indian ambassador
took this step. He posted
about his departure on social
media and the community
showered him with luck for
future endeavours.
Aditya Agarwal parts ways with
PokerStars India
Rajasthan
HC reiterates
Dream11 as
game of skill
A
dding further
weight to past
rulings in similar
matters, Rajasthan HC in
February ruled fantasy
sports as a game of
skill. A division bench
comprising of Chief
Justice Indrajit Mohanty
and Justice Ashok
Kumar Gaur reiterated an
order given in the prior
week by the Punjab and
Haryana as well as the
Bombay High Courts
that the game cannot
fall within the activity of
gambling or betting. “The
respondent company’s
website and success in
Dream11’s fantasy sports
basically arise out of
users’ exercise, superior
knowledge, judgment and
attention…. Equally so,
before I conclude, I must
express that gambling is
not a trade and thus, is
not protected by Article
19(1)(g) of Constitution
of India and thus, the
fantasy games of the
respondent-company
cannot said to be falling
within the gambling
activities as the same
involves the substantial
skills which is nothing but
is a business activity.”
Reliance Jio may
soon enter the online
gaming market
T
he rapid growth in the
digital industry has
boosted online gaming
in India, be it fantasy sports,
poker, rummy or e-sports. And
for Asia’s richest man (at the
time), Mukesh Ambani, online
gaming could be the next big
thing here. Reliance Industries
chairman Mukesh Ambani in
conversation with Microsoft
CEO Satya Nadella said there’s
huge potential for gaming in
India. “For many of us who
don’t know what gaming is,
it is very hard to imagine,
but gaming will be bigger
than music, movies and TV
shows put together.” Google,
Microsoft have plans of online
gaming and if Jio enters the
frame, there’s a possibility of
users having access to several
options in India.
P
oker pro Kunal Patni took
to social media in April to
announce the end of his
relationship with Adda52, one
of 5 years! Looked up to by
hundreds of upcoming poker
players in India, Patni left his full-
time banking job to turn to poker,
after which he earned $460k+ in
live poker. “Guys just wanted to
share some development. I have
been fortunate enough to have
been signed as one of the first
Adda Pros when they started
the program and continued
being with them for 5 long years.
However, all good things come
to an end and it’s time now for
us to part ways. It’s been an
absolutely amazing journey for
me and I was blessed to have
been with Adda for such a long
time. Wish them all the very best
for the future!!”
MS Dhoni signed as PokerStars India brand
ambassador
Nazara
buys stake
worth INR
14.6 Crore
in Halaplay
P
eople all around
the world are
turning towards
online gaming,
especially after the
COVID-19 lockdown.
One such gaming
company, Nazara
Technologies,
acquired Kae
Capital’s stake worth
INR 14.6 Crore to
become a majority
stakeholder in
fantasy gaming
platform Halaplay.
Comprising of
fantasy cricket,
kabaddi and football
leagues, Halaplay
rose quick in the
industry and is a
brand to look out for.
“The company has
now gone ahead and
bought Kae Capital’s
stocks in Halaplay
making it the
majority investors in
the fantasy sports
vertical,” a statement
by Nazara read.
C
aptaining India to 3
international trophies
including 2 World
Cups, breaking individual
records, and proving
his intelligence
every single time,
MS Dhoni has
achieved almost
everything at
the highest
level. Initially
brand
ambassador of fantasy sports
operator Dream11, MSD took
them to new highs and in April
2020, he was signed by
leading poker website
PokerStars India as their
brand ambassador. As
per reports, the official
announcement was
delayed because of
the postponement
of the Indian
Premier League
(IPL).

I P C AWA R D S
Poker, 9stacks, PokerDangal,
FTRpoker and PokerHigh,
who were invited to grace the
event and also present a set
of awards to their respective
best players. TV celebrities like
Anita Hassanandani, Karan
Patel, Shruti Sinha, Basheer Ali,
Suresh Menon and others were
part of the guest list while there
were some scintillating perfor-
mances as well.
An awards ceremony is noth-
ing without its hosts and that’s
why IPC picked two of the best
in their fields in Abhishek Goindi
and Gursimran Khamba. Part
of the now-disbanded All India
Bakchod (AIB) group, Khamba
is known as one of the top co-
medians in the country and he
was there to set the mood for
the night while Goindi is nothing
short of a celebrity himself in the
poker community.
Players to be felicitated
included IPC September 2019
winners, IOPC July 2019 win-
ners and the most consistent
performers across other online
platforms as well. To spice
things up a bit, Goindi also
announced his own set of
fun awards called the ‘Machli
Awards’. Of course, WSOP
bracelet winner Abhinav Iyer
was also felicitated towards the
end of the night for his historic
bracelet winning moment at
WSOP 2019, where he became
the first solo bracelet winner
from India!
IPC Awards 2020 -
Night of the Stars
IPC Awards 2020 -
Night of the Stars
S
tars in the back-
drop of this breezy
night in Goa.
Guests seated on
the deck of Asia’s
largest offshore
casino. A red carpet rolled out
for the celebrities and best
performers of the year. You
could’ve easily mistaken this
for a high-profile film awards
night. But this night was about
the beautiful game and the
India Poker Championship
Awards left no stone unturned
to make sure they put together
a night to remember!
It was 2017 when IPC first
decided to come up with an
awards night. With players
performing well in online and
live poker across the country,
it only made sense to call the
best performers and felicitate
them every once in a while. The
first edition was in Bangalore’s
Sheraton Grand Hotel, the
second in Sahara Star Hotel in
Mumbai and the third on board
the Big Daddy Casino in Goa!
Apart from being a glamorous
night, IPC Awards focusses on
bringing to light the achieve-
ments of our hard-working
poker players, and it’s the only
one of its kind in the country
right now. Celebrities from dif-
ferent fields were at the latest
edition in Goa, while India’s
best poker players and other
top entities of the industry were
also present.
For the first time, IPC collabo-
rated with a number of domes-
tic online brands like Spartan

1 0 G U T S H O T J U LY 2 0 2 0
I N T E R V I E W
D
ubbed the
Superwoman of
Indian poker, Delhi’s
Nikita Luther now
reps the Spartan Poker
brand. She speaks to Gutshot
Magazine about her latest
partnership…
Nikita, tell us how you view
Spartan Poker as a brand?
Spartan Poker is an energetic,
dynamic and exciting brand
that has always been at the
forefront of innovation. Be it
record breaking live events
(IPC), unique tournament
formats, massive guarantees,
celebrity associations,
female representation, award
functions, owning a leading
Poker magazine or just pure
style and glamour - they
are hard to keep up with!
They’re tirelessly in pursuit of
growing this beautiful mind
sport of Poker. Partnering
with Spartan was a natural
progression for me and so
far, it has been a delight. The
team is very enthusiastic,
proactive and efficient.
The brand is sure to scale
unprecedented heights and
I’m happy to be part of this
journey, contributing to that
growth and growing with
them.
Any personal goals you
wish to accomplish as
optimistic and hope things
start returning back to normal
towards the end of the year
when the spread of the
disease is under control and
risk is minimised.
Words of advice for
Gutshot Magazine readers
I feel the following are
sacrosanct in poker:
• “Poker takes a minute
to learn and a lifetime to
master”. No truer words were
spoken. Being the best at
poker is a long commitment.
Be prepared for it.
• There are no two ways
around it, you only get better
at the game by studying.
Study as much as you can,
whenever you can.
• Trust the process - there
will be downswings and
there will be bad beats but
know that as long as you are
making correct decisions,
you will make money in the
long run.
• Follow principles of
bankroll management
strictly.
• Maintain a solid mindset
- control tilt, no ego plays
and let go of toxicity and
negativity towards others, in
as well as out of the game.
Spartan ambassador?
One that has always
been close to my heart
is encouraging female
participation in the game.
There are a lot of women
that love playing but do so at
a recreational level. They’re
holding back from taking the
plunge into turning pro. If I’m
able to represent women well
under the Spartan Poker
banner, I’ll be able to help
more women find the courage
to consider going pro. I hope
to be able to inspire women
to be unafraid to break
stereotypes in any field of their
choice.
How are you personally
dealing with the COVID-19
situation?
With online poker
skyrocketing, players are
keeping extremely busy. I’m
playing online quite a bit and
when not playing, I’m studying
- learning new things every
day is extremely interesting
and enjoyable to me. I’m sad
that live stops are cancelled
but it’s an opportunity to
better my online game.
It’s hard to say when the
live scene will improve but
casinos around the world
have started opening up
with extra precautions and
hygiene protocols. I’ll remain
Nikita Luther is now
a Spartan Team Pro!

