Not everyday you come across a young Indian college boy outplaying thousands of poker players from across the world to win an online poker tournament. At the age when college goers keep scrolling down the social apps on mobile phones, this Delhi-lad has been grinding the online poker circuit nights after nights. He kept practicing, buffing his skills and waiting for the day he turn 18. Finally, the day came and within few months of registering as BigggTymer, he won The Bigger $11 beating 17,551 entrants for $13,699.
Presenting Arsh Grover in Gen P – The next generation of Online Poker, an exclusive column where we introduce you to a young, smiling and passionate Indian poker face.
| Name | Arsh Grover |
| Poker Nickname | BigggTymeR |
| Fav Place to play Poker | PokerStars |
| Fav Poker game | No Limit Hold’em, Razz |
| Fav Poker Hand | K K |
| Poker Earnings | $20,000+ |
Q 1 Hi Arsh, 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…
AG – I started off with Zynga poker when I was 11, had no idea of what I was doing. By the time I reached the age of 14 I started figuring out this game, getting better each day by watching countless videos and reading books. I made a huge break when I was 15-16 (that’s some underage stuff so I’ll leave it out, was on a cousins account) I ended up winning some pretty decent moolah at that point. So by the end of 2012 I was really inspired to improve and saw myself having a future in this. I had to take a break from poker because of my studies but since now I’m in college and done with most of it. It’s time to grind. Time to make my way up the poker world.
Q 2 How much poker do you play?
AG – 12-14 hour sessions, usually 4-5 days a week.
Q 3 How does your family feel about you playing Poker?
AG – My parents understand what I do and motivate me. They are confident that I’ll be able to achieve the goals I’ve set for myself. I’m pretty happy to say that they are proud of me. At the end of it all though, if you can find something that you love to do, something you are really good at and something that would make you enough money. Isn’t that what everyone is looking for, Isn’t that a major part of all that you need in life?
Q 4 Are you working somewhere?
AG – I’m a fresher at Kirorimal College, Delhi University.
Q 5 Have you ever participated in any live tournaments in India or Internationally?
AG – I’ve just been to some home games in my city and have yet to explore much about live poker. I’ll be attending the upcoming tournament series in Bangalore in February and hopefully some International events in the future.
Q 6 Who do you idolize in Poker, both in India and Internationally?
AG – In India, Aditya “Intervention” Agarwal, Amit “bblacklegend” Jain, Raahil “rbhatia3” Bhatia, Sahil “antilog” Agarwal, Danish ‘Danish7’ Shaikh & Aditya “donkab0mber” Sushant are the guys I look up to and I know that I have a long road ahead of me but I’m pretty confident that one day I’ll make it. Internationally, Tom Dwan, Daniel Negreanu & Phil Ivey are the only three names that come to my mind when I think of my idols. These guys just sum it all up.
Q 7 What do you do when not playing Poker?
AG – I love listening to music, chilling with friends, watching movies and football.
Q 8 What is your one Poker dream?
AG – Be one of the very best in the game. I know there is a very long road ahead and “very long” would be an understatement but I’ve always dreamt big and I’m pretty confident that one day I’ll be up there.
Q 9 What should be done to promote poker in India?
AG – I personally think people need to be more educated and aware about “poker”. The mindset of “poker is gambling” which is pretty prominent in India just because it has the aspect of cards and chips involved needs to change. We need to be more vocal about it. Poker has been a profession to a lot of people for decades. It has been recognized as a game of skill. People in India need to accept it as a sport that it is considered outside.