This Week in Poker: November 9 – 15

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!

November has proved to be a significant month for Indian poker, both online and offline. While the opening week was dominated by online action, with the inaugural G.O.A.T crowning a champion, this past week saw the live tournaments roar back to life in Goa with the Deltin Poker Tournament (DPT) playing out at the floating Casino Deltin Royale.

Abhishek Paul was the week’s standout winner as he toppled a massive 710-entry field in the ₹45K DPT Main Event to clinch his first DPT trophy and a whopping ₹55.13 Lakhs in prize money. For his stellar win, Paul is our “PokerGuru Star of the Week!”

Anand Thakur pocketed ₹33.74 Lakhs as the DPT Main Event runner-up.

Young Gun Sanat Mehrotra was the other big winner. He shipped the DPT High Roller for ₹37.57 Lakhs, striking a heads-up deal in the ₹1.10 Lakh entry buy-in tournament with another online crusher Ashish Ahuja (2nd for ₹31.94 Lakhs).

Varunn Gaala, Rising Star Pratibh Saluja, and Jyoti Krishna were the winners of the recently concluded DPT edition.

Adda52’s online-live hybrid ₹2 Crores GTD Big Millions also played down to a close at Casino Deltin Royale. Long-time pro Raghav Bansal clinched the victory for ₹31.64 Lakhs, with Debapriya Manna taking second place for ₹22.73 Lakhs.

Another batch of Indians was busy in Phenom Penh, Cambodia, playing at the inaugural Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Cambodia. Team India brought excellent results with 16 scores, eight final table finishes, and a title. Poker commentator Akshay Kapoor fell one spot short of shipping the APPT Cambodia Main Event, finishing runner-up for a career-best (live score) of $60,884. Canada’s Alexander Puchalski took down the Main Event title to collect the prestigious PokerStars shard trophy and $96,028 in prize money.

Where Kapoor faltered, Spartan Poker Team Pro Zarvan Tumboli covered up by shipping the APPT Cambodia Mini Main Event for $6,193, posting his fourth cash at the series, and bagging his second PokerStars LIVE title.

Though the live action was scintillating, that’s not the say the online felts were bereft of activity. Manish Lakhotia was the week’s standout online scorer, banking ₹14.21 Lakhs.

Chirag Sodha, Vinayak Bajaj, Rubin Labroo, and Young Gun Karan Radia were the week`s other top scorers!

Just as the live action was dimming down, it was yet again time for the virtual felts to shine. Spartan Poker’s ₹8 Crores GTD XXX Poker Series and PokerBaazi’s ₹5+ Crores GTD Baazi Turbo Series kicked off on Sunday, November 13, and both these headline stops are scheduled to run until November 20.

Natural8’s latest promotional giveaway, the $5 Million GTD Omaholic Series (November 13 – 27), began this week.

In the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE), hosted at Kings’ Casino in Rozvadov, Orpen Kisacikoglu won the €50K Diamond High Roller for €748,106. German soccer star & Olympian Max Kruse took down Event #7: €1,650 NLHE 6-Handed.

In other news, the Supreme Court, on November 9, quashed social activist Varun Gumber’s review petition against the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s 2017 judgment, emphasizing once again that fantasy sports are a game of skill.

On November 11, the Madras High Court heard submissions by the All-India Gaming Federation (AIGF) in its writ petition challenging the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Ordinance, 2022. On AIGF’s request, the matter was adjourned to November 16.

In other international updates, Jeffery Bernard Morris was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole by Michigan’s Oakland County Circuit Court after being found guilty of murdering poker pro Susie “Susie Q” Zhao.

Poker Hall of Famer Phil Ivey and Twitch poker streamer David Kaye were signed as brand ambassadors by World Poker Tour and PokerStars, respectively.

Online Railbird Report

With so much happening in live events, the attention was slightly diverted from the online happenings. That`s not to say things were all quiet.

The #2 ranked player of 2021, Manish Lakhotia, topped the weekly charts, accumulating ₹14.21 Lakhs. He championed two flagship tournaments and placed runner-up in another.

His top finishes include:

> 1st in Spartan Poker’s Wednesday High Roller (6-Max) for ₹5,11,000

> 1st in PokerBaazi’s The Summit for ₹4,75,215

> 2nd in Adda52’s The Ballers DPT Edition for ₹2,79,000

> 8th in Spartan Poker’s Thursday High Roller (6-Max) for ₹82,670

Chirag Sodha was the other chartbuster! The NPS 2.0 Main Event winner had a firecracker Sunday that saw him take down PokerBaazi’s BSS HighRoller (₹5.29 Lakhs) and make another top finish in the BSS Championship (₹6.36 Lakhs). He added ₹12.19 Lakhs in weekly winnings.

His top finishes include:

> 2nd in PokerBaazi’s BSS Championship for ₹6,35,701 (heads-up chop)

> 1st in PokerBaazi’s BSS HighRoller for ₹5,29,428

The Millionaire Series 5.0 – Main Event champion Vinayak Bajaj accumulated ₹11.51 Lakhs this past week from three FT runs in Spartan Poker marquees.

His top finishes include:

> 1st in Spartan Poker’s Ultron for ₹4,10,310

> 2nd in Spartan Poker’s Supernova for ₹3,54,083

> 8th in Spartan Poker’s Thursday High Roller (6-Max) for ₹2,29,990

The 2020 India Poker Champion Rubin Labroo ran up his scorecard by ₹9.59 Lakhs and most prominently took down PokerBaazi’s BSS Championship for ₹8.71 Lakhs.

Young Gun Karan Radia (opted out of our tracking) was another top reg reeling in two title victories for a collective ₹9.48 Lakhs.

