Women Poker Players Who Shone at DPT Xpress!

Poker for the longest time now has predominantly been a male-dominated sport, but that perspective is fast changing. A quick look at any live poker tournament will reveal that not only are an increasing number of women playing poker, but they are also doing so with far more focus and dedication! With a certain amount of stigma still attached to the mind sport, it often isn’t easy for players to show their enthusiasm for the game.

For this feature, we caught up with three female poker players, Radhika Shankar, Priya Agarwal, and Dipika Agarwal, who performed exceedingly well at the recently concluded Deltin Poker Tournament (DPT) Xpress series.

The DPT Xpress that ran from February 27 to March 1 was the third live stop to be hosted in the country this year yet. Tournament organizers had branded the DPT Xpress as “India’s Most Buzzing Poker Tournament,” and sure enough, there were large crowds of recreational and upcoming players in the fast-paced series. There were also a good number of women gunning for the glory, including the likes of Aishwarya Khurana and Kat De Sol, along with Radhika, Priya, and Dipika. Though not all of them cashed it was undoubtedly a positive sign to see so many women poker players in action. And sure enough, the first three events at the stop each had a women poker player on the final table – namely, Dipika, Priya, and Radhika.

Even the Business Heads of DPT, Manish Adnani, agreed with us on this, “Right from the start one of our core focus areas has been to introduce women to the game to poker. DPT Xpress has served as a great platform to introduce women to the sport, and it was overwhelming to see three back-to-back final tables with female participation. This in itself is a win for the sport, and we eagerly look forward to many more females levitating towards our favorite card game.”

Let us now take a look at our ‘Poker Sheros’ who went all guns blazing at the DPT Xpress and gave their male opponents a tough run for their money!

Radhika Shankar

From ₹229 to ₹2.80 Lakhs!

The standout female performer at the DPT Xpress was Radhika Shankar. The 43-year old poker mum, who has a five-year-old daughter, stormed past a field of 192 entries in the ₹15K Main Event. Shankar eventually finished third, banking a ₹2.80 Lakhs payout. It gets more impressive when you discover that she actually had only ₹229 in her online bankroll just weeks before the DPT. She took all her bankroll and registered for the step satellite on Sunday, February 16. Shankar shipped that and found her way into the main satellite that was running the same night, worth ₹2,500. She took that down as well to win an entire DPT package worth ₹40,000!

“Once I decided to go for the DPT Xpress, I peered into my online bank account and had a heart attack! Due to a technicality, I had only ₹225 rupees in my account!!! And some change in my Adda poker wallet. I decided that this was going to be enough. I didn’t want to ask my husband or anyone else for money (that’s the last thing a poker player ought to do!), so I didn’t. In fact, someone did offer to stake me for a significant cut of winnings, if any. I turned down that offer too. I wanted all responsibility. For losses and wins!! From ₹225 to ₹2.80 Lakhs. How’s that for ROI?!” said Shankar.

Shankar, who has worked in the advertising sector, kicked off her live poker journey last March when she went to Sikkim for the DPT Xpress. She attended two more DPT editions on her way into the just-concluded stop. “To say the DPT is always good to me is an understatement. Here’s why – I’ve always ITMed!,” she added.

Shankar had finished seventh in the 2019 March DPTX Main Event and went on to post scores at the Main Event again in the June and July editions the same year. Her recent performance is the closest she’s come to the title, yet.

“When I was dealt my very first hand of the Main Event, I got an epiphany (!) that I was going to finish in the top three. Call it positivity or intention; hard work or gut feeling; good vibes or love; run good or sheer luck, whatever it was, it kept me zoned and got me there.”

When asked how her experience at the DPT Xpress, Shankar enthusiastically replied, “I absolutely loved it! Apart from the fact that a whole gang of my poker buddies was also there, there were at least another 30-40 guys who have also become friends over this past year that I’ve been playing live. They all kept my happiness quotient to max capacity!”

She further added, “The other bunch that made sure I had a blast was the Deltin crew. From Manish’s (Adnani) impeccable hospitality to the dealers’ warm smiles. The managers’ diligence to the yum grub and prompt service.”

Shankar acknowledged that poker is a male-dominated sport, but for her, that’s just a number. “I see absolutely no difference between a male and female poker player. If anything, women have an edge. We can multitask. Men can’t!!”

Shankar has been taking coaching for poker and putting in a lot of effort into studying the last few months. The constant encouragement of her mentors reflected in the way she played. “They were by my side, egging me on, guiding me, railing me, just being there for me!”

