Alike many working professionals in our country who have a passion for the game of poker, Anant Purohit takes time out of his busy life to play poker. He has been playing poker for approx. 5 year now and has cashed over 400 online tourneys winning 11 out of those. Vishakhapatnam based Anant is not only fond of playing poker but also of trying out several variants of this game and he has fetched some notable scores in Badugi, 2-7 Draw, Omaha Hi/Lo etc.
OPN India caught up with Anant this week to know about his poker beginnings, the journey so far and his future plans.
To start with, can you tell us about yourself and when did you get started with the game of poker.
Anant – Professionally, I’m a Managerial Degree holder from one of the most prestigious management collage in India and currently working as General Manager in one of the multinational manufacturing unit. I started playing poker during Post Graduation in 2011 and loved the game so much from the time I have learned the strategic concept of the game.
How much poker do you play on an average?
Anant – I play almost 2-3 hours per day and 120-140 hrs in a month on an average.
What is the ratio of cash games in your total poker gameplay? What would you like to become five years down the line – cash game specialist or tournament player?
Anant – I used to play cash game too much previously but as of now it consists of 20-25% of my total time, I give to poker. In Future, I would be more concentrating on Poker Tournaments rather than Cash games.
You play tournaments of several other variants like Badugi, 2-7 Draw etc. on PokerStars. Which all variants are on your poker resume and which one you enjoy playing the most?
Anant – I play almost all variants of poker including 2 7 SD, 2 7 TD, Badugi, Razz, HORSE, Stud, 5 card Draw etc. Out of all these I love Badugi and 2-7 SD most. I enjoy playing these games.
What has been some of your biggest achievement in poker till date? How do you rank them?
Anant – I haven’t reached a milestone yet as I am mostly playing recreationally. But, if we talk about biggest till now, I won $5,392 in Big 8.8 on 12th Sept, 2014 after a 4 way deal. Then, I have been to FT of 5.5 The Big, 5.4 KO, 16.5 The Big, 27 PS KO etc finishing somewhere between 2-5 most of the times.
Any plans of going full-time in poker in near future? How do you balance you professional and personal life with poker?
Anant – I have been playing poker recreationally and may have plans to move for full time. I usually give poker enough time as I was a bachelor till few months back. Things are now changing a little bit. 🙂
Is your family supportive of you playing poker?
Anant – Yes. My wife is quite supportive for my poker life. However, my father/mother may still be having views that this is kind of gambling. So we usually don’t have discussions over this topic.
Who do you idolize in Poker, both in India and Internationally?
Anant – Among Indians, I am fan of the obvious pro, Adi Agarwal and apart from that I respect few players like Donka, Antilog, Abhi etc. Internationally, I am fan of the big name Negreanu and obviously Ivey and now a days I like game of Mustafa Kanit a lot.
Which players you take up as strong competitors at the online tables?
Anant – The one who is “not” playing textbook poker. Those who play only card based game are the easiest player to burst. The one who has capability to raise you on 8 9 off is more strong.
What is you one poker dream?
Anant – Right now, my dream is to win Sunday Million in next 1 year as of now. I’ll create a new one after that.
How do you like spending spare time off the desk and poker felt? What are you hobbies?
Anant – Poker is my only hobby and I spend my spare time from office in poker.
What’s your take on rising popularity of poker in India? What do you think should be done to promote this game more?
Anant – The first step to promote poker is to make it legal. So, we all as a community should make efforts to legalize this mind game in India. Once it’s done, then we can come up with a few innovative ideas to popularize this game like keeping a challenge against a pro for an amateur to win best out of 10 HU for free tourney entry or something. Or, giving opportunity to learn live from live sessions and those who attend sessions get to play live against a pro in a best of “n” games and if they beat him, they get some free money or goodies.