His top finishes include:

> 1st in Spartan Poker’s XXX #5 Sunday Xperience for ₹7,55,257

> 1st in PokerBaazi’s Daily Value Boost for 1,93,103

The week’s top online scorers were Anurag Srivastava, Mohammad Azhar, Rishabh Gupta, Abhimanyu Mittal, and Rajiv Srivastava.

Notable Winners of the Week

Spartan Poker’s ₹8+ Crores GTD XXX Poker Series Runs Until November 20

Spartan Poker’s ₹8+ Crores GTD XXX Poker Series got the online action going this week. Kicking off on November 13, the 76 tournament-long series is nearing its midway mark.

With the ₹1.50 Crores GTD XXX Main Event slated to start on Thursday, November 17, players still have a lot of electrifying action to look forward to till November 20.

Read the complete report here.

Natural8`s $5 Million GTD Omaholic Series Runs From November 13 – 27

Omaha fans can play their favorite games in Natural8`s latest Omaholic Series from November 13 – 27 and stand a chance to win huge from the $5 Million worth of guaranteed prize money.

Some of the series highlights include Omaholic Mystery Bounty, Omaholic Mini Bounty MILLION$, Omaholic Bounty MILLION$, Omaholic Sunday Main Event HR, and more.

Read the complete report here.

Deltin Poker Tournament (DPT) November 2022

After a six-month gap, the Adda52-powered Deltin Poker Tournament (DPT) returned to its host venue, Casino Deltin Royale in Goa, running from November 8 to 14.

Abhishek Paul grabbed the headlines at the marquee series by taking down the ₹45K DPT Main Event for his first DPT title and a colossal ₹55.13 Lakhs payday. Paul’s dazzling performance saw him dominating the week’s live and online charts, making him our “PokerGuru Star of the Week!“

Anand Thakur pocketed ₹33.74 Lakhs for his runner-up finish in the DPT Main Event.

Young Gun Sanat Mehrotra overcame a 205-player field in the biggest buy-in tournament of the series, the ₹1.10 Lakh High Roller. Mehrotra had entered the final table with the second-biggest stack and struck an ICM deal with his heads-up opponent Ashish Ahuja, eventually defeating the latter to clinch the title for ₹37.57 Lakhs. Ahuja pocketed ₹31.94 Lakhs in second place.

Varunn Gaala took down the ₹25K buy-in No Limit Holdem Bounty for ₹12.24 Lakhs, with Vivek Karwa settling for a runner-up payday worth ₹8.30 Lakhs.

Rising Star Pratibh Saluja bested the 186-player field in the ₹25K PLO Bounty Turbo. Having entered the final table as one of the shortest stacks, Saluja revved it up to bag the title for a top prize worth ₹5.69 Lakhs. He struck a three-way deal with Amit Kaushik (2nd for ₹4.62 Lakhs) and Udit Baid (3rd for ₹6.11 Lakhs).

Jyoti Krishna championed the DPT ₹15K Women’s Special for ₹1 Lakhs and her maiden live title. Taruna Kamdar pocketed ₹60,500 in second place.

After an extended online run, the final table of the ₹2 Crores GTD Big Millions played out onboard Casino Deltin Royale on the sidelines of the DPT series. Raghav Bansal came out on top of the stacked Big Millions FT and defeated Debapriya Manna heads-up to win the winner’s prize of ₹31.64 Lakhs. Manna banked a runner-up payday of ₹22.73 Lakhs.

APPT Cambodia

Team India booked another successful outing in Asia, this time at the inaugural Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Cambodia hosted at the luxurious ballroom of the NagaWorld Integrated Resort in Phenom Penh from November 3 to 13.

We saw a small but strong group of Indian players in action. While the opening week of was headlined by Rajeev Kanjani’s runner-up finish in Event #13: APPT National, Akshay Kapoor was the standout Indian scorer in the closing week.

Coming into the final week on the back of deep runs in Event #2 and Event #13, Kapoor stormed into the final table of Event #13: $500 NLH Knockout, pocketing $3,982 in third place. Saving the best for last, Kapoor made a blistering run in the APPT Cambodia Main Event, where he was one of two Indians alongside Dhanesh Chainani to make Day 2.

While Chainani fell out in 17th place for $5,395, Kapoor sailed into the final table. Kapoor was whiskers away from the title but lost a crucial hand three-handed that crushed his title hopes. He lost the heads-up match to Canada’s Alexander Puchalski. Puchalski, who is currently residing in Thailand, made good use of a 6-to-1 chip lead over Kapoor to clinch the prestigious PokerStars shard trophy and the top prize of $96,028.

Kapoor collected a personal best (live score) $60,884, posting his fourth cash at the series.

Read the complete report here.

Doing one better, Kapoor’s compatriot Zarvan Tumboli took down the APPT Cambodia Mini Main Event for $6,193. The Mumbai-based pro overcame the 89-player field, eventually defeating Taiwan’s Maggie Weng heads-up to post his fourth cash at the series and his second PokerStars LIVE title.

Read the complete report here.

Team India Scores at APPT Cambodia

APPT Cambodia Winners

WSOP Europe

Turkish pro Orpen Kisacikoglu clinched his first WSOP gold bracelet in the 2022 WSOPE €50K Diamond High Roller, winning €748,106 and a seat in the 2023 Tournament of Champions. PokerStars Team Pro Sam Grafton collected €462,363 in second place.

Read the complete report here.

German soccer star & Olympian Max Kruse clinched his first WSOP gold bracelet in Event #7: €1,650 NLHE 6-Handed, walking away with a career-best €134,152 and a seat in the €10,350 Main Event at the festival and the 2023 Tournament of Champions.

Read the complete report here.

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