The 5th edition of Gayle Storm saw Pune-based Deepak ‘bothras’ Bothra emerge victorious after defeating Rohit Mishara aka ‘rohit22rm’ in heads-up. Bothra took home a hefty INR 7,90,913, while Mishra pocketed an impressive INR 5,68,220 for his runner-up finish in the mega tournament.
It was not an easy win for Bothra as he had to outlast a huge 1944-entry field in this tournament. Towards the end, the grinder faced a strong final table that featured some tough regs in Adda52’s Chip-Up Series Main Event winner Abhishek Goindi aka ‘pomfret1989’ (4th for INR 2,93,755), Gokul Raj aka ‘gokoolered’ (5th for INR 2,11,212) and Rubin Labroo aka ‘kornkif’ (8th for INR 78,509).
A chartered accountant and MBA from IIM Indore, Bothra has always been in love with math and numbers and this is really helping him in poker. The player, who learned poker during his MBA days, has been doing pretty well, winning and cashing prestigious tournaments, both live and online.
Bothra’s journey on Adda52 has been highly rewarding. He has won several key tournaments on the poker site, including PLO Magic, The Roar, Sunday Suits (two times), Judwaa and Adda52 Millions to name a few. This win in Gayle Storm 5.0 added one more score to his already impressive resume.
Post his grand win, we spoke to Deepak Bothra via an online chat and here are the excerpts:
OPN: How does it feel to take down this super-value tournament on Adda52?
Bothra: It feels really nice to win Gayle Storm. This is my first win in a tournament of such a big field – over 1000 entrants. A few days back, I went really deep in the IOPC main event on The Spartan Poker but misplayed one hand. So, I really wanted hard to close this one.
OPN: Any crucial hands toward the end? What about the FT that featured some tough regs?
Bothra: I had average stack while entering the final table and lost few hands back-to-back and become really short. I got a double-up with AQ>KJ and got a big pot against a chip leader to secure chip lead at the right time. Thereafter, I played pretty aggressive and put an ICM pressure on short stacks. I had a huge chip lead going into heads up.
OPN: It was a large field, who do you think were your toughest opponents in this tournament?
Bothra: Even in large field tournament like this, final table was pretty reggy with likes of Abhishek Goindi, Rubin Labroo, Gokul Raj and Rohit Mishra. I got the chip lead at the right time and made good use of it.
OPN: Is there anyone/anything that you draw inspiration from?
Bothra: I really get inspired from the consistent crushers like Danish Shaikh, Shravan Chhabaria and Akshay Nasa.
OPN: How much time do you spend playing online poker every day?
Bothra: Mainly, I am a cash game grinder. I play around 5-6 hours every day on an average. I mostly discuss hands with friends to improve my game currently.
OPN: How do you see future of poker in India? How can the government help the poker industry?
Bothra: Poker will continue to grow at a high rate and has huge scope in India. It’s a high time that the government treats it as a profession and taxes it accordingly. Otherwise, it’s very difficult to survive in the industry.
OPN: Any travel plans for live poker in India/abroad?
Bothra: I plan to go to DPT starting in few days in Goa. I am also planning to make my first trip to Las Vegas. I couldn’t go last time, so fingers crossed this time around. Hopefully, I will make it.
OPN: Finally, what would you say to a newcomer?
Bothra: Never take shortcuts. Work hard on your game, there is no alternative to that.
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