Young, dynamic entrepreneurs are taking the domestic poker circuit by storm – IPR speaks to Amrita Sethi and Siddharth Karia who started playing poker seriously not even two years ago, and are already beating their own records.
Unlike most of us who were hooked on to Facebook’s ‘Zynga’ app, both these young professionals were introduced to poker by friends/family. ‘AceAmrita’ Sethi is a Delhi-based fashion model and designer and a very cheerful one at that! Karia, who plays under ‘schemer’, ‘schemer77’ and ‘skaria1’ is in the family business in Ahmedabad and plans to continue it that way – thrice a week poker. He also hopes to extend his business to countries where he can play poker!
We ask them both about online vs live gaming. For Sethi, who is even crushing tournaments on PokerStars, “Online games are from the comfort of your home so it’s much more convenient, but the thrill is great in live. You need to be really patient and that’s what poker is about.” Talking about the patience required, Siddharth agrees, “it’s only when you study a lot about it, you will understand the variance in it. For that, you need to have played consistently and seriously, and of course, patience is must, especially in tournaments.” Siddharth says both are challenging, but being on the same table physically helps you understand your opponents more – which is lacking in online, unless of course you play with the regulars who are known to you.
Siddharth’s single biggest win was his runner-up finish in Poker Baazi’s PPL Main Event for over Rs. 16.8 L last weekend while he was switching hotels and cancelled his late-night flight back to Ahmedabad from Goa, where he was for the DPT. Siddharth, PSL Goan Nut’s retained player, already has 9 ITM’s this month online, of which, 6 are ‘Top 6’.
They’re both grateful for the kind of family support they’ve got that allows them to do what they are. Amrita laughs that the only advice her parents gave her was “Just don’t lose too much!” Shouldn’t be a problem – both these youngsters know their BankRoll Management well – which Siddharth believes is key to being successful in the long run.
Siddharth is currently hoping the new tax rules don’t change the game for the poker industry, calculating you have to have a minimum 44% ROI to just break-even.
We ask Amrita if men and women are treated equal on the felts? “Do you ever think someone is taking you lightly on a table?”, and she says “Many a time, all the time. But my actions prove otherwise!” Amrita’s most recent win was shipping a PokerStars tournament, leaving behind 1123 players for a USD 6000 prize ! More power to you, lady!