1 2 G U T S H O T J U LY 2 0 2 0
I N D I A N N E W S
G U T S H O T J U LY 2 0 2 0 1 3
I N T E R V I E W
‘F
ull time pro poker
player, I love traveling,
drinking, challenging,
don’t like be a normal
girl, try to be special
one’. That’s what you’ll read
if you stumble upon her
Instagram handle,
@kittymstar. Truly, she’s a
star in every sense of the
word, having accomplished
so much over the years, and
becoming a highly rated poker
player in the process. Add to
that good looks and a witty
personality too!
We’re talking about
Taiwanese pro Hui Chen Kuo,
better known as Kitty Kuo,
who has been playing poker
since over a decade now. Her
skills at the poker tables have
earned her much respect
over the years. She’s had
deep runs in Macau, Taiwan,
Las Vegas, England, Aussie
Millions, EPT stops across
Europe and much more,
while also bagging titles like
APPT Macau (Nov 2015), APT
Manila (Apr 2012), Macau
Poker Cup (Oct 2009) and a
WSOP Circuit Ring at Caesars
Palace, Las Vegas (Apr 2010).
These add up to live earnings
of over $2.3 million!
A familiar face in live events
across the globe, Kuo settled
in Las Vegas to pursue her
love for the game. When I
spoke to her for this feature
though, she was in Taiwan
because there wasn’t much
live action happening in Vegas
(thanks to the coronavirus
pandemic), so she chose to
spend some time with her
parents, sisters, and sister’s
kids in Taiwan.
With a Degree in Electrical
Engineering, perhaps even
she wouldn’t have seen a
career as a poker professional
coming up. She made trips
schedule much. However,
not being able to go workout
was one part of her routine
which was majorly affected.
Her poker plans too, were all
altered. “All my WPT live tours
and EPT stops have been
cancelled. Most of the time, I
travel every 2 weeks, but now
I guess I can take a long break
from the live poker tour.”
2012 was Kitty’s first time
in a WSOP Main Event and
she was very nervous -
OBVIOUSLY. In one hand, she
folded with top pair over a
bluff. Pissed about it, she said
to her opponent, “You play
like a fish.” Six months later,
she had the same opponent
on her table in a Main Event in
Australia. “Do you remember
me?” he asked, and her
answer was an outright “NO”.
That was Russell Thomas
and today, the two are happily
married with funny tales to tell
about their first few meetings!
Kitty, what does the
game of poker mean
to you?
For me, winning a title is
more important than winning
1 million at a cash table. If
I just want to make money,
I’ll run a business. I started
poker because I enjoy reading
and bullying people at poker
tables. And of course, it feels
good when I win a trophy!
Do you receive
any coaching or
mentoring?
Darren Elias (1 year) and
Steffen Sontheimer (3 years)
both coach me right now.
They show up every week for
2-3 hours, one for cash games
and one for live tournaments.
They are poker geniuses and I
am so lucky to have them.
Tell us about Kitty
Kuo off the felts…
I only like shopping and a
massage or two when I have
additional free time - very
expensive hobbies.
If you were given $5
million to never play
poker again, would
you accept?
That’s a right amount, yes. My
parents offered me 2 million
a long time ago and I thought
the price is too low. Now
poker is tougher, so 5 million
and I will quit haha!
At 4th
place on the Taiwan
all-time list for winnings in live
tournaments, Kitty Kuo proves
those wrong who say poker
is a male-dominated sport. It
was a pleasure speaking to
Kitty who on a parting note
said, “I wish all my poker fans
come to my site Natural8 to
play poker with me, and also
support all the female players
in the poker world.”
- With inputs from Dwayne
Fernandes, Gutshot
Magazine.
YOU’RE
ALL
(NOT)
INVITED
TO
KITTY’S
GAME!
YOU’RE
ALL
(NOT)
INVITED
TO
KITTY’S
GAME!
RAPID FIRE:
Russell or you – the better poker
player?
We’re different. He’s smart and
I’m a hard worker. Both good
poker players, but I’m better like
51-49%.
One goal you want to achieve in
poker?
Winning a WPT title is the next 5
years goal. And I want to become
Molly - all businessmen playing
at Kitty’s ‘Invite Only’ game.
Night of online grinding or night
of clubbing?
Night of online grinding 99%. As I
said, I’m a nerd.
Favourite Team Hot member?
Dong Kim because he’s a
handsome man.
Favourite sport apart from poker?
Table tennis.
Top 3 favourite female pros
Maria Ho, Kristen Bicknell, Kitty
Kuo.
Taiwan or Las Vegas?
Las Vegas 99%. My parents pay
too much attention to me when
I’m in Taiwan, so no freedom.
Live or online poker?
Live poker for sure. I like staying
in different cities every month.
Biggest fish in international
poker?
Kitty Kuo.
to Vegas during her studies
every weekend where she
played Blackjack a lot. Yes,
EVERY WEEKEND! There,
she discovered poker and her
love for the game and soon,
Kitty shockingly revealed to
her parents plans of moving
to Vegas to be a full-time
poker pro! I can’t imagine
their reactions but “If you give
her $1 to play poker, we’ll
get divorced” said by one
parent to another is enough to
gauge the tensions in the Kuo
household at the time. Her first
year in USA was especially
tough since her parents
weren’t talking to her for 6
months!
A member of the esteemed
Natural8 ‘Team Hot’, Kitty is
not one to back down from a
challenge. “4 years ago, when
the Natural8 boss contacted
for becoming a Team Pro, he
mentioned the common goal
of making it the most famous
poker site. I’m not a fan of big
companies. I prefer joining
small companies and making
them big. This was more
challenging. But if I’m valued,
I can join any company, it
doesn’t matter,” she said to
us about her association with
Natural8.
Kitty claims to be a
bookworm and a nerd when
she’s not travelling the world
for poker, so the COVID-19
lockdown didn’t hurt her
“If you give her $1
to play poker, we’ll
get divorced”

I N D I A N N E W S F E AT U R E
I
n a poker series, the Main
Event is always the biggest
attraction - whether live or
online. In India too, we have
plenty of highlight events
in poker series but no one
has more bragging rights
than the Main Event cham-
pion. Such was the case on
Spartan Poker too, when
they successfully hosted the
India Online Poker Champion-
ship (IOPC) between 24 Jan
– 9 Feb 2020, with an INR 16
Crore guaranteed prize pool up
for grabs.
Right through, Anurag Srivas-
tava hadn’t really caused major
issues for other competitors
but he brought his A-game
on the final day of the series,
(read that coverage here).
430 players were paid and it
couldn’t have been an easy
final table to get past, with the
likes of Kanchan Sharma aka
‘Bubblegum’ (5th), Sriharsha D
aka ‘Fish2050’ (6th), Sandeep
Varma aka ‘effuno’ (7th) and
others on it!
You think this achievement
was impressive?! Well, we
did too, until we went over to
Adda52 to realize he had also
taken down the AOPS Mil-
lions INR 30 Lakhs GTD on
that platform to claim another
INR 8.92 Lakh in prize money.
We’re still trying to fathom what
it must’ve felt to be Anurag Sri-
vastava that night! He showed
pure analytical skill, compo-
beating a field of 3,400+ en-
tries to ship the most coveted
Millionaire Main Event INR 3
Crore GTD title, which was the
biggest ever tournament on
Spartan Poker yet.
With the buy-in at INR
11,000, the prize pool was
smashed and inflated to INR
3.49 Crore, which only meant
more prizes for all, especially
Srivastava who played under
the username ‘Norman Bates’
and defeated ‘PokerBadger’ in
heads-up to collect INR 59+
Lakh from the tournament
prize pool, making him India’s
biggest online poker winner
at the time, until his record
was broken a few months
later by Abhishek Maheshwari
sure, talent and well, there
must’ve been a teeny-weeny
slice of luck too, maybe! We
asked him what was going
through his mind at the time
and he was clearly short of
words, saying, “It’s just a surreal
moment at 5:15am in the morn-
ing. It’ll probably take some time
just to digest it. I owe all my
success to my coaches in India
Poker Pros (IPP).”
The best part about IOPC is
that it’s not a situation where
one winner takes all. Everyone
has the chance to win big and
that’s exactly what happened.
Winning an IOPC title in India is
super prestigious and no one
is going to forget you anytime
soon, especially if you take
down one of the features.
No, it’s not a typo that has Dh-
ruvin Kothari’s name up there
twice. Some players were ex-
ceptional right through the se-
ries and he was certainly one
of them. In the past, Kothari
has won massive on Spartan
Poker, once even winning a
stunning new Mercedes Benz
last year and his love affair with
the platform surely continued
earlier this year! “The SHR win
was even more special as the
player pool was small but very
tough. It also validated the fact
that the Millionaire Legends
win was not a total fluke. Thus,
it was even more special,” he
said after winning his second
major of the IOPC series!
The most consistent of
them all - Amit Sur
17 days of intense poker action
on Spartan Poker and at the
end of it, Amit Sur aka ‘Immor-
tal Killer’ topped the IOPC Lea-
derboard (LDB). Just to give
you some perspective into how
tough it must have been, a total
of 4,749 entries were recorded
on the IOPC Leaderboard and
Sur topped them all, finishing
in the money in 57 different
tournaments and also bagging
two IOPC titles along the way,
racking up a total of 11,637
IOPC Leaderboard points.
Just to refresh your memo-
ry, Sur is no one-time won-
der, having also grinded right
through the IOPC July 2019
series, where he narrowly
missed the top spot on the lea-
derboard, finishing second to
Neeraj Kumar. But this time,
there was no stopping him as
he won a swanky new MG
Hector, and a lot of respect
from the poker community as
well.
“Being runner-up in the last
IOPC was very heart-breaking.
But yes, it did help me as I had
the experience of chasing the
TLB and grinding 14 hours a
day for 15-17 days. And it’s be-
cause of this experience from
last time that I was able to build
a stronger strategy this time
to win the IOPC TLB,” he said
after the series ended and he
was announced LDB winner!
Overall, INR 20+ Crore was
given away in that edition of the
India Online Poker Champion-
ship but Spartan Poker is al-
ways raising the stakes, having
introduced the July 2020 IOPC
edition with a record-breaking
INR 25+ Crore series prize
pool. Never before has such
an amount been given away
in online poker in India and it’s
going to be absolute madness
once it kicks off on 9th July.
Read more here!
DHRUVIN
KOTHARI
AMIT SUR
As the Jan-Feb 2019 edition of India Online Poker Championship (IOPC) came
to a close, Anurag Srivastava won the Main Event and walked away as the
happiest man in the country, for sure!
IOPC Jan
2020:
A Booming
Success
IOPC Jan 2020 biggest
winners:
• IOPC Millionaire ME
– Anurag Srivastava
• IOPC Highroller
– Manoj Pentakota
• IOPC Millionaire Legends
– Dhruvin Kothari
• IOPC Super Highroller
– Dhruvin Kothari
• IOPC PLO Highroller
– Gaurav Sood
• IOPC Leaderboard
– Amit Sur

