Poker Player Files: Ace on the Turn by Yuvraj

Dated: 27th April 2015

I have been around cards ever since childhood. Watching my dad play with his friends at the cards parties during the Diwali season fascinated me for some reason. I did not understand much about what was going on, but I loved watching everyone throwing in money. One day, I accidentally touched an uncle’s cards before he could pick them up, and he supposedly won a huge pot. Since that day, all the superstitious ones started giving me money to pick up their cards. Now that I think of it, maybe I was destined to earn my living through cards.

The first time I played poker was at a friend’s house. I must have been in 10th standard(Shhh, dont tell anyone). We played for a while and I still remember the hand I lost all my money with. I don’t remember how the action went, but I remember I had KK vs AA. Even after the cooler, something about poker fascinated me right away. I just wanted to be better than any of my friends. I started watching youtube videos to improve my game, loved watching all the poker shows. One of the biggest factor that helped my game is, that I enjoyed not only playing, but working and improving my game as well. Reading strategies, watching videos, talking about hands, I enjoy it all. This payed off well in college. By then I was better than a lot of average players around and made good money for a college kid.

Making money out of poker to manage my expenses through college made me believe that this is something I could make my profession. But I did not act on it and took a regular job. I hated it to the core. I started playing online in the evenings, managed to reach a good enough bankroll, and quit my job and started playing full time when I felt comfortable.

That’s when I realised that my zone was when I was playing poker. My life was not supposed to be spent in a small cubicle working on a laptop from 9 AM to 5 PM. My life was supposed to be spent working on a grinding station from 9 PM to 5AM. And that’s what I have chosen now. A job in the poker industry. A game that I love. And a living that guarantees poker as its mainstay.

To be continued…..