Vivek Rughani who players under his online name ‘Ikkvr’ on Adda52.com is one of the most respected and talented poker players on India’s poker landscape. Hailing from the business city- Ahmedabad, he has $27,937 in total live earnings. His best cash is $ 16,139 ( INR 1076000), which he got back in November 2016 after finishing as runner-up in DPT High Roller at Deltin Royale Goa. He has several big scores in his name at the virtual felts as well. Back in 2016, he came in light for winning WPTN Cambodia Package on Adda52.com. Recently, he cashed out across several big money events on Adda52.com. And last week, he took down the very first edition of Sunday Suits.
OPN Team spoke to Vivek about his grand win in Sunday Suits, his poker journey, his future plans ahead and a lot more. Here are the excerpts of the interview.
1.First of all, congratulations on winning the inaugural Sunday Suits on Adda52.com. For our readers who don’t know much about you, please tell us how and when did you move into poker?
Vivek- Thanks a lot I am a professional poker player playing poker for a living now after quitting my job last year. I started playing poker in 2009 and playing on Indian sites from 2015.
2.Coming back to Sunday Suits, what are your views on Sunday Suits?
Vivek- Seems like a good edition to the roaster with a low buy-in and guarantee structure was also pretty good till the end. Also well marketed, because I wouldn’t have known about it if I didn’t see the promo videos by Nikita Luther & Minissha Lamba.
3.How does it feel after taking down the very first Sunday Suit on Adda52.com?
Vivek- Feels great to have a winning Sunday Suits. Taking down the first edition of any MTT is always special for a poker player.
4.Describe your journey through Sunday Suits. Any special and key hands?
It was smooth sailing from the start, most of the tournament big hands getting paid and people bluffing at wrong times. I was short in the final 20 but re-stealed a lot of pots, plus won a few flips to become the chip lead again on final table. Meanwhile, I just kept winning small pots.
5.What do you think was the toughest hand in this special tournament?
Vivek- Don’t think there was a hand where I had to think a lot. In fact I did a few hero calls which were standard.
6.You beat Vivekanand ‘vgajjala1987’ Gajjala in heads-up. Can you describe your heads up game play?
Vivek- In three-way action, I had a huge lead due to applying ICM pressure and shoved almost all hands so had a pretty loose image once we were in to heads-up battle. The heads-up was 2:1 and he started playing aggressively, so I waited out for a hand to call off.
7.How much poker do play on an average?
Vivek- Depends on the schedule but average 30 hours at least a week.
8.How do you spend your time when not playing poker?
Vivek- Playing league of legends, watching poker (news,streams,youtubevlogs) and hanging out with friends.
9.What is your one poker dream you would like achieve in 2017?
Vivek- Win a live event (preferably WSOP Europe bracelet if I will be able to go) or a WPT/ DPT title and a few online biggies with 1M uptop.
10.Finally, any advice or suggestion for aspiring poker players in India?
Follow bankroll management and keep working on your game. Don’t feel it’s all luck as there is always skill involved no matter how bad you run. Keep grinding and sign off “why work when you can play poker?”.