I N T E R V I E W
T
he ultimate. The
supreme. The
legend. The
showstopper. The
one who goes
down in Indian poker history.
The END BOSS!
Between 15-19 April 2020,
India’s biggest ever online
poker tournament called
End Boss was hosted
on PokerBaazi, where a
whopping INR 5 Crore GTD
prize pool was advertised, an
amount which was unheard
of and quite frankly, we didn’t
expect the poker industry to
reach here quite so soon. It
was an ambitious effort by
PokerBaazi but they managed
to pull it off, breaking the
guarantee to create INR 5.85
Crore in prize money over
multiple starting flights and a
total of 5,847 entries.
The coronavirus pandemic
surely helped their cause as
almost everyone across the
country was at home but
let’s not take anything away
from what was a historic
achievement, a tournament
where the top finisher would
go home with a minimum
prize of INR 1 Crore! By the
end of the 5-day event, it
was Pune-based Abhishek
Maheshwari who took away
this spectacular prize and
grabbed the most coveted
title of End Boss!
As the tournament reached
the business stages, there
were plenty of known names
in the running but when the
final blow was dealt, it was
Maheswari a.k.a ‘Human_AI’
who was declared champion,
and the community went into
a frenzy trying to figure out
who this then-anonymous
player was. There was plenty
of speculation but it only took
a few hours before the secret
was revealed and Maheshwari
was showered with praises
from top players from across
the country. What a difference
a day makes as Maheshwari
was relatively unknown in this
industry. 24 hours later, he’s
the latest hero on the Indian
poker circuit.
In fact, as soon as the
tournament ended, it was
known pro Goonjan Mall who
posted on The Players Group
where he said that this was
equal to the 2003 journey of
WSOP Main Event champion
Chris Moneymaker, a feat
which revolutionized the
SAY HELLO
TO THE
‘END BOSS’
game of poker in USA. This
statement was made because
like Moneymaker, Maheshwari
also sattied his way into End
Boss and went on to claim this
life-changing title. He deposited
5k, won a satellite, and went on
to win the End Boss too!
Maheshwari was introduced
to poker by one of his friends
in 11th Grade after which he
used to play house games
occasionally. However, it was
much later in around 2018
when he started figuring
out the strategies involved
in the game, which led to
him beginning his journey of
grinding low stakes on online
poker websites.
In the early days, the End
Boss claimed that he used to
play poker like Teen Patti, i.e.
like a gambler. He claimed to
have made a lot of mistakes
but his game started getting
better as he watched more
videos and poker content on
YouTube. “My passion for poker
made me go through a lot of
content on YouTube. I could sit
through 12-hour videos of EPT
(of course, with a little bit of
forwarding). There’s so much
quality content online for those
who wish to learn!”
Maheshwari named Phil
Ivey as his number #1 role
model while also mentioning
Daniel Negreanu as one
of his favourites and more
recently, Garrett Adelstein too.
No one reaches such highs
without a lot of hard work
and overcoming difficulties.
Similarly, our winner said, “The
biggest challenge I faced was
tilt. Many a times, I felt like
punching a wall and lost money
because of a bad beat in the
previous hand. I knew this
couldn’t continue and started
practising meditation, which
helped me overcome tilt to a
certain extent. As you learn the
game more, you realize bad
beats are a part and parcel of
poker.”
Abhishek, we’re going to
ask you the most cliched
question - How did it feel to
go down in history as India’s
biggest online poker winner?
The feeling was super
overwhelming and not
something I couldn’t express
in words. As soon as I won it,
I couldn’t believe my eye and I
couldn’t breathe. Varun (Ganjoo,
Marketing Director of Poker
Baazi) called to congratulate me
and I said, “Dude, I might just
puke right now.”
Any advice to poker players
who aspire to become the
next End Boss?
My advice would be to learn
the game before playing
online or even live. In the early
days, I used to put in Rs. 500
and 1,000 and blow it away,
gambling on the tables. I’d
suggest you start with a plan
and maintain a dairy if needed.
People have got their “Indian
Moneymaker” story and are
going to enter the circuit
hoping they get lucky and win
big too. What they don’t realize
here is that I did study the
game for a long time, and the
learning is something that never
really ends. It’s a continuous
process. Don’t get into poker
hoping to just get lucky! I
myself wish to start learning
better bankroll management.
I’ve got a head-start that most
can only dream of, so I wish to
make the most of it.
Winning a prize like INR
1 Crore in online poker
is something no one had
done before and it’s a
milestone moment we won’t
be forgetting anytime soon
either. Being a massive
sum of money, Maheshwari
mentioned that he’ll be
donating around 10% of his
winnings to the noble cause
of helping migrant workers
who were suffering during the
initial phases of the lockdown,
trying to make their way back
home. Congratulations to the
End Boss!

2 0 G U T S H O T J U LY 2 0 2 0
I N D I A N N E W SI N T E R V I E W
“W
e believe that
playing poker
is a life skill,
much like
swimming and driving, and
in teaching you that life skill.
Once learnt, you can swim
and drive, and likewise play
poker correctly for the rest of
your life. However, that doesn’t
ensure you’re Ian Thorpe
or Michael Schumacher. It
ensures that when you get into
a pool or sit in the driver’s seat
of a car, you’ll know what to
do. If you want to excel after
that, it’s totally up to you. Our
goal is to make sure you can
play poker for the rest of your
life. Wherever in the world you
go, you will be comfortable
to play poker and will know
the best approach along with
winning strategies. You can’t
become a Schumacher if you
don’t know how to use the
clutch, accelerator and brake
in sync. Similarly, we don’t
promise that you become
Daniel Negreanu, but that
you make money out of the
game, which facilitates your
move towards becoming a
Negreanu. We’re focussing on
teaching people the process,
indicators, approach and
factors - stuff they won’t learn
otherwise. Welcome to Poker
Boot Camp India!”
That introduction says it all
about the Poker Boot Camp,
founded mid last year by
Abhishek Goindi and Tanay
Hargunaney. Focussing on
beginners and intermediates,
they want to help grow
and build the Indian poker
industry, teaching newbies
how to take on the game
and sustain over a period
of years and possibly even
decades. Goindi obviously
first of its kind in India.
Abhishek, what does the
boot camp do differently
from other coaching set-
ups?
The regular coaches teach
you how to 3-bet Ace King
and how to play with 30-40
Big Blinds. What we teach
you along with this is how to
be a profitable player - that’s
the main aim. By teaching the
core skills involved in poker,
you’ll be able to play anywhere
in the world - online and/or
live. Like I mentioned in the
analogy above, I’ll teach you to
swim. Once you learn that, you
can choose if you want to do
100m, 500m or whatever else
to take it to the next level. But
if you come to the boot camp,
one thing we’re assuring you is
that you’ll know how to play for
the rest of your life. You won’t
be in a situation where you
won’t know what to do next.
You’ll know the concepts,
which games to play, when
to get out of a game, when to
up the stakes, how to find the
sucker on the table, how to
manage your bankroll and how
to apply yourself. If you want
to be the next big star, you
can go to Doug Polk or Phil
Galfond, but they won’t teach
you concepts - they’ll assume
you know these concepts and
they’ll make you better from
there. We’ll be the Montessori
and high-school of poker. You
can’t write a sentence if you
don’t know ABC. We’ll teach
you the ABC and how to string
sentences, and you’ll survive.
You want to go do a Masters
or PHD after that?! Go ahead!
One might argue that you
don’t need to go to school
to learn English. However,
the ones that do have a solid
fundamental approach and
can snowball from there.
Same with poker – you can
learn the game without being
trained and stuff, but…
If you play the game without
learning it, you’ll probably lose
a few lakhs, say “F*ck this
game” and not return. That’s
not what I want and that’s not
what the industry wants either.
Our idea of the bootcamp is
to help create longevity and
ensure playing poker becomes
a life skill, rather than just a
phase of a few months.
needs no introduction - poker
pro, commentator, host and
now coach who has $300k+
in live cashes along with a few
titles like the DPT Highroller
title in February 2019.
More recently, he’s made a
smooth transition to online
poker, with quite a few wins
there as well. Hargunaney
himself is an accomplished
poker player. He completed a
degree in Computer Science
from IIT Patna, and it was
during this time in college
that he discovered the
game, combining analytical
and math skills to outwit all
opponents. Together, they
started the poker boot camp
which has received a fabulous
response over the last year or
so. Dwayne Fernandes from
Gutshot Magazine spoke to
Goindi to know more about
the boot camp, which is the
Where did the idea of the
boot camp come from?
What was the initial
response?
When I was younger, I played
a lot of sports and believed
in coaching my teammates
to help them get better, while
learning from them as well. I
noticed that model of teaching
having great success over
the years. As a poker player
too, I didn’t get coaching or
mentoring initially but as I kept
getting coached, I saw my
game getting better. Similarly,
we saw drastic improvements
when we taught others. We
wanted people to fall in love
with the game, and it has
worked so far.
I always wanted to get into
the poker coaching sector.
One day, Tanay approached
me regarding content on my
social media. We spoke a lot
and I realized he wants to do
something. I had a lot on my
plate so I wasn’t committing to
anything earlier but as I kept
speaking to him, plans started
getting more concrete.
We initially thought of
targeting players coming down
for IPC (Sep 2019). We did it
and realized that we may need
to run separate workshops in
Delhi, Mumbai and other cities
too, rather than just Goa. It
would give us better footfall
and better revenues. There
was a crazy response and
COULD BE THE MONTESSORI
OF POKER IN INDIA!
BOOT CAMP

