The PokerGuru Show: Episode 4 Ft. Aditya Wadhwani, Muskan Sethi & Abhishek Goindi (Part 2)

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  • Attreyee Khasnabis August 26, 2020
  • 5 Minutes Read

After a long haul due to unexpected delays in production, we are finally back with the much-awaited Part 2 of Episode 4 of the “The PokerGuru Show!”

In this episode, our esteemed panel of guests, PokerStars India Team Pro Muskan Sethi, star commentator Aditya Wadhwani and poker coach Abhishek Goindi, delve deeper into the more serious issues impacting the Indian poker industry.

But before we get into what happened in Part 2, let’s quickly recap Part 1. In the first of this two-part episode, the three well-known poker pros, who are also established content creators, discussed the impact of COVID-19 on the poker circuit, their experiences creating poker content, and the ultimate objectives of doing so. In case you missed Part 1, you can watch it here.

Well, now that you’re all caught up, let’s get to Part 2. Similar to Part 1, the show’s host Aastha Sethi got the ball rolling. The trio talked about a plethora of topics, mainly focusing on the issues impacting the industry and the mind sport’s integrity. While Part 1 had been rather easy-breezy, Part 2 dealt with relatively more serious topics.

Watch part 2 of the episode below.

Here’s a quick recap & timeline of the episode highlights.

2:22 – Sethi highlighted the lack of communication between players and operators and the lack of a governing body for a sport. Wadhwani agreed with Sethi stating that the lack of transparency is the root cause of many problems plaguing the industry.

13:14 – Goindi raised another pertinent point, that currently, there is no way of authentically rating the viability of online poker sites. He also alluded to the abysmal state of customer service in the online poker industry. Wadhwani had a simple solution: “Where is the freaking floor in online poker?”

17:23 – The conversation moved on to the topic of social media influencers and how they use the word ‘poker’ but follow it up by something either related to gambling or liken it to a vice. Wadhwani talked about how online poker companies using celebrities who do not truly understand the mind sport to endorse it, may be counter-productive. Goindi stated that poker company’s collaboration with stars is like an ‘acquisition program’ where the latter get paid. The company can use the celebrity’s vast audience base to promote its product.

23:16 – Sethi talked about how social media influencers lack discipline, and often times, their negative attitude towards the game is giving it a bad name. Expanding on Sethi’s point, Goindi elaborated that social media influencers are primarily concerned with catering to their own audiences.

30:31 – While discussing whether an artist can survive with just good content while also generating sustainable income, Wadhwani disagreed. He believes that while a non-business savvy person could generate a sustainable income solely based on good content, it would not maximize their potential and/or profits. Sethi chipped in by saying that artists and business persons are not very different from each other.

33:25 – In his parting words, Wadhwani asked for people to support poker streamers. Sethi shared words of encouragement, asking poker lovers to watch poker-related content and keep getting better and work harder to improve their gameplay. Goindi wanted people to decide how they wish to pursue the game – if they wish to take it up professionally or recreationally and then approach it accordingly.

 

Lack of Transparency: A Major Hurdle

Sethi said that there was “a big gap of information and communication between the players and management (poker operators).” While many social media groups are doing their best to bring order and accountability to the industry, the absence of a legal authority to oversee the industry is prohibiting transparency. She also mentioned that the All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) has been looking into addressing the situation.

“Transparency is key to half of those, if not more of those issues,” claimed Wadhwani. He commented that the lack of transparency is why many players do not know what is happening in the industry. He also explained how a trending topic on a social media forum can lead to players getting influenced by it, without knowing the exact facts and details behind the issue.

Goindi added, “There is a very little credible source of information about this industry.” Bringing back the point Sethi made, Goindi, too, pointed out the lack of a regulatory body often results in players not knowing who to go for help.

Talking on malpractices, Goindi said, “I don’t think tax is an issue for me per se, I just feel all the malpractices that are going on is an issue.” Goindi also said that while paying taxes is a mandatory practice, the method used to calculate the taxes is not ideal. He also commented on the high rake structure that harms the players.

Sethi added that many poker players don’t even know that they have to file their taxes. She even touched upon the topic that most sites were computing tax deductions differently and reiterated that there should be a regulatory body capable of protecting poker player interests and enforcing cohesiveness.

