The PokerGuru Show Season 1 Finale: Episode 7 Ft. Gaurav Sood, Arsh Grover, Ashish Ahuja & Sumit Sapra

And today, we wrap up Season 1 of our in-house production, “The PokerGuru Show”! A journey that began in May last year has come full circle after seven episodes. We couldn’t think of a better way to close out Season 1 than to have the biggest MTT crushers of 2020 on the panel.

Yes, you guessed right! Joining us for the Season Finale are Young Guns Gaurav Sood, Arsh Grover, PokerGuru Ambassador Ashish Ahuja, and Sumit Sapra, who come together for meaningful conversation on poker, life, and other things poker!

Here`s a glance through the 2020 accomplishments of our guest panel:

Gaurav Sood – One of the most talked-about poker players in the country, Young Gun, Gaurav Sood was indeed unbeatable last year. The MTT trailblazer took charge of the annual rankings in May and held on to the #1 position for a record-shattering 34 consecutive weeks to close out the year in style. With an eye-popping ₹4.51 Crores in total winnings last year and an equally impressive ₹2.23 Crores in profits, he was by far the winningest-player on our database across the domestic poker platforms!

Annual Earnings: ₹4,51,05,064

Annual Profits: ₹2,23,67,772

Annual Leaderboard Standings: 1

Arsh Grover – Ranked #2 behind Gaurav Sood, Young Gun Arsh Grover was the only one besides Sood to bank over ₹4 Crores* in MTT`s last year. Grover walked home with big wins like the ₹60 Lakhs GTD SSS #48 High Roller in May and the ₹60 Lakhs GTD Grand Mega Suits Finale in October. And he’s already off to a flyer in 2021, ranking #3 in January.

Annual Earnings: ₹4,00,27,064

Annual Profits: ₹1,56,35,781

Annual Leaderboard Standings: 2

Ashish Ahuja – PokerGuru Ambassador Ashish Ahuja ended 2020 with aplomb, adding a string of accomplishments like the ₹60 Lakhs GTD IOPC #62 The Elite to his name. The lawyer-turned-poker pro outmaneuvered the likes of Srihari Bang and Sanat Mehrotra to lock in the fiercely contested #3 position on the yearly leaderboard.

Annual Earnings: ₹3,38,02,969

Annual Profits: ₹1,04,01,179

Annual Leaderboard Standings: 3

Sumit Sapra – With Sood and Grover crushing it at the top, the third and fourth ranks were heavily contested between a few players. The APL brand ambassador, Sapra, who placed third in the ₹3 Crores GTD IOPC #120 Main Event – The Crown in the July Edition for ₹32.20 Lakhs, and won the ₹50 Lakhs GTD FMS #20 Main Event in August, rounded out the top four in the 2020 rankings.

Annual Earnings: ₹3,29,24,582

Annual Profits: ₹1,14,52,560

Annual Leaderboard Standings: 4

With a lineup as this, the Season Finale was full of boisterous and energetic conversation. The four leaderboard toppers share how life has been during the lockdown months, the online boom, and the pandemic forcing players to rethink their take on life and poker. Some key takeaways of the episode are:

Ø Fitness is just as important as keeping to a study regime to stay competitive in poker

Ø Everyone is looking forward to playing a live event but will that happen in 2021?!!

Ø A possible hybrid online-live formula could be explored as a start to reopening the live sector in 2021

Ø Content creation is the key to improve the scope of poker

Watch Season 1 Finale below

We’ve summed it up for you! Here’s a quick recap & timeline of the episode highlights.

2:23: Arpit Jain welcomes the guests.

4:30 – Gaurav Sood talks about how his year went, issues with weight gain, and how the lockdown helped him focus better on his gameplay. He shares that he has started playing tennis.

5:50: Arsh Grover underlines that 2020 was a year that made people appreciate all that they have. His focus was on fitness and family through the lockdown months.

7:06 – Sumit Sapra talks about starting 2020 in Vietnam, where he ran deep in the APT Vietnam Ho Chi Minh Main Event. He has been utilizing his time during the lockdown by working on improving his mindset towards the game.

9:58 – Ashish Ahuja remembers how his start to 2020 was great, but how his plans to attend February’s APT Vietnam got canceled due to the pandemic. Now, he’s looking forward to traveling again for live poker events.

12:12 – Arsh Grover talks about how the lockdown presented poker players with a situation that meant that the only way to play poker was online due to social distancing protocols in place.

13:20 – Gaurav Sood talks about the increase in the number of recreational players who began playing poker. He shares how he had been contacted by many (non-poker) professionals, who were in-between jobs, asking him about playing poker online.

16:05 – Sumit Sapra discusses how the poker ecosystem has been growing organically. He believes that content creation is one of the primary ways this organic growth can prosper further.

19:00 – Ashish Ahuja emphasizes how the poker operators need to put in efforts to spread awareness of the game.

22:00 – The discussion moves to the current growth trajectory of poker in India. Gaurav Sood reiterates that content creation is the key to improve the scope of poker.

23:00 – Sumit Sapra predicts that online poker will continue to grow for the six months in 2021. According to him, flagships will continue to run online editions and may even employ a mixed model to host a live edition later when live poker opens up.

31:21 – Ashish Ahuja opines that if not hosting a live FT in Goa, the possibility of broadcasting online FT`s with players playing from their homes can be explored, like in PSL Season 3. To this, Gaurav Sood points out how the PSL team pulled off the format, but there were a few glitches and creative challenges.

34:10 – Ashish Ahuja talks about his experience learning poker from his mentor Aditya Agarwal.

35:33 – Gaurav Sood shares steps he’s taken over the past year to improve his game.

39:11 – Arsh Grover emphasizes that players need to be aware of the latest developments to stay competitive.

41:09 – Sumit Sapra says it’s imperative to know your game and identify the key areas you need to improve on.

44:10 – Grover and Sood talk about managing mental state and how not to tilt

55:02 – Ashish Ahuja talks about the ‘gambling’ tag surrounding poker; Sumit Sapra says there’s a need for a regulatory body for poker and other real-money games.

1:06:45 – Gaurav Sood and Arsh Grover talk about the importance of staying healthy while playing poker.

1:16:30 – Ashish Ahuja suggests that operators should identify and bifurcate separate leaderboards for different day slots during series, as players have to grind a minimum of 18-20 hours a day for longer durations.

1:21:07 – Arsh Grover’s advice to up and coming players is to be ready to work hard and learn without expecting returns in the first few years.