I N T E R V I E W C O L U M N
they all suggested we come
to their respective cities. The
initial batch in Goa left the boot
camp with 100% satisfaction.
We changed their perception
towards the game.
What can students expect
from signing up to the boot
camp?
You can’t write essays if you
don’t know the alphabet, and
the first 4-5 days of the boot
camp is ONLY for explaining
the most basic concepts in
poker – positions, stack sizes,
hand ranges, math. Students
have doubts and we try to
clear these doubts for them.
We give them information
on how they need to think.
Example: It’s not just about
thinking that your opponent is
bluffing you. It’s about putting
him on a range of hands and
then narrowing down to what
he could be bluffing with.
What are the reasons for
betting in poker?
1. Bluff
2. Value
3. Eliminate your opponents
4. Hand protection
These are the only 4 reasons.
There’s nothing outside
this. So, we try and teach
these basic concepts. If your
opponent gives you a fifth
reason, you know what to do!
The two of us split it up:
Goindi – Mindset,
profitability, approach,
longevity, how to
look at poker
as a business
– Holistic
approach
Tanay –
Technical
aspects – nitty
gritty of the
game.
Give us some insight
into the kind of training players
receive in the boot camp...
Education and awareness
are the shortcomings of this
industry. We instil the concepts
and then tailor programmes
based on your strengths and
weaknesses. We also do a
lot of experiential learning.
We play games and discuss
every hand. The game ‘Guess
the hand’ helps understand
each other’s thinking. We
focus primarily on the thought
process. We do live stream
training too. I live stream my
playing sessions and then
run the students through my
hands and decision making
while playing.
Different players want
different takeaways from the
industry. So, you have to ask
yourself – “What do you want
out of poker?” Fame, money,
sustainability? If you want
ONLY fame, don’t come to us.
If you want sustainability and to
make profits from poker, come
to us. Fame is a by-product
of everything else. Currently,
with the coronavirus lockdown
in place, learning to play and
make money from poker
seems to be the right way to
go about things!
Clearly, there’s much to gain
if you sign-up to the poker
boot camp and you can get
all details of the courses
available on their website.
You can sign-up and get
access to a webinar and a
FREE kit and you can choose
from paid courses as well:
• Hello Poker - Live
Interactive Coaching –
INR 24,999
• Think Like a Pro –
INR 24,999
• Hand History Discussion
– INR 11,999
CLICK HERE TO AVAIL
THIS OFFER.
SUBSCRIBE NOW!
Rs 22,999
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PRICES
SLASHED
Rs 2000 Off
How can one improve their MTT play?
M
any players are hooked on to tourna-
ments from the second they try this for-
mat, yet struggle to excel in this game.
If you ever wondered how you could improve
your play, I will try to answer this question
today. If you are ready for the hustle, you can
reach a lot on your own by playing and learning
alongside.
Learn the math
It is essential to understand concepts such as
pot odds and equity to make the right deci-
sions in poker, and you especially want to avoid
costly errors in MTTs.
Overfolding from the big blind is one of the
most common mistakes.
When antes are in play in later stages of the
tournament, you are getting ridiculously good
odds to call small raises and see the flop, so
should do it with any even remotely playable
hand. Even 62s will have more than enough
equity to make a profitable call, so make sure
not to overfold in these situations.
Practice ICM
While early MTT stages are very similar to cash
games, you have to consider pay jumps and
stack sizes when making decisions later on.
This is where the Independent Chip Mod-
el (ICM) comes into play, and it helps you to
understand your chip’s real-money value based
on your stack and payout structure.
Without going into complex calculations, the
main takeaway here is that chips you lose are
worth more than chips you gain, so sometimes
you have to fold even in a positive chip EV
situation.
Without understanding this concept, you will
have a hard time beating MTTs, so use avail-
able software to study ICM and keep practicing
it at the tables.
Review your sessions
When you have these fundamentals, you
should start playing more often. In the end,
there is no substitute for
your own experience.
However, only playing
is not enough, and you
should spend some time
reviewing your sessions.
Many players like to review only big pots or
hands where they lost the tournament, but
that is just not the best option. If you commit
to reviewing your session, review it from start
to finish, and I am sure you will see things in a
different light when not playing. You are likely to
notice small mistakes that can cost you a lot in
the long run, and that will be time well spent.
Form your network
Like in all fields of life, having a strong network
of like-minded friends in poker can massively
boost your progress and results at the tables.
Most professional players constantly discuss
hands, various situations, and learn from each
other, so you should also take advantage of this
option. Form a study group with your friends or
find poker enthusiasts online, and you will soon
reap the rewards.
Author bio:
Tadas Peckaitis is a professional
poker player, author, and poker
coach at MyPokerCoaching.com,
where he helps other poker players
to excel. You can follow him on
Twitter and Facebook.
Top 3 inside tips from a poker coach:
• Early stages – Proper hand selection and patience can take you
very far. Instead of playing random hands, target weaker players,
and try to play more pots with them.
• Mid-game – Start stealing more blinds when antes are intro-
duced in the game and attack shorter stacks who are afraid to bust.
• Late stages – one of the best ways to build your stack is to tar-
get players who are opening too much by 3-bet shoving over their
raises. This is a point where you have to take some risks.

F E AT U R E
Y
ou’re sitting at a table
where seven, eight
or even nine others
are seated, and there
are hundreds of similar tables
to your left, right, front and
back. Such is the setting at the
World Series of Poker (WSOP)
which takes place each year in
Las Vegas – undoubtedly, the
most prestigious annual poker
event across the planet.
When you look at a sport
like tennis, there are only one
Premier League (EPL) were
suspended in cricket and
football, and Wimbledon, the
world’s oldest tennis champi-
onships could get cancelled,
there was no question about
the WSOP being cancelled, or
at least postponed. Officials
said they were studying the
coronavirus situation since as
early as January 2019, and it
was in April when the official
decision finally came around -
WSOP 2020 POSTPONED!
or two competitors on either
side of the net, and in games
like football and cricket, we
have a maximum of 22 play-
ers on full-size grounds at any
point of time. With the WSOP,
hundreds or more likely thou-
sands of people are at the
same venue at any given time;
all from different parts of the
world, using different transport
systems to get to Sin City.
So, if the Indian Premier
League (IPL) and the English
In the case of Wimbledon,
it was the first time the tour-
nament was cancelled since
World War II. That’s how grave
this COVID-19 situation is, in
case you didn’t already know!
As for WSOP, it’s the first time
in the last 16 years that the
series stood postponed. It was
in 2005 that the series had
a different start month and a
fall schedule could be the first
ever in WSOP’s 51-year his-
tory, since Johnny Moss was
declared world champion in
1970.
Those who realize the seri-
ousness of the situation know
that they can not only contract
the virus but can be a vehicle
for its continuous spread too.
WSOP Executive Director Ty
Stewart mentioned the chance
of the series being hosted
online, which was probably be
the best solution for everyone
involved. Right enough, the an-
nouncement of shifting WSOP
coming global event was post-
poned to July 2021. For an
annual event like WSOP, being
moved a year ahead is as
good as being cancelled. Over
the last few months, plenty of
live poker brands like Asia Pok-
er League (APL), Asian Poker
Tour (APT), Triton Poker and
others cancelled one or more
of their events immediately.
If a short-term problem, it
makes sense to cancel your
tournaments. Now, consider
that fact that we haven’t yet
found a cure for the virus.
World governments are pre-
paring their citizens to learn
to live with the virus, just like
we do with dengue, cancer or
even AIDS. Yet, did you believe
that cancelling is still the best
option?!
It made sense for brands to
turn to their focus to the online
business. World Poker Tour
(WPT) partnered with party-
poker for a couple of online
WSOP Goes Online and
Now Everyone has a
chance at a Gold Bracelet!
COVID-19, what have you done? The WSOP moves online for the first time
ever in 2020 but the possibility of live action hasn’t been ruled out yet!
2020 online
“Bright light city gonna set
my soul, gonna set my soul on
fire, there’s a whole lot of mon-
ey that’s ready to burn, so get
those stakes up higher. There’s
a thousand pretty women just
a-waitin out there, and they’re
all livin’ devil-may-care. I’m just
the devil with a love to spare.
Viva Las Vegas. Viva Las Ve-
gas!” Lyrics from King himself,
Elvis Presley, perhaps the most
apt description of the spectac-
ular city, one which is always
buzzing and up to some mis-
chief. Yet, Vegas looked noth-
ing less than a ghost town after
being hit by coronavirus:
50 bracelets waiting to be
won on GG Network!
Postponement or cancella-
tion! These were two solutions
for live sporting events when
COVID-19 first struck. The
Summer Olympics takes place
once in 4 years and the up-

