Coronavirus Lockdown: An Update From Poker Pros in Bengaluru

We are nearing the end of the 21-day nation-wide lockdown period; however, things haven’t settled down yet. The numbers have been rising with each passing day, and as of April 8, India had 5,360 positive cases of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), with 164 dead because of the virus.

The southern state of Karnataka was the first region in the country where a COVID-19 case was confirmed on March 9. The outbreak has been declared an epidemic in Karnataka, where provisions of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 has been invoked. As on date, there have been 181 confirmed cases in the state with five deaths.

The ‘Garden City’ of Bengaluru, which is the capital of Karnataka, is among one of the most affected cities in the country with 62 positive cases and one casualty because of COVID-19. The number of cases in the smaller districts has jumped sharply, sparking fears of the deadly virus spreading in rural areas. Bagalkote, about 480 km from Bengaluru, has seen a 38% increase in the number of positive cases in the last five days alone.

Over the past few weeks, we have been connecting with poker players all across the country and asking them how they have been spending their time during the 21-day lockdown. For this feature, we spoke to some players spending the lockdown in Bengaluru, namely Chirag Sodha, Goonjan Mall, Vidwath Shetty, Vinod Megalmani, and Rahul Melwani. Here is what they had to say…

Chirag Sodha

Bengaluru-lad Chirag Sodha is a well-known name on the circuit today, being one of the team members of the PokerBaazi management. Also, an avid player, Sodha’s big moment on the virtual felts came last month, when he outlasted a 2,472-strong field to win SVS The Millionaire Lite on Spartan Poker. Though he’s been working out of Goa, Sodha made the pragmatic call to go back home and be with his parents during the lockdown.

We asked him if he was playing a lot of poker these days, and snap came the reply, “I suppose online poker now takes up a minimum of 8 hours daily, if not more.”

Has the lockdown affected him a lot? “My daily routine has changed drastically since PokerBaazi LIVE is currently closed and I’m back home. I try and divide my time doing various activities, helping around the house and spending a lot of time with family,” he said.

“Poker-wise I think volume has increased now with all the recreationals available to play all day, more events hosted by online sites and guarantees being smashed everywhere. It’s definitely positive to be putting in more volume. In terms of fitness and other activities, unfortunately, I haven’t been doing much, but I plan on starting a simple workout/fitness routine daily.”

He admitted that it was a bit unsettling to be at home while the country is struggling to deal with the pandemic. “I sometimes feel weird sitting and grinding for so many hours while all these things are going on around us, and I could even say that my heart isn’t fully in it at the moment. There isn’t much else we can do though, staying home and staying safe is currently the most responsible thing we can do, so I suppose it just makes sense to be playing more.”

What happens if the lockdown gets extended? “Well I am honestly hoping this doesn’t last too long, but I don’t see things changing much till June at least. Either way, I think I’m just going to take it as it comes, and while I do, I am just grateful to be around my loved ones here at home. A longer extension would definitely call for a more concrete plan, one that I suppose I would have to make once we know more. It’s definitely a trying time right now, and no one likes or is used to being at home this much. Your social life takes a hit, you end up doing fewer physical activities, and if we are not careful, it’s very easy to slip into complacency, laziness, and maybe even a state of hopelessness.”

He underlined how important it was to hold out at this juncture. “I think it’s important to try and include some physical activity in your day, reach out to friends, video calls, apps that have some fun games, etc. Poker is a great way to earn and keep your mind active at this time, but so is any other game – so I would suggest stay busy, innovate, maybe learn a new language or skill. It’s a great time to reflect on ourselves, our work, relationships, and priorities.”

Vidwath Shetty

A well-respected name in the country, Vidwath Shetty, has been a part of the domestic poker circuit since 2009. With six live titles under his belt, which includes shipping an APL Vietnam event in 2018 and a Rio Daily Deepstacks tournament in 2017, Shetty boasts of an impressive ₹98.47 Lakhs in live MTT earnings.

Like most other poker pros, Shetty too has been spending his lockdown days grinding online. “I’ve been playing poker around 4 times a week, 10 hours on those days.”

