Rajeev Raut

Stars Poker room

January 6, 2016 in News

In Continuation Of My Previous Blogs
1. [URL=”https://pokerguru.in/forum/entry.php?757-Start-of-a-magical-journey”]https://pokerguru.in/forum/entry….agical-journey[/URL]
2. [URL=”https://pokerguru.in/forum/entry.php?769″]https://pokerguru.in/forum/entry.php?769[/URL]
3. [URL=”https://pokerguru.in/forum/entry.php?774″]https://pokerguru.in/forum/entry.php?774[/URL]
4. [URL=”https://pokerguru.in/forum/entry….h-Game-Legends”]https://pokerguru.in/forum/entry….h-Game-Legends[/URL]

STARS POKER ROOM

WISHING ALL POKER BUDDIES A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR
2015 Has Been One of the Most Eventful Years Of My Life….
➢ Family made a big move to settle down in Bangalore
➢ Won My 1st Live Poker Tournament @ TILT POKER SERIES 10K FREEZEOUT
➢ WON My 1st Online Tournament $109 on POKERSTARS
➢ Had A Dream Run in PS Live @ Macau in the Macau Poker Cup 3 Final Tables narrowly missing 2 Titles by finishing 2nd & 3rd.
➢ Was ranked as high as 9th on The Asian Player of The Year Rankings.
➢ Opened My Dream Venture INDIA’S LARGEST LIVE POKER ROOM – STARS POKER ROOM, Indiranagar, Bangalore.
STARS POKER ROOM

A Super Luxurious 12 Tables Poker Room in the Heart of The City at Indiranagar with a Team of Highly Trained Professional Dealers to provide a smooth playing Experience.
6 Table (expandable to 10 Tables) dedicated tournament floor to host Tournaments & Cash Games simultaneously.
Our Team has planned a Busy Tournament schedule for the avid Tournament Grinders from February Onwards
➢ Daily 1k 2k & 4k Tournaments
➢ Tuesday & Thursdays 25k Freerolls
➢ 5k FREEZEOUT Every Saturday
➢ 6k Bounty Every Sunday
Player of Series for our Saturday & Sunday Events will Ride Home Sparkling Royal Enfield Bike every 16 weeks
Stars Poker Room will be hosting A Monthly Tournament Series, which will attract players from All over India

[B][CENTER]Inaugural Stars Poker Series
20th – 26th January[/CENTER][/B]
➢ 21st Jan 5k Deepstack Turbo – No Antes
➢ 22nd Jan 8k + 2k Bounty
➢ 23rd Jan 20k Main Event
➢ 26th Jan 200k FREEROLL
[IMG]https://pokerguru.in/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=96&d=1452062354[/IMG]

[B]Stars Poker Room[/B] is also looking to Build A 10 Member PRO TEAM to have Good Representation in All Events in India
Stars Poker Room has planned 4 more Poker Rooms in Bangalore & 1 Branch in Kolkata in the Year 2016
[B]Stars Poker Room[/B] is in Discussion with A Top Online Poker Site as A Permanent Sponsor, details of which will be released in our next Update.
Looking forward to seeing you all at [B]STARS POKER ROOM[/B]
[url]https://www.facebook.com/starspokerroom/?ref=hl[/url]
[url]https://www.facebook.com/starspokerroom/?ref=hl[/url]

Emergence Of Indian Poker

September 11, 2015 in News

[CENTER][B][U]EMERGENCE OF INDIAN POKER
[/U][/B][/CENTER]
In Continuation Of My Previous Blogs
1. [url]https://pokerguru.in/forum/entry.php?757-Start-of-a-magical-journey[/url]
2. [url]https://pokerguru.in/forum/entry.php?769[/url]

2010 saw emergence of Poker in India & It was rapidly growing. Almost all Major cities saw home games mushrooming. Gradually every Goa Event was seeing a steady growth in numbers. Youngsters were rising fast with an obsession to making it big with passion to perform at the highest level.
A young phenom ADITYA SUSHANT had made his presence felt on the Indian Tournament Scene by winning the India Poker Championship 30k Main Event for almost 7 Lakhs. His Victory was a part Fairy Tale journey – Bus ride from Chennai to Goa – low on Bank role – Great support from a few seniors funding his main event buyin which he won & eventually being spotted by Aditya ‘Intervntion’ Agarwal to be taken under his mentorship.