F E AT U R E F E AT U R E
events, APL luckily launched
their online platform just before
the virus went widespread, and
most recently, APT hosted two
online series on the GGPoker
network.
“It wouldn’t be Summer
without WSOP. While we are
thrilled to be reopening our
venues and optimistic about
future offline events, we
couldn’t be more excited about
deepening our relationship
with GGPoker and watching
some history unfold online this
summer,” said Ty Stewart after
announcing that WSOP 2020
will be moving online. After
offering a whopping $100 mil-
lion in the WSOP Online Super
Circuit on GGPoker, they were
the favourites to host this event
and what we assumed came
true eventually.
A total of 85 bracelets will
be awarded online which has
never happened before in
the history of this series. The
event begins on 1st July on
WSOP.com and between 19
July – 6 September, at least 50
gold bracelets are waiting to be
won on the GG Network. While
this was the best possible
solution, it’s going to have its
share of problems too. Players
from around the world will have
to login at different timings.
1pm in Las Vegas is like 6am
in Melbourne and these erratic
timings may not be fancied by
everyone. Additionally, WSOP’s
highest attendance comes
from America themselves.
How do they then participate
when only few states across
the country are allowed to play
online poker in USA?
Can India’s dream run at
WSOP continue?
2017 - ADITYA SUSHANT
There’s Milkha Singh’s gold
medals at the 1958 and 1962
Asian Games, Prakash Padu-
kone winning the All England
Badminton title in 1980, India
winning the ICC World Cup
in 1983, Leander Paes and
Mahesh Bhupathi reaching
the men’s doubles finals of all
4 Grand Slams in 1999, and
others that go down as historic
moments in India’s sporting
history. Aditya ‘Sushi’ Sushant
winning India’s first WSOP gold
bracelet with partner Nipun
Java is right there in that list!
2018 - NIKITA LUTHER
The following year, it was Del-
hi’s Nikita Luther who went
on to win top honours in Las
Vegas, shipping the same Tag
Team Event that Sushi was
successful in, with German
partner Giuseppe Pantaleo.
She was India’s second overall
and first female to triumph at
the WSOP.
2019 - ABHINAV IYER
WSOP 2019 saw the most
recent champion in Vegas and
India’s first winner in a solo
tournament. Iyer shipped
Event #84 The Closer, which
was also the title of the last
edition of Gutshot Magazine.
Winning over half a million
dollars, Iyer has inspired thou-
sands of young Indian poker
players since then!
A hat-trick of gold bracelets
is what we’ve achieved so
far, and India will be eyeing
its fourth consecutive year
of success. Whether live or
whether online, we have plenty
of contenders gunning for gold
whenever and wherever WSOP
2020 does take place. In a
recent survey conducted by
Gutshot, the community voted
Sriharsha Doddapaneni as the
best all-round tournament
player in India. So, he’s
surely a contender. However,
we won’t be surprised if desi
players end up capturing multi-
ple bracelets this time around.
Remember, Indians have way
more experience grinding
online than live, so ‘WSOP
Online’ may definitely work in
our favour
Did You Know?
One of the premier tennis
events in the world,
Wimbledon cancelled its
2020 edition to collect
on pandemic insurance!
After the SARS outbreak
of 2003, Wimbledon’s
governing body, the All-
England Lawn Tennis
Club, inserted into their
insurance contract a
global pandemic clause
for which they paid an
extra $1.8 million every
year in premiums totally
$31 million from then
to now. By cancelling
the Championships, the
organisers were able to
collect close to $124
million in claim damages!
A
fter AI called
Libratus went on
to claim victory in a
poker match over
some of the best
players in the world
in 2017, a growing interest had
sparked in using computers
to find answers to poker
decisions. This landmark event
coincided with the release of
affordably priced poker solvers
such as PIOSolver, leading
to a lot of players developing
an infatuation with GTO.
Unfortunately, despite some
of their best efforts, many
GTO enthusiasts found that
adopting a GTO approach
to the game didn’t ensure
winning results or even at
times a significant edge over
their rivals. These players were
left scratching their heads,
thinking, “What do I need to do
to beat the games I’m playing
in?”
Whilst use of a solver fits
nicely into a poker learning
regime, it certainly isn’t the
be-all and end-all of poker
learning. “Students of the
game shouldn’t rush into using
solvers and model their game
around the solutions they
generate,” says 2018 WSOP
Europe winner Jack Sinclair,
well known for his creative
poker play. “The basic idea
of GTO, or an equilibrium
strategy, is to play an optimal
strategy that can’t be exploited
in any way by an opponent
also playing a ‘perfect
strategy’. But more often than
not, players at the table are
making sub-optimal decisions.
After all, they’re only human!”
A lot of the players have
never used solvers or are
even trying to implement
a steadfast set of rules for
hands they play. Some
players might have read a
poker strategy book and have
a starting hand chart they
refer to; others still might have
played around with solvers.
It’s this mix of recreational
and pro players that creates a
swirling sea of possibilities at
the poker tables.
Here’s where those seeking
answers from solvers tend
to struggle. Applying an
approach that assumes your
opponent is playing perfectly
when they aren’t results in
a lot of missed value at the
table. Whilst you can try to
customize solver settings
to reflect the play of a hand
and a specific opponent’s
strategy, it’s generally a
painstaking process and if not
done meticulously, can result
in inaccurate data.
Although poker game meta
seems to be slowly evolving,
by no means are we close to
the point where we can simply
rely on a GTO playing style
to make maximum money.
The top players are still using
human brains as best they
can and making a ton of
money in the process. This
always trumps GTO strategy
in the majority of games
people play. It’s part of what
Pro Jack Sinclair says
his success started after
taking the PokerNerve
course
“What do I need
to do to beat
the games I’m
playing in?”
COMBINING GTO AND
EXPLOITATIVE STRATEGIES
TO WIN AT POKER

2 8 G U T S H O T J U LY 2 0 2 0
F E AT U R E
makes PokerNerve’s Road to
Success Course so effective.
It doesn’t drop players in the
deep end. It starts off teaching
core fundamental knowledge
and then expands to more
advanced concepts, enabling
students to become smarter
all-around players, equipped
with the skills required to out-
think their opponents, without
relying on memorizing data
outputs.
We’re not saying solvers
aren’t useful. In fact,
PokerNerve’s strategist Kelvin
‘Acesup’ Beattie uses
solvers and is a PIOSolver
specialist. Students who enrol
in Road to Success can gain
a lot of familiarity with the
software, learning not just
how to efficiently use it, but
importantly how to get the
most out of it.
Poker solver GTO outputs
allow students to see how the
game would look when played
perfectly. This can serve as
a reference point or ‘baseline
strategy’, helping players better
understand the game. When
these players detect their
opponents are deviating from
the baseline, they can adjust
their strategy accordingly to
take advantage. It’s difficult
to know how much to adjust
your play without having
the baseline as reference.
Example: If a player should
c-bet 50% in a given spot but
we suspect them c-betting
100% of the time, it leaves
them vulnerable to counter
plays such as check-raising
and calling more than normal.
Executing these adjustments
makes all the difference when
it comes to beating the game.
Implementing a purely
GTO solution doesn’t take
advantage of opponent
mistakes and effectively leads
to a lot of players playing
defensively by not trying to
‘give anything up’. This is
where Acesup feels many
players are currently failing
and Gutshot spoke to him
for further insights. “The best
approach is to stay offensive
and look for opponent
weaknesses to attack. Solvers
can help clue us in on how to
do this by highlighting where
your opponent is deviating
from an optimal strategy,
but ultimately, it’s up to the
player to be poker savvy. They
need to be prepared and
able to adapt to the myriad of
decision-making spots that
come up in the game.”
It’s this integration of solver
solutions with lessons like
Multi-level Thinking, Piecing
Poker Information Together
and Poker Psychology that
give PokerNerve a depth no
other poker course has, giving
its students an edge on the
felt. Combining what AI has to
offer with the human element,
Acesup has developed an
excellent recipe for beating the
game. This galvanization of
GTO with exploitative strategies
gave players like Jack Sinclair
the skills required to achieve
great tournament results.
He used the knowledge he
acquired to obtain some very
impressive results.
Now, with 4+ million dollars in
live poker winnings, Jack said,
“The Road to Success Course
was life-changing. Within 2
years, I went from a low stakes
grinder to playing competitively
in some of the highest online
and live games against the
very best players. For such
a small investment, getting
the Road to Success course
was a no brainer. I wouldn’t
be where I am today had the
course not helped me get the
skills I needed to compete at a
high level. Huge thank you to
PokerNerve!”
For those interested in
improving their tournament
poker game, like Jack, Gutshot
highly recommends the
Road to Success Course.
It’s comprehensive and we
particularly liked the semi-
bluffing, stack size, donk
betting, lead betting, over
betting and small blind play
lessons. We went on to
negotiate with PokerNerve to
bring you the course at a very
affordable price. Using code
‘GUTSHOT’, you’ll receive a
flat 25% discount! Be sure to
take advantage of this offer
today!
‘Acesup’ believes Indian players
have an excellent mindset for poker
We had some more
questions for Kevin ‘Acesup’
Beattie…
Kevin, is your course the
only one a player will need?
It really depends on what
your goals are. I’ve personally
done every course online. At
PokerNerve, we believe we’ve
put together the best course
for aspiring poker players
- strategy content that can
help you reach an extremely
high level of play. If you want
to compete regularly at the
highest level, being open to
whatever quality information
you can access is going to be a
plus. So, I always recommend
going back through the course
several times and then trying
other courses because in
poker, you can never afford to
stop learning.
You’ve been in the industry
20+ years now…
I remember holding a hand
ranking chart in the casino to
see if a flush beat a straight
back in 1999. I was fascinated
with the game but basically
a fish! So, I got a couple of
poker books and that helped
a lot. The game started to
get easier and I was winning.
Back then I never thought I’d
go on to win over $5,000,000
playing and have students win
over $1,000,000 in a single
tournament! But the trick was
just to stay a student of the
game. I really can’t stress that
enough for people trying to
excel at the game. Everyone
loves to play but those who
spend time studying the right
strategy material rise to the
top.
Any experiences with
Indian players at the
tables?
I’ve played online with Aditya
‘Intervntion’ Agarwal quite a
bit and also Raghav Bansal
and Kunal Patni in live
events. In Macau and more
recently in Cambodia, there
were several Indian players
at my tables. The thing that
stands out to me is their
temperament. They seem
to have a great mindset for
the game and constantly
be ‘locked in’ to what’s
happening at the table. And
away from the table they’re
always friendly, so it’s a nice
environment. I hope poker
continues to grow in India!

