For this Champions Speak interview, we have with us someone who’s been the talk of the poker town these past few days. On the off chance you didn’t read the title above or have not been following our updates since Sunday, we are referring to none other than the latest IOPC – The Crown champion – Amit Gehani!

On Sunday, the 41-year-old banker overcame stiff competition on his way to topping a massive 3,938-entry field in one of the most prestigious online tournaments in the country, the ₹3.50 Crores GTD IOPC – The Crown. For the win, Gehani received a majestic diamond-studded Crown, an IOPC NFT, and a career-best ₹56.40 Lakhs (he cashed thrice in the event). The landslide score is the single-biggest by anyone this year (even though it’s still early days in 2022) and catapulted Gehani to pole position in the annual standings.

The full-time banker seems to have cracked the code to win IOPC flagships. However, he was already a household name even before shipping The Crown. Last July, the Jaipur-based player stormed his way to poker stardom after taking down IOPC Legends for ₹30-odd Lakhs. And just three days before his career-defining Sunday run, Gehani chopped IOPC High Roller with Sahil Chutani for ₹21.13 Lakhs. He potentially could have won the IOPC High Roller title, but being a dutiful husband, he listened to his wife and agreed to a heads-up deal since it was getting late.

Given his results, Gehani couldn’t have asked for a better start to the year. At the IOPC alone, he made away with a jaw-dropping ₹82.42 Lakhs collectively on the back of 19 ITM finishes. It accounts for over a third of the ₹2.19 Crores he boasts in online winnings and has pushed him in the green for ₹68.10 Lakhs in net profits.

For someone who has been trying to win The Crown for some time now, Gehani excitedly shared, “It definitely feels great! I don’t have words. Honestly, I was not hoping to get this title. I was just putting my best. In fact, I would say I tried harder last year when I had won the IOPC Legends. This time, it was like, I just pushed for it. And now that I have it, I am super excited.”

Retelling his tournament run, Gehani shared how his father stuck by his side while he was playing the event.

“My dad was with me at that point in time. He was sitting with me, just watching me play. So, I had three entries to The Crown. The first one, I got out immediately. And he was like, ‘Now play safe. You have to reach a decent position. You have put in a lot of money already.’ So, I had played all eight flights to get to Day 2. I could only qualify in three. In fact, there were two more flights where I could have qualified with a better amount (stack), but playing some random hands, I lost the opportunity to get through those flights. So, he was very, very clear, ‘No, you have to make some good amount. So, you recover at least what you have put in.’ So, the initial idea was just to recover what we had put in. And when we won it, I was kind of literally in tears. I finally got the first position. My wife was very happy. I showed her the picture of the crown. I said, ‘This is something that is coming for you.’ So, she is equally happy.”

The last two IOPC’s have been highly profitable for Gehani, who has broken new ground each time at the mega-series. Talking about his success in flagship tournaments, Gehani shared, “I would say sometimes luck favors the brave. I like playing MTTs. In IOPC, you have that deal where you have to get to that level to achieve. I always like to be on the final table, at least. That is something that makes me feel great. Even if I cannot achieve the win, that’s a secondary thing, but even if I reach the final table, I have reached where I have wanted to. That is something I do when I play the IOPC. At the IOPC, I play almost all the evening tournaments. All the Prime and Spotlight tournaments. I was in the money in some but could not make it to the title position or final table.”

He even regaled us with the backstory of why he chopped the IOPC High Roller title with Chutani. “High Roller, in fact, I could have tried for the first position as well. But my wife was behind me, ‘Amit tu kab so raha hai. It’s already too late.’ When I checked the deal amount, I was getting around ₹4.50 Lakhs extra. I thought making an extra ₹4.50 Lakhs makes more sense than going for the High Roller title.”

As for his experience playing on Spartan Poker, Gehani was all praises for the platform.

“My experience has been great. As I have said, I have played on other poker sites also. I had started with another site. Then last to last year, I finally shifted to Spartan (Poker). So, Spartan has been great. In fact, there are many tough players. New emerging players are coming up. The best thing about it is the Random Number Generator, because of which the hands are good. You feel that it is completely safe to play here. I am happy with Spartan Poker gaming. Plus, you have live chat. You have everything. For players like us, we have special dedicated Relationship Managers as well. So, we can easily approach them if I need anything, any help. Spartan is really good. I would definitely recommend it to my friends as well.”

Recounting his early days in the game, Gehani shared, “We have been playing cards at home always. Like teen patti and rummy. It’s like a homely affair. Everyone at home loves playing cards. So, it started very early. We used to play teen patti at home with friends on Diwali and different occasions. I also used to love to go to Goa casinos and play a lot of different kinds of games. Poker, I felt, was something very tough. My younger brother introduced me to poker. He explained to me how it is played. So, I was always a teen patti fan. Poker was like, ‘No, I don’t understand properly.’ This was around 2013-14. After that, once I started playing poker, I can’t remember playing any other card game now.”

“The more hands you play in poker, the game gets better and better. Poker is a game about skill, luck, and understanding how your opponent is playing his game. If you are able to read your opponent, then you are winning.”

While winning in poker is always glorious, enduring losses are part and parcel of the game. Gehani, too, had stuck in quite the hole with mounting losses in cash games, but his stellar runs in the last two IOPCs have more than made up the deficit. Confessing as much, he said, “When I won Legends, most of my losses were covered. And then Highroller, I won ₹20 Lakhs. But around ₹8-10 Lakhs, I had already put in for the IOPC. I had kept it aside. I was very sure I had to get in the money in this IOPC. I was not gunning for The Crown. I was happy with my top-eight position as well. Yes, I had major losses in the cash games earlier. Terrible mistakes. Honestly, I had lost a lot initially. But now, yes, I have recovered a lot. This bankroll will obviously help me boost up my savings.”

While Gehani is indeed crushing the online MTTs, what are his views on experiencing the live felts? While he loves playing poker in Goa, Las Vegas is his dream poker destination.

“I would like to start first by getting into some good tournaments in Goa. Las Vegas is always a dream for me. With this win, I can definitely plan to go to Vegas.”

Gehani signed off by sharing some valuable advice for up-and-coming players. “Stay cool. Stay positive. Believe in your hand and try to understand how the other player is playing. Having a big card does not mean that you will win and every hand cannot be yours. That is something that one has to believe in.”

Heartiest congratulations to Amit Gehani on a well-deserved victory!