For over a decade, online poker has been growing in popularity among Indian players. However, not every Indian poker player has managed to build a glowing reputation. Only a small percentage of Indian players have won notable events. Let us look at some of them who have made it to the top ten.
Vivek Rajkumar
Rajkumar is an Indian Poker player. He won the World Poker Tour Borgata Poker Open Main Event, securing $1,424,500 in 2008. He won two notable hands as a big underdog – once with pocket Tens versus pocket Aces before the flop and the final hand with Ace Jack versus Ace-Queen. The loss of either hand would have resulted in him being knocked out. He has also won field events like the 2008 L.A. Poker Classic $2,500 No-Limit Hold ’em event and the 2009 L.A. Poker Classic $9,900 No-Limit Hold ’em event.
Nipun Java
Nipun Java was a mundane player before 2014, putting up some decent performances now and then. However, his is big break came in 2014 when he took home around $450,000. He finished second in a $1600 side event at L.A. poker classic and banked $114,955. He finished first in WSOP Circuit Bicycle $1,675 Main Event in the same year, where he scooped $226,785.
Between 2014 and 2017, he posted impressive results on a couple of high-end tournaments. However, 2017 was the year he established himself as one of the best Indian poker players of all time when he became the proud custodian of two bracelets.
Together with Aditya Sushant, they teamed up to represent India in the $1,000 tag team event, and each won $75,318. He also won the $1000 WSOP Online Championship and took home $237,688.
After winning the online WSOP event, he went ahead to win $230,848 in Florida after trouncing 3173 players.
In August 2018, he participated in Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open, where he finished 12th and won $70,000. He currently ranks two on India All Time Money List.
Aditya Agarwal
Aditya Agarwal has won money in online tournaments and has also been in the news by cashing out in major WSOP events in the States. He is India’s third-highest ranked cash winner. In 2017, Agarwal cashed out $18,714 of the No Limit Hold’Em Main Event Championship. He specializes in online tournaments and cash games, which have contributed to him winning over $2,201,866.
His total online earnings are over $700,000, while the rest of the money has come from live events where he has managed to cash out.
Raghav Bansal
Raghav Bansal is one of the famous figures on the Indian poker circuit. His total earnings are $735,024, with his live cash earnings contributing $335,910 to his total winnings. Bansal’s notable recent achievements include the $25,000 he won at the Macau Poker Cup. He also won the No Limit Hold’Em Main Event, where he took home Rs 3,060,000 at the Deltin Poker Tournament at the Deltin Royale in Goa.
Abhinav Iyer
Abhinav Iyer is a poker player from Mumbai, India, and ranked fifth best in India. He earned more than USD 870,437.00 in his career with poker live events alone. Iyer finished as seventy-three in the p 50,000 No-Limit Hold ’em – Main Event event in India Poker Championship (IPC) January 2020, Goa. He has played in more than thirty-eight poker tournaments in sum. His most significant cash was winning more than USD 565,346.00 in one live game.
Ankit Ahuja
Ankit Ahuja, who has been playing tournament poker seriously for just over two years, is a 33-year-old business and tech consultant connected to the gaming industry from Delhi, India. He currently ranks sixth on India All-Time Money List. According to The Hendon Mob, Ahuja has over $600,000 in live tournament cashes.
Aditya Sushant
With total career winnings stretching a little over the $6,60,000 mark, Aditya Sushant, the country’s seventh-ranked poker player, is only the 2690th best player in the poker world. His best live cash win stands at $75,319.
Paawan Bansal
Meerut-based Paawan Bansal shot into fame in 2017 when he finished second at the NLH Knockout Event at Macau Poker Cup 27. He earned HK$71,624 in the tournament. In the same series, Bansal participated in NLH Event and finished first, and won the prize money of HK$75,000. In July 2018, he participated and finished second at 49th WSOP NLH and won $378,765.
The live best cash of Bansal is $378,765. He is currently ranked eighth on India All Time Money List.
Dhaval Mudgal
Dhaval Mudgal is a poker player from New Delhi, India. He earned more than USD 527,853.00 in his career with poker events alone. In January 2020, he got the seventh position in the ? 235,000 + 15,000 No-Limit Hold ’em – Red Dragon High Roller event in Red Dragon Manila. Dhaval Mudgal has played in more than eighty-four poker tournaments in sum and is ranked ninth in India. His most significant cash event was winning more than USD 104,418.00 in a single live tournament.
Kunal Patni
Kunal Patni is an Indian casher from Mumbai. His most significant cash includes €96,140, which he earned by finishing second at No-Limit Hold ’em WPT DeepStacks Berlin in 2018. In the same year, he also finished second at Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Manila and received ? 960,000.
Written By
Anshula Pattanayak
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