[CENTER][B]INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE[/B][/CENTER]
The biggest News to have shaken The Indian Poker Circuit was Young ABHISHEK GOINDI chopping The Macau Poker Cup Main Event Red Dragon.
This actually started the belief in Indian Players to step up & perform on the International stage & Macau was The ideal Stepping Stone.
This Belief & Inspiration also fuelled My 1st International Tournament Experience in 2012 when I attended Macau Poker Cup Hosted By POKERSTARS at The Hotel Grand Waldo. I had finished Top 3 in 3 IPC Main Events, which also gave me come confidence & was hoping For Lucky Fish to Survive International Waters. I was awestruck just at the size of the venue; The Banquet Hall of Grand Waldo was as big as the Hong Cricket Sixes Stadium. About 40 Tables were placed in the Centre of the Arena & it was a huge walk entering towards the playing arena & another huge walk from the playing arena to the registration desk. The Timer Clocks were like small theatre screens. PokerStars was capable of hosting 3 Live events & a dedicated SnG table simultaneously. The dealers & organizers were so professional in their duties. All this was just a larger than life experience.
I bricked all the events I played, but the highlight was that I won 5 satellite seats to The RED DRAGON out of a total of 7 satellite events that were held ( there were anywhere between 5 – 10 seats per event to be won ) I remember funding some of my Indian friends for the RED DRAGON.
Poker players going for overseas events must stay away from Casino Games as there is absolutely no way to win unless one walks away if you get lucky.
Indian Poker Community is amazing Overseas. All the experienced guys were so helpful & were always there to guide & discuss hands & give amazing inputs on approach to the Game. I have to give a special mention to AMIT VARMA who was 1 of the most helpful guys for a newbie like me & I always felt that this was the camaraderie 1 must have towards your fraternity brothers.

[CENTER][B]SLOW DEATH OF INDIAN TOURNAMENTS[/B][/CENTER]
2012 saw the worst times for the Busy Indian Tournament Circuit.
From having 2 Tournament Series per month to Guaranteed events being cancelled to the eventual closure of all Tournament Events.
This debacle was brought on by 2 main factors:
1) Competing Groups having tournaments on consecutive weeks, which saw a drastic drop in numbers.
2) The introduction of Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) on Tournament Winnings.
Many organizers tried hard to avoid the TDS or have events Overseas but nothing could draw in the numbers & enthusiasm of player like the Golden Years of 2010 – 2012.

[CENTER][B]EMERGENCE OF ONLINE GAMING[/B][/CENTER]
This lull in the Goa Tournament scene led to the Emergence of Online Poker. POKERSTARS was obviously the 1st option. More & more players wanted to continue competing in tournaments & the only option was online. However, this led to major diminishing of Bankrolls as availability of Dollars itself was at about 10% premium & the inexperienced Indians could never come to terms with the dreaded VARIANCE of online Poker. The game was so fast paced & saw the inexperienced Indians competing with Super Grinders who were Online professionals. There was no proper guidance in these early days. It was just the Sunday dream to play The Sunday Million & the hope of making it big. There was absolutely no planning of schedules or events to suit your bankroll or skill. It was definitely proving to be a very expensive proposition.
I know many can relate to these dark times in Indian poker.

My next Blog will showcase The Rejuvenation of Indian Poker.

