This Week in Poker: January 17 – 24

In the PokerGuru feature, ‘This Week in Poker,’ we bring you the weekly roundup of the most significant online scores by Indian MTT players and the top stories from both the live and online poker circuits. Here are this week’s top stories!

Tournament players kept busy this week, with the biggest-ever India Online Poker Championship (IOPC) 14.0 running full stream on Spartan Poker (and other partner sites). A week into play, the mega series has already registered guarantee-crushing turnouts and dished out massive prizes!

Aniket Waghmare, who enjoys an envious record at the IOPC, was this week’s rockstar. True to his element, Waghmare got to work early, adding two IOPC flagship titles to his tally. On Friday, he won the IOPC #14 High Roller (6-Max) for ₹20.23 Lakhs, and two days later, he took down the IOPC #29 Sunday High (6-Max) for ₹17.31 Lakhs. With a whopping ₹43.97 Lakhs in total winnings, Waghmare is our “PokerGuru Star of the Week!”

The long-time poker pro Dhaval Mudgal was another standout winner! The musician-poker pro championed Spartan Poker’s IOPC #31 Blaze on Sunday, banking the week’s single-biggest score worth ₹34.46 Lakhs.

Anant Purohit, Dhinesh Kumar, Sandy Lamba, Parag Shah, Young Gun Aayush Arya, Abhinav Iyer, Rising Star Ritwik Khanna, and Arjanveer Singh Chadha were the week’s other top scorers.

As the IOPC 14.0 keeps the players busy, setting the tone for a fantastic February, PokerBaazi has come out with another of its “first-ever” launches. Coming up on February 3 is the country’s first-ever PLO-centric tournament series – the ₹5 Crores GTD PLO Championship with a platter of 45 PLO-4, PLO-5, and PLO-6 tournaments.

The new entrant, PokerMatch India, after successfully running online qualifiers for Season 5 of the MIPL, is now hosting the ₹40+ Lakhs GTD The Prologue. The €25 (~₹2,000) entry buy-in NLHE Knockout tournament runs from January 23 – 30 with 120 flights leading to the Day 2 finale on January 30, 2 AM (IST).

The much-awaited 2023 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) (January 22 – February 3) took off at its new venue, the Baha Mar Resort in Nassau, Bahamas, on January 22. The 12-event series has already crowned three winners, and much to our excitement, there’s a small but talented group of Indians in attendance! Two Indian pros, former banker Rajat Sharma and Sriharsha Doddapaneni, entered the Brazilian Series of Poker (BSOP) Bahamas Main Event. While Sharma fell out on Day 2, Doddapaneni bagged the Day 2 chip lead with 37 remaining. A setback early on the final table cut Doddapaneni’s run short in ninth place, earning him $9,300.

Canada’s Allan Barnes won the BSOP Main Event for his maiden tournament title and a career-best $86,650 in prize money. Fresh off winning the PokerGO Cup Event #8: $50K NLHE, American pro Isaac Haxton took down the $100K PCA Super High Roller for $1.082 Million (3-way deal). New Zealand’s David Yan took down the $50K 6-Handed for $485,690.

In other developments, two gaming operators received a much-needed legal reprieve in their ongoing legal battles. A division bench of the Bombay High Court, while hearing a petition filed by Play Games 24×7, directed RBI to reconsider the company’s compounding application for issuing equity shares to foreign investors within four weeks of the firm’s new application. RBI had refused to process the company’s application on the grounds of specific ‘procedural’ or ‘technical’ contraventions under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 2000.

Most importantly, the court noted that “the mere fact that there is a game of chance on the website does not make the activity gambling unless there is an accompanying reward or promise of a reward.”

In Rajasthan, the Jaipur Bench of the Rajasthan High Court restrained DGGI from taking coercive action against MyTeam11 Fantasy Sports Pvt Ltd. in a GST evasion case. The DDGI charged the company’s fantasy platform MyTeam11 of allegedly misclassifying their supply instead of an actionable claim, essentially classifying fantasy sports as gambling.

The BSE-listed casino and hospitality giant Delta Corp has been directed by the Goa State Expert Appraisal Committee to undertake a detailed Environmental Impact Assessment study of its proposed ₹3,000 Crores integrated township project, aka the Deltin Entertainment City, at Dhargalim in Pernem Taluka near the new airport at MOPA.

The Global Poker Index and The Hendon Mob recently announced 29 categories for the 2022 Global Poker Awards. The awards ceremony will take place on March 3 at the PokerGO Studio inside the ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.

The 2023 PokerGO Cup concluded this week with Isaac Haxton (Won Event #8: $50K NLHE for $598,000), Alex Foxen (Won Event #6: $25K NLHE for $317,040), and Punnat Punsri (Won Event #7: $25,000 NLHE for $775,000) winning the last few titles.

Poker Central founder Cary Katz finished runner-up in Event #8 for $364,000 and, with five deep runs in the series, bagged the Player of the Series title.

Online Railbird Report

Aniket Waghmare was an unstoppable force this week, winning two IOPC flagships in three days. With a scores tally of ₹43.97 Lakhs, Waghmare topped the weekly charts, making him our “PokerGuru Star of the Week!”

His top finishes include:

> 1st in Spartan Poker’s IOPC #14 High Roller (6-Max) for ₹20,22,746

> 1st in Spartan Poker’s IOPC #29 Sunday High (6-Max) for ₹17,31,008

> 29th in Spartan Poker’s IOPC #31 Blaze for ₹1,62,758

> 6th in PokerBaazi’s PBC#8 Pride for ₹88,670

The musician and poker pro Dhaval Mudgal made away with an equally impressive

₹41.50 Lakhs this past week. Mudgal had a terrific Sunday run, shipping Spartan Poker’s IOPC #31 Blaze for ₹34.46 Lakhs, picking up his maiden IOPC title and the IOPC gold badge.