Goindi raised the point that sites primarily differentiate and/or are biased towards players bringing more revenue for them than maintaining a non-biased attitude towards all players. He then raised a very important question: “How do we develop a rating system for websites – which sites are legit or not legit.”

Explaining his dissatisfaction with the way player problems are currently being resolved by operators, Goindi narrates an incident that happened with him while playing an online tournament. A system bug on one of the online sites kept causing him to call any bet regardless of whether he would check or fold his option. He wrote an email to the customer support immediately. Still, instead of a speedy resolution, he was made to fill up a lengthy technical questionnaire – all this while he was still in the tournament.

Wadhwani also reiterated Goindi’s assessment stating the need for “greater legitimization of the system.”

 

Detachment Between Social Media Influences & Online Poker Companies

Wadhwani put forth a very relevant point that the endgame for social media influencers is to cater to their own audiences. In doing so, they often misrepresent poker as a vice rather than a game of skill. He also underlined that online poker companies that collaborate with celebrities to promote their brands should create content that people in the domestic circuit would find relevant.

“You need one of these huge companies to step up and nail the content that inspires them. So as not to just get a celebrity influencer as your brand ambassador and then leave it at that, but to actually then follow it up with something relevant,” Wadhwani pointed out.

Expressing his view, Goindi said, “These stand-up comedians have a following, fair enough. Brands want to get mileage, fair enough. So, they collaborate to get mileage and acquisition. They don’t collaborate with a comedian or influencer to create awareness. It’s always an acquisition campaign.”

He also spoke about the need for brands to understand what kind of following an influencer has. The companies need to evaluate whether the type of people following a particular influencer is also the kind of people who would be interested in learning more about poker.

Goindi elaborated that for influencers, collaborations of this nature, are like brand integrations. “The influencer or the social media star is never going to feel the game as much as Adi (Aditya Wadhwani), me and Muskan (Sethi) feel it. Give us the money, and we will show you what to do with it!” Goindi jokingly exclaimed.

Carrying on with the flow, Goindi moves on to discuss how inefficient online sites are running some of these collaborations with influencers. Having worked closely in this space, Goindi explains how sites end up shelling out big bucks to influencers to simply put up a signup code promising free money to their followers – without any follow up plan. He emphasizes the concept of sample size, and his key focus is on spreading these costs across to gauge the effectiveness of these collaborations better. He says, “if you are running an experiment, figure out how you (poker operator) can get better at that experiment.”

Wadhwani elaborating on Goindi’s point of misselling by poker brands discusses how some sites promote, “₹1 Crore guaranteed tournaments as win ₹1 Crore in the tournament. They are VERY different things.”

Sethi talks about how social media influencers lack discipline, and often times negative attitude towards the game is giving poker a bad name. She even finds offense in how some players do not talk about the game in the right way.

Goindi and Wadhwani talk about a celebrity poker game organized by a poker site that they were part of, and both had some alarming details to disclose.

 

Good Content & Sustainable Income: Is it Enough?

Wadhwani straight up disagreed with the idea that an artist or a content creator can survive by just producing great content, while also generating sustainable income. He believes that the content creator will be depriving themselves of an opportunity to maximize their profits or potential by doing so.

“If you want to earn, make good money, you can totally do it if your content is good enough, and you’ve grown your channel. You’ve put in the time, and now you’ve got a following. Following equals money in terms of ad revenue. There are systems in place that are very easy to use and integrate. They just take basic security checks to get through. But it is not maximizing your potential,” said Wadhwani.

“Artists and businesses are also very similar, instead of the other way around. Like being good in business is also a very-very fascinating kind of art. There are also many artists or content creators that have gone on to invest in different things and made billions of money,” Sethi pitched in.

 

Parting Words

In his parting words, Wadhwani asked for people to support poker streamers. “Don’t be that guy who just goes in the chat and is negative,” he said.

Sethi shared words of encouragement, asking poker lovers to watch poker-related content and keep getting better and work harder to improve their game. She also advised players to exercise caution and not be in a rush to go out, especially with the pandemic still raging across the country.

Goindi talked about taking the time to decide how you want to pursue the game if you wish to take it up professionally or play it recreationally. He also warned players against getting carried away by immediate success. The secret to success is “longevity and consistency” he added. “Just focus on yourself and get better – don’t worry about others,” were his parting words.

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