Cash Game Legends

September 19, 2015 in News

In Continuation Of My Previous Blogs
1. [url]https://pokerguru.in/forum/entry.php?757-Start-of-a-magical-journey[/url]
2. [url]https://pokerguru.in/forum/entry.php?769[/url]
3. [url]https://pokerguru.in/forum/entry.php?774[/url]

I’m truly overwhelmed from the response I have got from all the readers of My Blogs. I was requested to divulge into The Cash Game Scene in India & who is the Top Cash Game player in India.
All Individuals mentioned in this Blog have my utmost respect & I feel are the Pillars of The Cash Game Scene.
In May 2012 during one of my Goa Casino Trips to Casino Royale, I got an offer from Anil Gulati to join & operate The Casino Royale Poker Room with him. According to me at that time, this was the Mecca of Indian Poker & was A once in a lifetime offer. Without any hesitation I accepted & made an overnight road trip to Pune to bring all my stuff & wardrobe.
This was going to be the start of my Poker Administrative Career in a Thoroughly Professional Environment.

[CENTER][B]THE GOA PROTAGONISTS[/B][/CENTER]
Playing daily in The Royale Poker Room for an average of 15 hours educated & showed me the literal meaning of the words GRIND & GRINDER. In these extensive playing hours, I came across the Pillars of The Indian Cash game scene & the presence that they had on any table to few who knew them.

[B]Anil ‘The Machine’ Gulati[/B] was The Most Flamboyant Organizer of High Stakes Cash Games in India. He had this Amazing Charm to lure anybody to play on a higher stake table than what they were already seated on. He was the Life of a Dull weekday Casino Poker Room who would liven up the spirit merely by his presence. The Nickname THE MACHINE was emphatic on his ability to play Non-Stop over 50 hours of High Stakes Poker while Juggling his Passion for Horse Racing, Cricket & Tennis.
[B]Prashant ‘PRAZ’ Correa[/B] is the Phil Ivey of Indian Poker. By far the most Successful Indian Cash Game Player. Sitting with Praz was an experience. He was the loudest soft-spoken guy you will come across. Speaking to him almost daily for hours & sitting watching him play for endless hours (he showed me all his hands) was one of the most educating times of my Poker Life. He is one of the most feared Poker players in a Cash Game anywhere in India across any stake. Although I can write an entire Blog on PRAZ, This is it, He likes to remain low profile & I know he’s already reading this & saying “WHY RR??”
I always set my goal in Poker to be like PRAZ. He was my Idol, Guide & Best Buddy.
Trust Me, Any youngster who wants to set a goal in Poker should make his 1st Aim to Be like PRAZ.
Most of you Guys reading this are even asking “WHO’S PRAZ??”
The Brilliant Recluse [B]RAMANDEEP GUJRAL[/B]. Raman was a revolutionary Missionary of Poker who 1st started a staking stable for the live Cash Games in Goa. He took under his wings some young promising Cash Game players Mentored them to be the most feared Players on the Goa scene. Cash Game strategy was totally different & Raman was the ideal Mentor anybody would want to have. A very soft-spoken guy but every youngster would want to absorb every word he says towards his own enlightenment.
Any youngster to have Raman as a Mentor was truly blessed.
The MONK [B]ROHIT BHALLA[/B]. BHALLA as he is known was one of the calmest & coolest players I have seen. Playing a few times with Bhalla showed me what is the ideal temperament required to play Cash games. He was meticulous & precise like an artist at work slowly chiseling into the stacks on the table.
To Sum it up for A Youngster …He would want A Mentor like [B]RAMAN[/B], The Temperament of [B]BHALLA[/B], The Stamina of [B]GULATI[/B] & The Tenacity & Success of [B]PRAZ[/B].