But, that’s not all he has been doing. Talking about making some positive changes these past few days, Shetty revealed, “A few positive changes that have come have been a routine workout on a daily basis and I have been learning some basic cooking. Watching a lot of shows as well.”

“If this does continue on to be something like a 3-month lockdown, then I’ll start putting in a lot more volumes, playing every day and putting in the time to study on a more regular basis,” he added.

Propagating the importance of ‘social distancing’, Shetty said, “My advice to others would be to definitely stick to social distancing, I know it can be boring and very frustrating which are emotions that I’m dealing with as well. But in the long run, it’s not worth risking lives of ours and of others due to carelessness.”

His advice to fellow poker players? “To poker players, I would say that this is the best time to put in max volume and give dedicated time to improve our game and overall self-development, so please study workout and meditate if possible.”

Goonjan Mall

An entrepreneur by profession and a semi-pro by his own admission, Goonjan Mall is one of the most accomplished pros of the domestic circuit.

The lockdown hasn’t bogged down Mall, who revealed he’s playing as much as seven hours daily. In fact, unable to step out, he’s devoting more time to studying poker as well. “Adjusting to homebound life. Trying to focus a bit more on poker study, and enjoying this extra time to talk to friends and family,” Mall said when we reached out to him.

He predicted that the lockdown will most likely be extended and said that it was an excellent opportunity for players to hone their skills. “IMO extension is very probable. In the next 2-weeks, I’ll become efficient in daily household chores – so I’ll definitely have more time to play more. My advice to all aspiring poker players is to use this golden opportunity to study and improve your game. I would consider poker a super important social skill. If you become good at poker – a lot of unexpected doors will open up for you.”

Mall has a golden heart, and he is going the extra mile to help others in need by donating his poker winnings to charity. “Another advice, which my friends and I have done recently – is to play poker online – and donate all winnings to charity. The optimal way is a Poker app like PP or Pokerrr2 AND audio call on Zoom or Whatsapp. Have fun, play poker, and do some good for the country.”

Vinod Megalmani

Vinod Megalmani has a list of poker accolades that bely his age and demeanor. He is a former Millionaire champion and recently won his first major live title in the India Poker Championship (IPC) 10K Kickoff.

Megalmani has been home, at Bengaluru since the lockdown began and has been balancing time between playing tournaments and cash games.

“I play tournaments only on Thursdays, Sundays, and Wednesdays and play cash 1-2 hours a day,” he explained.

“To be honest, with financial Armageddon, I am more interested in the financial markets doing research. Poker is not as interesting as the markets at the moment. I have stopped watching TV shows and movies and only trying to absorb as much info on how markets work,” he confessed.

Megalmani also felt the Coronavirus outbreak will completely change the way we live. “I’ve stopped ordering from out eating home food become a vegetarian coz no non-veg available but to the lockdown, to be honest, I think it will be extended till vaccines come out which could take a while. I don’t think we will ever get back to normal. There will be a new normal, which will be far different from what it used to be.”

His advice to others is to stay at home, and he claims that this is a good time for players to invest. “Though I’m not a financial advisor, I’d say buy stocks and bitcoin on www.exchange24x7.com. Why? Because the best time to start a business is after a recession. This will the biggest wealth transfer in history. Do people have the consciousness to benefit from this tragedy? I’m buying stocks every week and start learning about financial markets/business.”

Rahul Melwani

One of our first batch of Young Guns, Rahul Melwani, has proved his mettle in MTTs. Melwani is in Bengaluru at the moment and is enjoying the sudden spurt in online poker ever since the lockdown came into force. “I feel the lockdown has been amazing for poker coz the guarantees have shot up, but more than that, it has led to a lot of online home games. People that have barely or never played a hand online are now playing cash games online on PP and other apps.”

Like many online regs, his daily grind hasn’t changed much, though. “Not much changed for me. I used to play some live home games which have now moved online. I think the lockdown hasn’t really affected most poker players’ lives.”

Like everyone else, he too was all up for social distancing. “My advice to others would be to stay patient and stay at home. Try to not meet anyone unless absolutely necessary.”

That’s all for our update from Bengaluru. But do stay connected for more updates from other cities!