Priya Agarwal

The Diehard Fanatic

Another woman who turned heads for her blistering performance was Priya Agarwal. A 29-year old entrepreneur based in Kolkata, Agarwal has been playing poker for nearly two-and-half years now. Like Shankar, Agarwal won a satellite for the DPT Xpress. It wasn’t her first DPT, though – Agarwal had attended the DPT Xpress in Sikkim last year and returned with a runner-up finish at the ₹5K Burn N Turn.

“I experienced the thrills of a live tournament for the first time last year, at the DPT Xpress in Sikkim,” Agarwal said, recounting how she and her husband were introduced to poker by one of their business partners.

Agarwal’s limited exposure to live tournaments wasn’t any hindrance. In fact this time again, she ended up on the final table of the ₹10K Bounty, and all along the way, she was undoubtedly not intimidated! “In the beginning, I told my husband that I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it to the final table. The prize money wasn’t what I was after, but it was the lure of the trophy that egged me on.”

Her run in the event was such a roller coaster. “I was about to bust out one minute before late registration was about to close. I had only 600 chips left at that point, and I went all-in, just assuming that I will be eliminated, and I can make a quick dash to the registration desk. Seven other people on the table called. I won that hand, and my stack spun up to 4,200!!” She eventually finished ninth for ₹17,500.

Agarwal, who finds playing live poker an enriching and enthralling experience, also entered the ₹15K Main Event but busted short of money. She was all praises for the tournament organizers. “DPT Xpress is a very good platform for anyone starting out in poker. My first live tournament was a DPT tournament, and I somehow feel that had it’d have been any other brand’s stop, it would have been very tough for me. So, at the DPT, you can look forward to a great exposure since there’s a good crowd of people to play with, and at the same time, there’s not much of pocket pinching for recreational players.”

Her thoughts on the growing number of women who’re now playing poker? “Poker is a skill game, and a woman can be a better thinker. Usually, on the tournament floor, you’ll spot only 5-6 women playing the game. We need more women to take up the mind sport. Look how far pros like Nikita Luther have come. Going to the WSOP and winning a bracelet! She nailed it like hell.”

Dipika Agarwal

The Poker Powerhouse

Rounding out our pick of the top female performers at the DPT Xpress is Dipika Agarwal. Mumbai-based Agarwal is one of the longest-standing female figures in the live tournament circuit. Known for her effervescent confidence, she’s also a seasoned hand at the DPT. Agarwal played really well at ₹5K Burn N Turn this time and beat many to reach the final table where she finished 10th for a ₹23,000 payday. “At one time, I was down to three big blinds and ready to get up,” said Agarwal, recounting her run. “I just went all-in blind on my big blind at the 5K level. I rivered a flush, and there on, I ran really well. I spun up that 15K into a stack of over 2 Lakhs.”

Reminiscing about her start in the game, she recalled that she had started playing poker with a small group of friends and her husband almost 12 years ago. “I honestly was never a cards person, but poker interested me. There’s a certain level of skill, math, and strategy involved, and it seemed like a good way to hang out with friends when I started and play an interesting game. One of the platforms where we all learnt poker was at Zynga Poker, which is what we all now laugh about.”

While she also plays online, she prefers playing live tournaments. “I’m a people person, so these interactions with the other players, being able to read the players, the atmosphere of a live poker tournament I feel, is incomparable.”

Sharing her views about the DPT, she said, “The DPT is a very encouraging series for people who don’t want to invest a lot of money but still want to experience tournament poker. I also feel that it has certain memories…I like the floor… there’s a level of comfort and familiarity, at least for older players.”

We asked her which poker moment she considers special, and she replied, “What will always be special for me is the first live tournament I ever played live, which was at the IPC 8-9 years ago, when I came sixth, and I beat all the supposed pros. That was my big poker moment because that’s what gave me the confidence to continue playing the game.”

Agarwal feels strongly about women playing poker. “People think that women can’t play poker, that women have tells, they display emotions. No… We’re pretty much at par, in fact, the smarter woman knows how being a woman can be used to their advantage,” she said, observing, “I feel that on a poker table, male ego plays a far bigger role than the female ego. I often get stared down at, I’m like guys you’re not going to intimidate me and I’m always smiling and laughing it doesn’t bother me. I love all the girls who’re playing poker professionally and they work very hard, they study it and read about it. It’s a great thing for poker sites to be getting so many women on board to play as pros for them – it’s showing the results, which is why the number is increasing.”

We wish Radhika, Priya, and Dipika all the best for all future live tournaments, and hope to see them soon, especially at the upcoming DPT Xpress series later this month.

Furthering this spirit of celebrating women advancing in poker, we will also bring you a Women’s Day Special feature on Sunday!