THE BOMBAY BOYZ
Mumbai had it’s own Superstars.
The GANGSTA [B]JASVEN SAIGAL[/B]. Jasven is my Guide , Guru & one of my Best Buddies. JASVEN was a true Pioneer in Organizing Home Games. GANGSTA is more of a nickname I would like to give for his presence on a Poker Table. Just his stare could give any faint-hearted guy Cold feet & would break him out into sweat. Jasven is In my Opinion, is The best Combination (besides me ☺) of Tournament & Cash Game Specialist. Jasven is very approachable by any youngster looking for inputs. Jasven has an exemplary fitness routine & focuses on the minutest detail before any Poker session. I would term him as a creature of Habit & Routine.
The HERMIT [B]KAVIN SHAH[/B]. Kavin had played Poker in Australia during his Student days & so had huge edge in the fledgling Cash Games of Mumbai. He was Also a part Of the RAMAN stable. Kavin is one of the nicest guys on the Indian Circuit. If approached well, is never shy of giving guidance & his favorite Topic is BANKROLL MANAGEMENT.
The POKER KING OF GOOD TIMES – [B]BOBBE SURI[/B]. BOBBE is a playboy. If you are in the company of BOBBE you will be a Playboy. Bobbe was the 1st at many …He was 1st to Go & Cash out Big in a Macau PokerStars Tournament … He was the 1st to stake somebody (Abhishek Goindi) in an overseas Event which brought him huge Success….he was the 1st guy to win a 1 Lac Buyin Poker Tournament (World Gaming Festival) & He was the 1st Guy to start a Poker Group on Facebook POKER BUDDIES. This group was closed group & an aspiration for everybody to get on & follow the Indian poker Scene via FB. Bobbe organized High-Stake Cash Games for the Elite Society featuring Top Businessmen & Bollywood connections.

There were & are many Cash Game Players who may have ridden their High Tide but the ones I have mentioned in this Blog are LEGENDS.
Signing Off with cherished Memories of Good Times with The LEGENDS.

Obsession for the game

September 5, 2015 in News

In continuation of my 1st Blog
[url]https://pokerguru.in/forum/entry.php?757-Start-of-a-magical-journey[/url]

[CENTER][B]OBSESSION FOR THE GAME[/B][/CENTER]
Poker had taken over my Life. I had started obsessing on the game.
For every Poker Player The Ultimate Dream is winning the Main Event Of The WSOP. So I downloaded the entire series of the 2010 WSOP Main Event won by Jonathan Duhamel. For every Aspiring Pro, I suggest you see this entire Series & you will, like me have hair raising moments …moments of agony & ecstasy which will make you understand acceptance of the 2nd Most dreaded Word in Poker VARIANCE (more on this Bad word in my later Blogs)

[CENTER][B]LIFE ON THE OTHER SIDE[/B][/CENTER]
In 2010, I started organizing a small home game as silent partner as I was a local & he was from out of town but this game fell apart soon as The organizer squandered & defaulted his credibility & Bankroll in cricket betting.
Having tasted blood (RAKE income) I wanted to organize / host games but could never find time away from My restaurant Business & Of course Family support was tough to even bring up this topic.
However Destiny, I had a slight altercation in my regular game I was playing where the Organizer humiliated my GURUS Kavin Shah & Jasven Saigal by denying them a seat & even making 1 of them relinquish an occupied seat. I was so furious that I immediately called a few friends & organized my 1st Home Game at my House.
Although I was from a Business family, had restaurants in partnership & had a string of Race Horses, I had managed my finances so badly that I was nearly broke trying to support extra colorful life.
My 1st home game was a 10k & I was running so bad that was 100k & even got up & sat beside Jasven watching the game & seeing the collection. Jasven convinced me to take 1 last buyin, which I did & ended a dream session getting up with a stack of 143k. If not for a crazy gutty chase call in Omaha …I might have tamely given up budding my poker career.
After this there was no looking back as I was running like the Luckiest FISH in the Pune Rivers but I didn’t realize the quality of my game was so low that I luckily had all the luck to survive the craziest action games of Pune.
My Wife was the greatest support in just allowing me host games as for her this was way past the acceptance just a Poker Player

