The global pandemic affected lives in many ways, but for Manthra Koliyar, it led her towards the path of discovering poker. Fresh from completing her post-graduate journalism diploma from the Asian College of Journalism in Chennai, the Mumbai gal landed a job with Gutshot Magazine – becoming a part of an industry that was alien to her until then. From what she told us, it is pretty evident that she has been loving every single moment of this journey!

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“I had just moved from Chennai. I had just finished my post-graduation, but I was waiting for some gig. That’s when Gutshot (Magazine) happened. It’s just been amazing since then. This is my first job. During the pandemic, it was a difficult time for everybody. Fortunately, I got into something like this. With the pandemic having relaxed, everything is going good now.”

“I lived literally under the shell until I joined Gutshot. I didn’t know poker was something so big. Honestly, I had never even heard the word poker. Or maybe I had heard it but never paid attention. So, when I joined, I clearly had no idea about it. Little, little things I started learning. It’s niche and nice. You get to know a lot of people personally,” she added.

Discussing her role at the poker news media portal, Manthra said, “I am writing. I am doing news. I am doing lots of interviews, amazing interviews. Talking to a lot of people. Meeting a lot of people. I am glad the pandemic has relaxed a little. I can see all the poker players now. I just want everything to settle down, so I get to meet more people. I get to do a little more in the industry.”

Talking about her daily tasks, she shared, “We start with the Daily Roundup. Then we have our promotional pieces. We have interviews that we do every now and then. And then, we have our content bucket, which is topical articles. I am also overlooking Gutshot’s (Magazine) social media. We are also venturing into new things now where we have all these reels and other new stuff on socials and otherwise. We are also experimenting with a few new things.”

Citing Peter Abraham and Dwayne Fernandes as her mentors, Manthra revealed how inspiring she finds poker and poker players. “I like a lot of things about poker. So many people are coming into it. Usually, you think maybe they are doing this as a side gig, but they are so invested in that. Players are so invested, so motivated. They have got set rules. They know what they want to do. That is very inspiring.”

However, she also alluded to the need for mainstream media to highlight the poker and gaming industries. “Mainstream media needs to cover at least bits about poker or gaming. Gaming is like the next big thing. So many people we know are taking up gaming professionally, or even poker or rummy. There is so little awareness about it. The idea that you are ‘just into poker or gaming’ needs to change.”

Expounding on women’s ability to master almost any skill, Manthra believes poker is something women should not shy away from. “The way women are, like trying their hand out at every other profession, I think poker shouldn’t be something that they shy away from. They should definitely give it a try. We have such phenomenal women here. From Nikita (Luther) to Radhika (Shanker) and Simran (Malhotra), all of these gals are changing how the industry is being looked at. So, that is something that women should aspire to. Read their stories. Read how they are managing families. How they are managing things professionally, along with the game.”

Manthra signed off with words of encouragement for poker enthusiasts, “Generally, I think anyone who is interested in maths and is interested in any such skill games should give poker a shot. I made my younger brother play, and now he loves poker. He keeps playing all day, and I love it. So, I keep telling people around me that they should give poker a shot. Downswings happen. It’s going to be there; it’s a part of life. All you have to do is just keep grinding.”