I N T E R V I E W
H
ow does it feel to have
conquered Mount
Everest?!
You’re literally
on top of the world and
there’s not much more to
achieve, is there? You know
you’ve scaled these heights
because of struggles, hard
work, determination and
perseverance – this applies
to every field of life, and the
formula doesn’t change when
it comes to poker either.
How does one feel when
they’ve been at the top of
the All-time poker list for over
a couple of years, with 36
WSOP Final Table finishes,
6 gold bracelets, a best live
score of $8.2 million, total
live tournaments earnings of
$42+ million, WSOP Player of
the Year awards in 2004 and
2013, and an induction into the
Poker Hall of Fame in 2014?!
It could get boring at the top,
right?
I sometimes think there’s
nothing left to achieve in his
career but American poker
pro Daniel Negreanu
thinks otherwise. Having
accomplished almost
everything in the poker
world so far, he still has
unchecked boxes on his
bucket list. “The WSOP Main
event, while a long shot, is
still the tournament to win!
Secondarily, I would say the
Poker Players Championship
which is also a WSOP bracelet
event. Finally, the Super High
Roller Bowl - I came second
just a few years ago and
would like to add that title to
my resume.”
Gutshot caught up with
none other than ‘Kid Poker’
Daniel Negreanu, who is often
considered the best poker
tournament player in the world,
currently #3 on the All-time
money list after Bryn Kenney
and Justin Bonomo, arguably
the biggest ambassador of
the game over the last decade
or so. His achievements are
abundant and is a hero to
every college kid wishing to
become a poker pro one day!
and whistles set it apart from
anyone else in the industry,”
he said about the move to
GGPoker and what he loves
most about the relatively
fledgling brand.
It was a massive decision
and somewhat a risk to
shift alliances to a new
company, so Gutshot wanted
to know more about this
move. Mentioning the major
differences in the two global
poker brands, DNegs said,
“Obviously, PokerStars is
a very large company that
ultimately had a very corporate
feel to it. With GGPoker, they
really take risks when it comes
to innovation all in the name
of bringing poker back to its
earlier years, where it was
seen as a fun, friendly social
game rather than a cutthroat
game for professionals.”
Name some tough
opponents from the old
school generation and the
newer ‘internet generation’.
From the old school lot, hard
to believe he is old school
now, but my good friend Phil
Ivey. He is still as tough as they
come. Scott Seiver has also
been tough to play against
and he is a bridge between
old and new. From the new
school, I would say Adrian
Mateos is a guy who I think is
very talented.
In your opinion, how do we
get more women to play
the game of poker?
There is no secret formula
for this, but there are things
that we can do. Primarily, get
women playing online first. It’s
far less intimidating, and if they
are introduced to software
like we have on the GGPoker
platform, most importantly,
they will have fun because it’s
so engaging.
Tell us your favourite and
most obnoxious purchases
with your poker earnings.
Favourite - In 1999, I was in
Atlantic City looking at this
KID POKER IN CONVERSATION
WITH GUTSHOT MAGAZINE!
Mickey Mouse purse covered
in diamonds. I wasn’t really sure
what it was, so I asked, “What
is that?” The lady said, “It’s very
expensive.” The next day I won
the US Poker Championship
for $210,000, went back to the
store, pulled out bricks of cash
and bought it for my mother.
It felt like my ‘Pretty Woman’
moment.
Most obnoxious - I would say
the professional golf green with
a bunker in my backyard as
well as the state-of-the-art golf
simulator I had put in the house.
How’s married life? Can
we expect lil’ Daniels
or Amandas in the near
future?
We’re working on it! We
are planning to adopt first.
We both had planned to,
then we watched the movie
Lion together and that only
inspired us to do it even
more.
You’ve been a great
ambassador of the game
over the years. Who do
you think will take the
torch ahead?
Guys like Jason Somerville
and Lex Veldhuis have done a
great job creating a following
while being entertaining too,
so possibly these two.
Any plans of visiting India
to play poker, or even for a
general trip?
Of course! Unfortunately, any
travel plan is put on the back
burner right now while the
world deals with COVID-19.
Once the world gets better,
we can start planning again!
2019 was the year of
massive change for Negreanu.
He had 12 years of being a
PokerStars Team Pro, growing
together across the globe.
However, he decided to call
it quits on this super long
association in search of a
new challenge. A week before
that decision in May 2019,
he got married to long-
time girlfriend, Amanda
Leatherman. He dared to
make the call of switching
from a global leader to
GGPoker, a newbie in the
industry. However, GGPoker
is slowly but steadily rising
and making its presence felt
around the world.
“We’ve raised $277,000 for
COVID-19 charities, aligned
with the WSOPC, all kinds of
freerolls and promotions for
new players, but if I had to
pick one thing, it’s definitely
the software. It’s focused on
fun! It’s customer-focused,
creating an experience that is
like nothing else you will find
anywhere. All the added bells
KID POKER IN CONVERSATION
WITH GUTSHOT MAGAZINE!
SOME THINGS NEW
PLAYERS SHOULD KEEP
IN MIND, PARTICULARLY
THOSE TURNING PRO?
Have a backup plan! There is
luck in poker and sometimes,
no matter how good you are,
the cards can turn against
you for long periods of time
and if you aren’t careful with
your bankroll you could find
yourself going broke despite
immense talent for the game.
Take it slow and play stakes
you can afford. Thank you!

C O V E R S T O R Y
“My
mom was
watching the
live stream
back home and she kept
texting me, which I checked
during breaks when allowed
to use my phone. She didn’t
realize that the stream had a
10-minute delay and when I
called her after winning, she
thought I busted. I told her
about the delay and that I
won, and she burst out crying,
in happiness. She woke my
dad and sister and they were
all very excited at like 5:30
am!”
Professional players not
allowed to use their phones
during a game; parents
jumping in joy at their child’s
success at the highest level;
media houses present at
the spot to capture the live
coverage. Sounds much like
what we’ve grown up seeing
in cricket, football, hockey and
the likes, right?! Well, we’re
talking about poker, a sport
which is not behind the rest in
any aspect, with India Poker
Championship (IPC) being the
top poker brand in the country
currently.
When he stepped off
the plane in Goa, Rubin
Labroo didn’t really picture
himself winning the IPC Main
Event title. In fact, he was
experiencing a prolonged
downswing in the game.
Usually a crusher in online
poker, he was short of major
scores and he bricked the
Baazi Poker Tour (BPT) too,
which took place just before
IPC. He even held the chip
lead on Day 1B at BPT, but
would end up busting before
is always expectations (I had
to add, “Even in life”). Here,
I’d lost so much already that
I said “Fuck it, kya hoga?” I
played without expectations
and started making small
moves. I ran good that day.
Obviously, you can’t just say
I played perfectly; you need
to run good as well. But I felt
the focus build in me too. I
was in the zone, and wasn’t
just fiddling with my phone
and stuff. I noticed every
player and slowly, started
making myself a stack. Once
I reached around 550k, I was
confident - not yet of winning,
but that I could play from
there. I was chip lead when 40
were left and don’t think I lost
it after that, except maybe for
a little bit on the FT.
Were you not intimidated
of the high-quality players
on the FT?
They were good players and
I was hoping they’d get a
suckout. In 4-way, we had to
make a deal because there
were really ONLY good players
left. I was most worried about
Pradeep Sharma. I’ve played
a lot with him online and he
can do a lot of creative moves.
He’s played and run deep in
several highrollers and he’s not
much worried about money.
Such players, you should be
worried about.
In 4-way, Pradeep took the
chip lead and we suggested a
deal. Pradeep said no, waiting
for another knockout since
the shortest stack was around
12-13 Bigs at the time. But I
sucked out on Pradeep and
then, he agreed on the deal.
the money!
Here’s the story of what
happened a couple of days
before his victory. After a
runner-up finish in Vietnam in
September 2019, Rubin wasn’t
doing all that great. “The day
before the IPC Main Event
began, I booked my flight
back for Delhi. I went home,
slept for a few hours and told
my friends I’m leaving in the
morning. All I got in response
was an ‘Are you crazy??!’ in
chorus. I wasn’t going to have
any of it but they managed to
talk me into staying because
of all the value IPC had on
offer and I cancelled my flight.”
Little was he expecting to
beat 693 entries (Day 1A –
360, Day 1B – 330) to win the
IPC 50k Main Event, while
also becoming the 2020
India Poker Champion – a
title awarded after a gap of
3 years! Gutshot had a long
conversation with the winner,
who took home a career-best
INR 45+ Lakhs top prize after
a 4-way deal on the Final
Table on board Goa’s Big
Daddy Casino, the host venue
of the championships. We
spoke about his poker career,
life off the felts, his strategies
used to win (which he does all
the while) and his magnificent
journey to being crowned the
India Poker Champion.
Rubin, walk us through
your game-plan for Day 2
of the Main Event…
I bricked 1A and qualified in
1B, that too with a small stack
of like 12-13 Big Blinds. On
Day 2, I had absolutely no
expectations. The problem
Rubin Labroo:
India Poker
Champion 2020