[B][CENTER]SHORES OF GOA[/CENTER][/B]
Casino Royale Goa was a monthly sometimes more frequent stop for me. In those days, there was at least 1 tournament series every month naming the old ones: –
INDIA POKER CHAMPIONSHIP, INDIA POKER SERIES, INDIA POKER PROS, INDIAN POKER LEGEND & ACES UNLTD.
Goa was a great opportunity to catch with Indian Poker Fraternity, exchange ideas & most importantly network. There was a time that if anybody wanted to play a home game in any city, they would contact me to fix them up & even vouch for the credibility both ways.
I shared a great rapport with Late Phil Sanders operator of Casino Royale Poker Room, who I thought was one of the greatest visionaries of Poker & had a big hand for taking Poker to the next level in India. He was in constant touch with many Sports Authorities in the Central Government & State Governments to promote Poker & can actually be attributed with setting the ball rolling for the Government to start at least thinking about legalizing Poker.
Must add here that Phil was very well supported by Craig Wildman who was an excellent Tournament Director & Floor manager for Casino Royale & all the staff who we see today running Deltin Royale are a product from the training school of Craig.

[B][CENTER]POKERGURU INFLUENCE[/CENTER][/B]
I was most fortunate to have great Interaction with the POKERGURU brothers Rajat & Aditya Agarwal who again had such futuristic views on the game that it turned the Game on its head. They had started live reporting of all tournaments, which was the 1st shot at fame in the media for the budding Poker player.
They had Conceptualized India’s 1st Rake Free Tournament series, which saw the biggest numbers & was the biggest Aspiration for all budding Poker players.
Adi had started a mentoring session for a few selected young & talented players. In my opinion these youngsters were the luckiest guys in India to have been mentored by Adi who is still the most Brilliant & Affable individuals in Poker.
(I always wished to be on it but I had 2 main drawbacks – NOT young & NOT talented)
I was Fortunate to Be with Adi in Macau in his 1st Outing as PokerStars Team Pro India. It was 1 of the most proudest moments for me. Adi is way beyond his Age & is 1 of the biggest Influences on Indian Poker & probably the 1st guy to Put Indian Poker on the World map.
Thank You all for being patient & reading. My Next Blog will Feature Early International Experience of Indian Players.

Start of a magical journey

August 29, 2015 in News

My 1st attempt at a Blog ….

[CENTER][B]WHO IS RR[/B][/CENTER]
My 1st Experience of Poker was in 1993 with Video Poker machines for 5 card Poker that also was my 1st gambling experience in the Hill Station town of Mahabaleshwar.
Further after many such unofficial trips to Mahabaleshwar landed me in a Casino in Lagos, Nigeria in 1996 where I played 5 card Caribbean Stud Poker which was great to kill time while my other degenerate gambling friends wasted a lot of hard money on the Casino Tables.
I had my 1st Live Experience of Texas Hold’em in 1999 during my 1st visit to Sin City Las Vegas in Binions Poker Room.
[url]http://www.binions.com/gaming/poker_room.php[/url]
Inherently a natural card player having played numerous Local & National Bridge Tournaments & very regularly playing Indian Flush it was easy to adapt to another Card game which dealt in reading opponents & studying characteristics of various Individuals on a Card Table. This was a really dry losing session of about us$ 500 but it was an experience of observing discipline on a card table on a different level.
Until 2003 I never got to play any Poker at all & nor did I think of it since was too involved in Golf where luckily bumped into a few golfer friends who were members of The Osho Commune in Pune & who played a inr 2000 Buyin Game every Sunday. This game was mostly Texas Hold’em with Wilds (Jokers) but again being a Gambler didn’t care about donking 2k – 4k just to enjoy with this great group expat Oshoites.
Another 5 years of no Poker since I get involved in my restaurant business. But in 2008 my Indian Flush & Golfer Buddy who invited me to play Poker in his beautiful Bungalow for again a 2k buyin game. This was Basically a very friendly family type daily Poker game with some amazing Marwari snacks, which interested me more than the Poker. I was again the FISH who had no value for 2k buyin & played almost always Blind pre-flop. I remember all the regular winners in that small game laughing at the newfound FISH. Somebody told me ‘Play All Hands, You can’t Lose All’ for a 2k Buyin I thought was pretty good advise since I would surely Enjoy the most.
Poker was so addicting & I found a more serious Privately run Rake Game for a 10k Buyin. Now this game was with the gambling sharks of Pune & here I wanted to win for Pride. This Game sharpened me a lot & was yes a Lucky fish & a regular winner. I was 1st to land up at the venue twice a week to make sure I get a seat & start when the stacks are the initial Buyin of 10k.