His top finishes include:

> 1st in Spartan Poker’s IOPC #31 Blaze for ₹34,46,160

> 2nd in Spartan Poker’s IOPC #48 All Rounder – PKO for ₹1,81,220

> 11th in Spartan Poker’s IOPC #29 Sunday High (6-Max) for ₹1,41,040

On Sunday, Anant Purohit reeled in his first title of the year, championing PokerBaazi’s PBC#23 Game Changer for a site-best ₹25.70 Lakhs, becoming the seventh player to win the prestigious title! In all, Purohit lapped up ₹27.85 Lakhs across the week.

His top finishes include:

> 1st in PokerBaazi’s PBC#23 Game Changer for ₹25,70,000

Dhinesh Kumar was hot on Purohit’s trail with a week’s haul worth ₹25.04 Lakhs.

His top finishes include:

> 2nd in Spartan Poker’s IOPC #14 High Roller (6-Max) for ₹20,07,254

> 12th in Spartan Poker’s IOPC #29 Sunday High (6-Max) for ₹1,23,840

> 3rd in PokerBaazi’s PBC#7 Holdem Boost for ₹85,094

Sandy Lamba added a hefty ₹22.59 Lakhs this week.

His top finishes include:

> 2nd in Spartan Poker’s IOPC #31 Blaze for ₹21,17,520

> 7th in PokerBaazi’s PBC#21 BSS SuperStack for ₹1,21,053

Parag Shah, Young Gun Aayush Arya, Abhinav Iyer, Ritwik Khanna, and Arjanveer Singh Chadha were the other week’s top online scorers.

The Biggest-Ever IOPC 14.0 to Bestow an Alluring Crown, 140 Silver Badges & ₹43+ Crores in Guarantees! (January 19 to February 5)

India’s richest online poker festival, India Online Poker Championship (IOPC) 14.0, got underway on Spartan Poker on January 19 and has been breaking records ever since.

The 14th edition of the epic series promises a mouth-watering ₹43+ Crores in guaranteed value evenly spread across 142 thrilling MTTs, ₹1.50 Crores in leaderboard prizes, and other glamourous attractions like an alluring gold and diamond-studded IOPC Crown and gold/silver badges.

Read the complete report here.

PokerBaazi Announces India’s First-Ever PLO-Only Festival – ₹5 Crores GTD PLO Championship From February 3 – 12

India’s most trusted poker site, PokerBaazi, is well-known for its ingenuity. And staying true to the past trend, the brand has pulled another ace from its sleeve by announcing India’s first-ever PLO-only tournament series – ₹5 Crores GTD PLO Championship – from February 3 – 12.

Read the complete report here.

PokerMatch India’s ₹40+ Lakhs GTD The Prologue is Up & Running (January 23 – 30)

A month after its India launch, PokerMatch India has come up with a super offering for MTT players, the multi-flighted tournament – The Prologue – that runs from January 23 to 30, marking the onset of the site’s “Poker Episodes” or top-of-line poker tournaments!

The Prologue, featuring an NLHE knockout format, offers a mouth-watering ₹40+ Lakhs in guaranteed prizes for a buy-in of €25 (~₹2,000). There are 120 Day 1’s, aka flighted tournaments, to enter, but you can only take the best stack to Day 2, which starts at 2 AM (IST) on January 30.

Read the complete report here.

PokerStars Caribbean Adventure 2023 Updates

The 2023 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) is back after a three-year hiatus in its new home at the Baha Mar Resort in Nassau, Bahamas. The festival got underway on January 22, and the 13-day series has 12 tournaments on the schedule, with the PokerStars Players Championship starting on January 30.

Just three days in the series, three tournaments have already played down to a winner. American pro Isaac Haxton was the first champion to emerge, winning the $100K PCA Super High Roller for $1.082 Million (3-way deal).

New Zealand’s David Yan overcame the 31-player field in the $50K 6-Handed, winning the title for $485,690. He struck a heads-up deal with Turkey’s Orpen Kisacikoglu (2nd for $458,058).

Canada’s Allan Barnes shipped the Brazilian Series of Poker Bahamas Main Event, scoring his first live tournament victory and a career-best $86,650 in prize money.

Two Indians, PSPC Platinum Pass winner Rajat Sharma and Sriharsha Doddapaneni, entered the BSOP Bahamas Main Event, and both sailed through to Day 2. Sharma fell out empty-handed, but Doddapaneni bagged the chip lead among 37 players heading into the final day’s play. Chasing his first title in three years, Doddapaneni had a good start on Day 3, but an ill-timed bluff early on the final table cost him his tournament life, resulting in his ninth-place exit for $9,300.

Read the complete report here.

One of the top attractions at the stop, the $10,300 PCA Main Event, has completed it’s two starting flights, drawing 640 entries. So far, 319 players have advanced to Day 2.

Portugal’s Andre Marques (197,500) emerged as the Day 1A chip leader, and Spain’s Sergi Reixach (196,900) topped the Day 1B survivors.

From India, WSOP bracelet winner Abhinav Iyer (92,800 – 77 BBs), BSOP Bahamas Main Event ninth-place finisher Sriharsha Doddapaneni (77,600 – 65 BBs), and Rajat Sharma (15,000 – 13 BBs) have advanced to Day 2.

The $10,300 Main Event has already generated an enormous $6,246,800 in prize money, which will continue to grow as players who have yet to make it to Day 2 can opt to register late in the first two levels of play until the start of Level 11.

With this, we conclude this week’s roundup of the latest news updates and developments from the world of poker. We will return next week with our weekly report. Stay tuned.