Online Poker News frequently has the opportunity to break the story on promising players who are the future stars of Indian poker. I firmly believe this is the case with Anirban D Das, a terrific poker talent with several tall achievements to his name through his poker journey. Originally from Mumbai currently living in Gurgaon, Das etched his name in the history books this past Sunday by winning the inaugural 70 Lac GTD Adda52 Colossus for a massive INR 19.66 Lac – his biggest online score!
Holding an MBA degree in Marketing from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad, Das started playing the game about 10 years back during his MBA. Post his MBA, his first job was at Zynga where he used to play Zynga poker online. The more he played, the more attached he felt to the game. Having realized that there is logic and skill attached to the game, he took a sabbatical from work 4 years back and started playing poker tournaments seriously. There has been no looking back since then as he has worked up an impressive record of title victories and FT finishes.
While Das has won big on several major poker sites, his journey on Adda52.com has been highly rewarding so far. He is a two-time Big Slick winner, with Sunday Suits, Judwaa, AOPS Table for 6 & Godfather being other major tourney titles to his name. This past Sunday was especially memorable one for him as he won the first-ever Adda52 Colossus that fetched his biggest score. He had satellited his way into this tourney and went on to convert it into a huge win worth INR 19.66 Lac. We spoke to Das about his Colossus win, his poker journey, and more. Here are the excerpts:
OPN: Hi Anirban Das, congratulations on winning the inaugural Adda52 Colossus for INR 19.66 Lac! Let us start by talking about you, how you picked up poker and what hooked you to the game.
Anirban: I started playing about 10 years back during my MBA at IIM Ahmedabad via cash games. Post-MBA, my first job was at Zynga, and I used to play Zynga poker online.
OPN: Tell us a little about your poker journey. Do share some highs & lows of your poker journey.
Anirban: I had taken a sabbatical from work about 4 years back when I started playing MTTs seriously and had both highs and lows during this time. High was winning 5 consecutive monthly leaderboards on Spartan to win the WSOP main event package. Low was exiting the main event on level 1 day 1 because I got too nervous and impatient. This win was another high since it’s my biggest score.
OPN: Usually, where and how much poker do you play? How has been your experience playing on Adda52?
Anirban: These days I play only on Sundays and sometimes evenings if I’m done with office work. Adda52 experience has been great and I really like the emojis they have.
OPN: Coming to the Adda52 Colossus, how does it feel to ship the very first Adda52 Colossus tourney?
Anirban: It feels good to ship the Colossus. I had satellited into the tourney and was playing quite poorly in the first 2 levels but it was good to turn it around later and eventually ship it.
OPN: What enticed you to play this high roller tourney and how was your overall experience?
Anirban: I played it because there were many satellites including step satellites which made the cost of entry lower. Also, I wanted to play it because it would have the strongest and best players.
OPN: What was your strategy going into this high-roller tourney?
Anirban: The strategy was to play aggressive pre-flop, especially in re-jamming spots because my edge is lower post-flop against the field. Additionally, tightening the pre-flop range, especially in early positions. The last adjustment was to increase bluffing frequency for multi-street lines since the field is likely to think more against 3-barrel lines. I was able to get 2 of these through in missed draws.
OPN: Take us through the Adda52 Colossus journey. Any key hands or standouts moments from the tourney?
Anirban: I think, with 9 left, I won a huge 3-way all-in with QQ against AK that gave me a good lead going into FT. Other than that, I made a mistake on the last hand with K8 against AA but got lucky to hit 2 pairs.
OPN: How did the Colossus final table go for you? Who do you think were the toughest opponents on the final table?
Anirban: Everyone on the final table was a beast but Mithun Mahesh and Tarun Goyal had stacks that could have been problematic. Goonjan Mall and Raghav Bansal are also dangerous, so was careful enough to not double them up given they were short-stacked.
OPN: At what stage of his poker lifecycle a player should play such HR events?
Anirban: Once a player’s bankroll reaches at least 50L so that 100 BIs are available
OPN: According to you, what is the difference in playing a 5500 buy-in 30 Lac GTD vs 55K buy-in 70L GTD tourney?
Anirban: From a basic perspective nothing should change. However, bluffing frequency should be 10-15% higher and re-jamming at 25 BB should be higher. One should be more willing to take AK flips as opposed to flatting against wider fields.
OPN: Finally, any message or words of advice for aspiring poker players?
Anirban: There is no substitute for deliberate practice. Find your own way to process and be unaffected by bad beats.
Das is one go-getter who is determined to get better and do better at the game. We wish him the very best for Adda52’s 5 Crore GTD DOPT (Deltin Online Poker Tournament) starting on 6th June!