Poker as a game and profession is finally finding its calling in India. We at Onlinepokernews.in decided to check out the New Crop of Indian Poker which is making inroads in online poker. And in our tryst to bring out the unsung names in Indian poker who burn the midnight oil to follow their poker passion we bring Gen P- The next generation of Online Poker. A fortnightly column where we introduce you to a young, smiling and passionate poker face.
This time we present Ronak Agrawal. He was pleasantly surprised when he asked him for an interview. He thought he was still a poker underachiever. But that’s what we at OPN wish to do. Bring on the center stage the smaller poker players of India who are young and have the poker skill to make it big. They are always railing and in awe of the bigger player consortium of India but their small but substantial poker wins go unnoticed. But not anymore, with Gen P- we have a small agenda to make every player count.
Presenting Ronak Agrawal, 24 year old from Mumbai who loves to hang out with his friends in the day and plays poker online by the night. A little chat with the young and upcoming poker player-
| Name | Ronak Agrawal |
| Poker Nick Name | Hellrokr |
| Fav Place to play Poker(online) | PokerStars |
| Offline | Deltin Royale |
| Fav Poker Game | Texas Hold’em |
| Fav Poker Hand | K 9 Suited |
| Poker Earnings | $1,500 |
Q 1. Hi, Thanks for taking out the time to speak with us. To start with, can you tell us when you start playing poker? Basically your poker journey till date…
RA – It came as a pleasant surprise for me when I was approached for this interview so I would like to thank OPN India for this first of all. About my journey ..I belong to a Marwari Family and Cards are an integral part as pass time in our Family gatherings and function. So I was exposed to teen patti and rummy when I was young. I once saw a friend playing Poker on Zynga and was instantly in love with the game. Then came the low buyin friendly home games and the journey goes on!
Q 2 How much poker do you play?
RA – I play live cash games once in 15 days and online I play generally 3 – 4 sessions a week. I am currently in talks with one of a recognized face of Indian Poker community for my coaching sessions and then will work on my hours.
Q 3 How does your family feel about you playing Poker?
RA – My family knows that I have a love towards this game and I play recreationally but they don’t have full knowledge of how much I play as they won’t be very happy with that. They don’t have issue with me playing it for fun but I am really not sure if they will accept it as a full time profession for me if I wish to pursue it in future.
Q 4 Are you working somewhere?
RA– Yes I am currently based in Mumbai and doing business in Pharmaceuticals Sector.
Q 5 Have you ever participated in any live tournaments in India or Internationally?
RA – None as of now.
Q 6 Who do you idolize in Poker, both in India and Internationally?
RA – Aditya Agrawal – Undoubtedly the hero of Indian Poker Scene. I mean I don’t know a single pro who doesn’t idolize this guy. He has done so much for the Indian poker scene. I really feel he’ll get India its first WSOP bracelet. Internationally, I am a big fan of Phil Hellmuth and Tom Dwan.
Q 7 Who are the 3 names, according to you, who can make it big in International Poker Community?
RA – Aditya Agrawal ( Intervntion ) – as I mentioned above he is a league above all. A helpful and a friendly father figure for all Indian Pros.
Sahil Agrawal – ( Antilog ) – I rail him many a times and I like his playing style he is a bit aggressive and doesn’t gets intimidated too easily. I feel he can make a big impact internationally.
Aditya Sushant – (Donkab0mber) – The Sunday Million boy! Under the capable guidance of intervention he has improved leaps and bounds. He will be a player to look out for in future.
Other notable who are doing well and will be successful are Amit ( Bblacklegend) , Danish ( Danish7).
Q 8 What do you do when not playing Poker?
RA – I am mostly seen hanging around with friends and playing with them or going on drives.
Q 9 What is your one Poker dream?
RA – I know it looks a bit redundant but honestly once I came to know about the existence of WSOP I was always saying to myself that dude you have to play there once. Winning or losing is out of context but my dream is to play there and experience the adrenaline rush.
Q 10 What should be done to promote poker in India?
RA – There is still a lot of work to be done. There has to be awareness created amongst the masses that this game is not gambling it requires skills to excel.
To Create awareness more and more tournaments, online forums , good online portals need to be set up. I am really happy to see many online sites coming up and doing good work to promote poker in India .
Three Cheers to OPN and also to the Indian Contingent heading to Macau for MPC. Go get ‘em Boys!