C O V E R S T O R Y
The prize pool was split and
we then had to play for the
sponsorship, watch and of
course the title and trophy.
I considered the possibility
of winning the title on the FT
but I’ve played enough poker
to know it wasn’t over until
I closed it. I’ve lost a poker
tournament from a 200:1
chip lead as well (!), so I’d
only celebrate when I won.
K7 diamonds vs 99 in the
final hand and the flop opens
AQJ with 2 diamonds. 1-over,
gutshot, and flush draw for
Siddharth Mundada and it
goes brick, brick. I breathed
a sigh of relief but the win
doesn’t hit you then. You get
exited but you don’t know
how to channel it. I realized it
the next evening and thought,
“Fuck, I just won a lot of
money.”
The 32-year old is a regular
winner online as well as live.
Having done his Computer
Engineering from Manipal
University, his parents (like
most others) weren’t happy
about him wanting to take up
poker as a full-time option. In
fact, he moved out of home to
be able to study and pursue
the game in peace. A few
years later, the same parents
who didn’t approve of poker
are now crying tears of joy
because he was crowned
India Poker Champion, at
an event where the crème
de la crème of India’s poker
fraternity was present.
Poker can often be a
rollercoaster of emotions, and
who would know that better
than Rubin himself?! We all
know there’s tons of variance
involved in poker and here’s
a prime example. One minute
he’s winning every online title
possible, next minute he’s on
a downswing and the minute
after that, he’s on top of the
world again. Talking about his
attitude towards the game
after a big title, he said, “You
need to take a break for a
while, after a massive score.
You can face the problem
of desensitization to money
and will find it tough to play
10L guaranteed tournaments
and stuff. You need to hit the
RESET button after you win
big - take a break and when
you’re ready, go back in with a
blank mind. Or else, you play
with pre-conceived notions
and the idea that you deserve
to win.”
Mind you, Labroo isn’t
a newbie to big wins. In
July 2018, he bagged the
PPL Main Event title on
PokerBaazi where he earned
INR 35L. You can add several
online titles to his list of
achievements as well. “Once
I’m in the zone, I’m good. I
think my late-stage game is
pretty good. Initially, I fire a
lot of bullets and when I have
a stack, I can dominate. My
game is aggressive late stage
and that’s the reason why I
have so many deep runs. But
again, aggressive can’t mean
senseless aggression. The
balance is very important and
that’s something I think I do
well when in the zone. When
not, I end up spazzing out.”
For those who don’t know,
it wasn’t just the massive
prize money up for grabs.
Once a year, IPC crowns the
India Poker Champion and
this time, there were benefits
galore as Labroo walked
away with the hefty trophy,
an INR 20L pro sponsorship
deal with Spartan Poker and
a stunning Panerai Luminor
MS Dhoni Edition watch. “My
Hyundai i10 downstairs is less
expensive than this watch!”
exclaimed Rubin’s father when
he was gifted the watch by his
son!
How would you describe
the IPC brand?
It’s amazing! As mentioned
before, I planned on skipping
it but my friends convinced
me to stay because the
value addition is insane. After
winning it, I think about it and
realize that even aspiring to
win the IPC title is crazy. It’s
anyway a huge event that
promised 60+ Lakh up top
– some people work their
entire lives to earn that kind
of money. IPC promotes
themselves really well too.
They have a lot of celebrities
coming in and playing which
is important for the game. I
think there’s no comparison
with IPC and the other Indian
live poker brands, in terms of
promoting and organizing.
And how excited are you
about being a Spartan Pro?
People used to joke about
me being a Baazi Pro
because I used to win big
amounts there, but I never
really thought about being an
ambassador before. However,
I spoke to Amin (Rozani) and
Rajeev (Kanjani) at length and
now that I’m a part of this,
I feel it’s a brilliant platform,
especially to be able to
promote poker – something
I’ve always wanted to do.
When I meet people and
explain the game to them,
they’re always so amused.
When I was coming here
(Mumbai – for this feature), I
got a very chatty cab driver
and he was really inquisitive
about what I do. Initially, I lied
and said I’m into trading. But
he kept asking questions so
I finally told him I play poker.
He was so interested and
obviously I had to explain to
him it’s not ‘juaa’ and not
Teen Patti, because people
automatically relate card
games to Teen Patti in India.
There’s so much more skill
and control over the game in
poker and I was explaining
that to him, and he was very
fascinated especially since I
told him I go to Goa to play
often. It’s that awareness
that’s lacking in India - the skill
in the game separates it from
gambling and that awareness
I’ve always wanted to spread,
among the general masses.
Luck, skill and how disciplined
you have to be – people
should know this. Being a
Spartan Poker Team Pro
is a crazy opportunity. I can
play for free and it’s a chance
to make myself a brand now.
I’ll be doing social media
posts, panel discussions and
stuff for them, but said NO to
speeches as public speaking
isn’t my thing.
What kind of coaching
have you taken in poker so
far?
None. No coaching at all.
I used to watch a lot of
videos on YouTube and Twitch.
I’d watch it like a movie, all
day. Not even advanced stuff,
but more of the basics. This
FINAL PAYOUTS:
1. Rubin Labroo –
INR 45.34L (deal)
2. Siddharth Mundada –
INR 37.72L (deal)
3. Alok Birewar –
INR 36.21L (deal)
4. Pradeep Sharma –
INR 34.26L (deal)
5. Jagdeep Singh –
INR 15.64L
6. Mubeen Saudagar –
INR 12.48L
7. Manish Gandhi –
INR 10.34L
8. Alexandr Moiseev –
INR 8.23L
9. Abhishek Katiyar –
INR 6.18L
“My
Hyundai i10
downstairs is
less expensive
than this
watch!”