[CENTER][B]1st GOA EXPERIENCE[/B][/CENTER]

1st Tournament Experience in Goa was when I came to Goa in 2010 & surprisingly a Tournament Series was in Progress – ACES UNLTD
A truly amazing scenario seeing a packed Casino Royale Poker Room buzzing with Tournament & Cash Games Buzzing.
My small Pond was Pune & with great disdain I asked 1 of the guys around “Who’s The Best Player in The Room ?” I was instantly taken towards the Heads Up in Progress for the Title of 5k REBUY & was pointed out to a young scrawny guy who was fully ensconced in a hoodie just killing his opponent who was actually praying on every ALL IN. This scrawny young guy was THE MAN Aditya ‘INTERVNTION’ Agarwal. He obviously decimated his opponent & after a quick photo session swiftly left the Poker Room.
[url]https://pokerguru.in/live-updates/Aces-Unlimited/Multi%20Format%20Series%201/5K%20Rebuy/2010-11-18[/url]
I played 12k Knockout Bounty & 15k Shootout & told my Pune friends that I’m made for this Game & I was surely going to go deep in the 20k Main Event. I was more tempted By Rajeev Kanjani The Organizer of The Tournament Series who showed me the Goodie Bags specially for the Main Event .I wanted that badly.
It was a crazy grind not knowing anything about Poker but on sheer instincts & Yes LUCKY FISH made it to the Final Table. It was amazing making it to the Final Table as I was introduced along with all other Finalists with great fanfare Champagne & This is the Attention I was seeking. This Final Table was a like A who’s who of The Indian Poker Scene including Rajesh Goyal, Amit Varma, Lawrence Sanjay & Jasven Saigal.
Shockingly only 5 were in The money so I really stayed patient. I was luckily sitting Next to JASVEN SAIGAL who selflessly calmed me all through the Final Table explaining hands & intricacies of Tournament Poker. As soon as money bubble was passed, I was relieved I made it into the money was out in 5th spot.
This experience was amazing as I met 2 of my Best Poker Buddies Kavin Shah & Jasven Saigal who I attribute as My 1st POKER GURUS.
[url]https://pokerguru.in/live-updates/Aces-Unlimited/Multi%20Format%20Series%201/20K%20Freezeout/2010-11-21[/url]
This was the stuttering start to my Poker Journey. Will continuing to Blog regularly as Nostalgia refreshes memories. My following blogs will highlight the Highs & Lows of Poker Life & the approach one should take to Make Poker a Successful Profession.

Online Rankings

i Top Ranked Poker Players in India
Member Won
Member Won
Member Won
₹1,29,29,197
₹1,25,88,313
₹1,20,69,627
₹1,15,22,676
5.Vinay B Vinay B
₹1,14,52,995
6.M L M L
₹1,14,40,871
₹1,09,13,473
₹1,05,24,690
₹99,60,672
₹99,49,327
Member Profit
Member Profit
Member Profit
₹55,77,649
₹50,59,154
₹47,48,174
₹46,54,932
₹44,93,503
₹43,84,994
₹43,56,316
₹42,00,183
₹41,14,429
₹40,97,624
Member Points
Member Points
Member Points
42,268
35,945
28,827
4.N K N K
28,311
25,814
25,649
24,477
24,446
9.M L M L
23,604
22,922

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