C O V E R S T O R Y
If you had to choose
between live or online
poker, what would it be?
I feel that my live game is way
better - there’s only one table
in front of me and I’m more
focussed. Online, there’s
more money to be made
and if you find that discipline,
it’s a gold mine. You can hit
big scores but discipline is
SUPER important. When
you’re playing 7-8 tables
online and you run bad in
three, the others get affected
and that’s something which
can be the biggest problem
when playing online. Overall,
it’s more lucrative and if I had
to choose, it would be online.
Your feedback on the
recent live poker scene
and where do you think
our industry is headed?
The growth is ridiculous -
players are getting better
and the drive they have these
days is amazing. Professional
players are joining stables,
the recreational players
are getting better and the
turnouts at live events are just
insane. The poker websites
are the reason for this growth,
promoting the game very
aggressively and doing a
lot to increase the inflow of
players. Plus, the guarantees
are so big online and almost
every Sunday, you find a 1 or
1.5 Crore GTD tournament on
either of the sites. Spartan
Poker specifically, has been
doing well in this regard.
Every Sunday feels like a
Main Event now. I don’t think
any poker player misses a
Sunday these days, especially
after COVID-19 struck. Even
recreational players don’t miss
Sundays and that’s probably
just because of the thought
that you can make 20-25
Lakhs in one night! The idea in
itself is crazy. There’s definitely
growth but I’m fearful of the
market drying up from here. I
think the guarantees need to
slow down a little bit – multiple
re-entries and stuff in a 5CR
game - people could go bust.
We’re going to keep growing
but my only worry is that the
industry doesn’t swallow itself.
Legally, I understand that
some states are banning
the game to protect their
own interests but I feel the
category of poker needs to
change. It can’t be classified
as gambling and be put in
the same category as games
like Blackjack – that’s just
ridiculous. Once awareness
comes to people about the
skill involved in the game, we’ll
be on the right track. Just
because people can go broke
in poker, it’s not gambling.
I’ve seen people go broke in
the stock market as well but I
don’t see that being illegal.
Do you think you could be
playing poker when you’re
60 too?
Why not?! I mean, Doyle
Brunson is still playing poker!
I’ve been playing for 11 years
and professionally, 3 years
now. I love the game. Too
much of anything can make
you sick and lead to burnout,
but the passion and the
love shouldn’t go. The drive
shouldn’t go. It’s not about
how much money you make
but more about playing to win.
Money is just a by-product
of your drive to keep getting
better and winning. If you’re
playing only for money, the
drive could go!
As the new India Poker
Champion, do you have any
advice for upcoming poker
players?
Bankroll management. I
can’t stress too much on its
importance. You can’t play
outside your bankroll. You can’t
have a 15L bankroll and decide
to go to WSOP – not at all. Of
course, you can be a one-hit
wonder story, but you need
to understand that chances
of that happening are super
low. You can take the shot but
you need to realize that the
chances of coming back broke
are way higher. If you’re buying
in to the Main Event and stuff
at the WSOP, I think you need
a bankroll of at least 1 Crore.
When you look at all
of India’s top feature
tournaments – online and live
– you see so many familiar
faces on the FTs. Why?! That
in itself should tell you how
much of skill is involved in
this game and Rubin Labroo
is an example of the same.
He’s always at these final
tables, with the best in the
business. Surely, he’ll be
looking at defending his title
of the India Poker Champion
when he takes his seat at
the next edition of the IPC,
this time playing with the
Spartan Poker patch too!
- With inputs from
Dwayne Fernandes
expensive but really worth it.
Just having an opportunity
to resonate your ideas with
someone at that level is
a good thing. The game
obviously evolves and you
have to get better on a
regular basis too. I also need
to do a bit of meditation
and mental training. I’ve
done meditation before and
I’m procrastinating to do it
now again, but I’ve seen
results when I’ve done it in
the past. I recently started
a Bencb course called
Mental Mindset and I feel
that everyone should do a
course like this. Everyone
tilts – the difference is the
level and intensity of tilt. But
everyone goes through it, so
it’s a good course for all.
Here’s something Rubin
Labroo posted to social
media a few months back
about tilting. “The problem
with poker (like most other
sports) is that when you’re
running good, it gives you
the feeling of invincibility.
You feel there’s no one
better than you. But when
you’re one a downswing, it
can be very humbling. That
balance is very important in
poker.”
RAPID FIRE
>>>>>>>>>>>
> Best friends in poker?
Mahboobani, Nasa, Chiggy,
Lakshpal
> Top Indian pros?
Sushi, Adi Agarwal, Sahil
Agarwal, Mahboobani,
Sriharsha
> Favourite food? Steak
> Favourite singer/band?
Korn (Duh!)
> Favourite sportsperson?
Virat Kohli
> One thing you can’t leave
home without? My wallet
> If not a poker player?
Script writer, director or
studying psychology
> Someone you’d like to play
poker with? Phil Ivey
> First purchase after the
win? Beers for everyone at the
casino!
> There’s an IPC tournament
in 2025. How many entries
would you guess? 1,400!
> Do you see yourself
winning WSOP bracelets? I
haven’t pictured multiple but a
single bracelet, yes.
I have had tilt issues forever and I’ve said unwanted things to people on
tables online and live. I feel terrible about it. I am weak, temperamental and
trying to work on these issues. Heartfelt apologies to anyone I’ve hurt with
my words. Hoping this situation does not arise again.
Comment
16 comment
16 February
Rubin Labroo
You, Muskan Sethi, Kunal Patni and 139 others
Like
was earlier but nowadays,
our players are so good - the
stable players especially.
They know so much, so just
a regular stream won’t help
as much anymore. We need
to go more in-depth and I’ve
started doing a little bit of
Raise Your Edge (‘Gutshot
readers get up to $150 off
on each course:’)
and RunItOnce, and watching
hand history reviews to try
and fix plugs in my game.
I’ve been a bit lazy about this
so far but I want to do more
going forward. When you’re in
a stable, you have to do it. It’s
like school homework, where
you just have no choice, no
excuses. And they’re clearly
getting the results. I was
thinking of getting one of
the foreign coaches - BBZ,
Bencb and others – they’re
Tournament
Masterclass Experts:
“GUTSHOTEXP”
Tournament
Masterclass Apprentice:
“GUTSHOTAPP”
Bounty Beast:
“GUTSHOTKO”
Unchained: A
Powerful Mindset:
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F E AT U R E
P
ayment processing
and boom, it fails! |
Payment processed
and debited from your
account, but still not reflecting
in your gaming account | Gate-
way not accepting your mode of
payment
These and countless other er-
rors are sometimes seen when
transferring money in India
and trust me, it leaves you in a
heart-in-your-mouth, until you
see ‘Payment Successful’ and
that balance reflecting in your
account.
While paying your monthly
rent to your landlord or trying to
recharge your mobile phone or
even paying your girlfriend for
that dinner she bought you last
week, we’ve all faced transac-
tional errors. However, we’re
slowly but surely moving to a
pandemic seems like a second
and possibly stronger catalyst.
We have a health incentive, in
addition, to an economic incen-
tive now. Since the COVID- 19
lockdown, most people have
been confined to their homes.
At Cashfree, we have seen an
uptick in online gaming, with a
spike of 50 percent though live
sport-related fantasy gaming
has taken a hit in the absence
of live-action.”
An online report released
some time ago stated that the
value of digital payments in
India was expected to hit $1
trillion by 2023, but we weren’t
too sure about how factual this
was. “Given UPIs mind-bog-
gling growth, we can expect to
surpass that number. In 2019,
UPI alone accounted for around
$300 Billion worth of trans-
actions and registered more
transactions than credit card
and debit cards put together,”
said Reeju, assuring us those
numbers are 100% true and
can be overshot too!
What are the current chal-
lenges being faced by the
payment gateway industry?
1. Processing refunds and
settlements faster - Settle-
ments need to happen within
the same day and not get
restricted by banking holidays.
Most payment modes take
more than a week to get re-
funded. Sometimes, refunds
get stuck at the bank’s end for
much longer.
2. Transaction failures - While
success rates have improved
over the last decade, there is
still scope for improvement.
more secure system and Reeju
Datta from Cashfree spoke to
Gutshot about some of these
challenges, and how we can
overcome each one of them.
My first thoughts went all the
way back to Narendra Modi’s
demonetization of November
2016, which forced our peo-
ple to adopt digital payment
options. Yet, I get the feeling
that we Indians are cash-loving
citizens and are slowly going
back to using legal tender
money as the primary method
of payment. Reeju gave me a
little laugh and brushed this off
as a complete myth. “Times are
changing,” he said.
“Every month, more than 1
Billion transactions are being
processed on UPI, up more
than 70% from last year, and
debit card transactions are
up by 23% (Feb 2020 vs Feb
2019). Demonetization has
pushed the bar and made
businesses accept digital pay-
ments. Just time travel 2 years
ago and ask a small kirana to
accept non-cash payment,
the answer would have been a
NO. Today we have QR code-
based UPI payments being
accepted widely at kirana
shops and roadside vendors.
The onset of the coronavirus
3. Dependence on banks
- Payment gateways have to
work very closely with banks
and are effectively built on a
bank’s offerings. As a result,
deficiencies in banking in-
frastructure around handling
volume of payments, resolving
chargebacks, and speed of
merchant onboarding are all
affected by the SLAs of banks.
For example, onboarding a
merchant in the gaming indus-
try is often at the discretion
of the bank, even though the
payment gateway and the mer-
chant might want to take own-
ership of the risk involved.
4. Offerings for merchants
in new business models - Of
late, many new business mod-
els have started coming up like
gaming, vlogging, stay-at-home
reselling, influencer marketing,
etc. Payment gateways have
been trying to evolve their prod-
uct to tailor offerings for such
lines of business. At Cashfree,
we have built innovative prod-
ucts like Payouts that help next
generation business models
and innovative founders grow
fast.
What new innovations have
been introduced in the re-
cent past?
At Cashfree, we have always
Challenges faced by
payment gateways in India
built to solve the evolving needs
of modern businesses. We
launched Payouts to help busi-
nesses disburse money to their
users, instantly and 24x7, using
an API instead of uploading
complex files on their business
banking portal. This was very
well received by the gaming
industry. Starting with sending
money to bank accounts, we
added new payout modes to
send money to UPI IDs, Paytm,
Amazon Pay and even debit
cards.
Next, we launched Cashgram,
a weblink that allowed busi-
nesses to send money to users
without collecting their bank
details. This was well received
for processing refunds and also
for paying out rewards.
Cashfree’s bank account
verification API was adopt-
ed by unicorns like Zomato
for on-boarding new delivery
partners and also many fintech
companies as a part of their
KYC workflow.
How do you intend to edu-
cate those who aren’t well
versed with digital forms of
payment?
The entire Indian payments
system including government,
national authorities such as
NPCI, payment aggregators,
and payment solution providers
have done a commendable job
in creating awareness. To con-
tinue this, some measures that
can be undertaken are:
• Educating local influencers
- For example, if a wheat whole-
sale union market leader is
educated and is convinced, you
can expect the union members
to adopt it more easily.
• Thought leadership - Online
and offline discussion plat-
forms have opened up dialogue
on payments. As more such
platforms discuss business and
online payments, the percep-
tion about the need for online
payments can be expected
to change. We deal with real
data and we are always willing
to share the insights that help
businesses understand what
works best for their customers.
• Benefits over features -
People tend to show more
interest when problems close
to their life are talked about. As
we talk to businesses, we talk
about their unique business
challenges and how they can
use online payments as an
enabler.
Despite having reasonably
good internet, India still faces
transactional failures…
Most of the payments and
banking infrastructure involved
in a transaction is not cloud-
based even today. This is
the single largest reason for
payment failure. Transaction
success rates are prone to dip
during peak volumes due to the
inability to handle load. Banks
migrating to the cloud is the
ideal, but long due solution.
Connectivity infrastructure of
payment processors and card
networks with banks can be
overhauled to improve success
rates. Apart from this, payment
gateways optimise success
rates by having multiple rout-
ing options across banks and
payment switches to retry a
transaction.

4 4 G U T S H O T J U LY 2 0 2 0
S T R AT E G Y
WANT MORE ‘UPSWINGS’ IN
CASH GAMES? READ THESE TIPS
Do you plan on playing a cash game anytime
soon? You’re in luck!
Today we’ll cover 4 fundamental tips that will help
you win more at cash games.
Let’s dive in.
AVOID BLOATING THE POT WITH MEDIUM-STRENGTH
HANDS. USE THEM TO BLUFF-CATCH.
When holding medium-strength hands, you should
usually play passively because they perform better
in small pots than they do in large pots.
These medium-strength hands will often be the
hands you use to ‘bluff-catch’ on later streets.
Here are a few examples:
• J♦ T♦ on J♠ 8♠ 6♥
• A♠ 4♠ on A♣ 8♠ 5♣
• 8♥ 7♥ on K♠ 8♣4♥♥
These are solid hands, but they shrivel up when
multiple bets and/or raises start flying into the pot.
Consequently, checking at least one street (often
the flop) is the best approach. If your opponent
shows weakness by checking back or checking to
you twice, that is the time to start betting for value.
BLUFF ON THE FLOP WITH HANDS THAT HAVE GOOD
BACKDOOR POTENTIAL.
When you have a hand with good backdoor (run-
ner-runner) potential, you should consider bluffing.
These types of hands work very well as bluffs
because they can turn draws and hit strong and dis-
guised hands on the river. Here are two examples:
• J♦ 8♦ on Q♦ 7♠ 5♠
• Q♣ 6♣ on K♥ 7♥ 5♣
Note that with these hands you will only continue
barrelling on the turn when you improve to an ac-
tual draw. Otherwise, you can waive the white flag.
CHECK THE FLOP A LOT IN MULTIWAY POTS.
The likelihood that you are up against a strong
hand increases as more players enter the pot. As
1
3
4
2
a result, you need to be selective when betting in
multiway pots. Consequently, you should:
• Check with strong top pairs and overpairs if the
pot has four or more players.
These hands have much lower equity in four-way
pots compared to heads-up pots.
• Bet small (1/4–1/3 pot) when you have two
pair+ or a very strong draw.
Betting bigger risks chasing away all but the
strongest hands.
• Fold most of your bluff-catchers, even against
small bets.
Your opponents are less likely to attempt bluffs
when there are many players to get through.
BE SMART ABOUT LOSING SESSIONS.
No matter how good you are at poker, you’re
going to have losing sessions. You may as well
handle them the right way.
A session Doug Polk played against Sauce123
in 2013. Things weren’t looking good halfway
through, but he stuck it out!
If you quit too quickly, you’ll struggle with vol-
ume. If you always chase your losses, you will
play some long and frustrating sessions that end
with an unnecessarily big loss. So, when should
you quit and when should you stay to fight it out
on the felt?
Doug Polk recommends asking yourself these
questions when you’re losing in a cash game:
1. Am I playing well? Be objective here and really
analyze the way you are playing.
2. Is the game still good? Sometimes there are
soft lineups you simply cannot leave.
3. Am I feeling up to the task? Sometimes your
head is just not in the game, and in those cases
it’s almost always best to walk away.
Want more? Get 8 more cash game tips here!
Author: Upswing Poker –
Among the top poker coaching
websites in the world.

Gutshot E-Magazine July 2020

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Gutshot E-Magazine July 2020