Heads-Up With Chip-Up Series Main Event Winner – Abhishek Goindi

Last week, Adda52 hosted the 2nd edition of its Chip-Up Series, which promised INR 50 Lac in the guaranteed prizes through the week that ended just yesterday, 9th December. The key highlight of the series was the Main Event, which ended just yesterday night and found a winner in none other than the Punjab Bluffer’s mentor –  Abhishek Goindi, who plays under ‘pomfret1989’ on adda52.com.

The specialty of the series was being able to chip up without having to pay higher buy-in as it featured lower buy-ins and bigger prizepools. The 1100 buy-in Main Event of Chip Up Series (3rd to 9th Dec.) started 7 pm yesterday evening and drew a field of 794 entries. After intense battles of over 8 hours, it was the 2012 Macau Poker Cup Red Dragon Event runner-up – Goindi who overcame the field to take home INR 2,50,000 after beating Amarjeet Gandhi aka ‘amarjeet1989’ in heads-up play. Gandhi eventually had to settle for INR 1,34,500 for his runner-up finish in the tournament.

It was yet another successful Chip-Up series on add52.com with players from all over India joining in it. Top 82 players made money in yesterday’s Main Event with a min-cash of INR 2,200. Some notables who cashed were ‘zxcvuiop’ (12th), ‘Zonas’ (18th), Bharath Kumar ‘hzgod’ (29th), Manesh Rathod ‘TEAMfromHELL’ (34th), IMUNAGI (45th), ‘Hammer_Head’ (50th), and ‘thekinganuj’ (60th).

Goindi is one of the earliest poker players in the Indian poker circuit with over 11 years of experience. His journey has been rewarding so far. It is to be noted that he was the first Indian to make a significant cash at the Macau Poker Cup, where he finished runner-up for his best live cash of $136,303 in 2012. The same year, he won the ₱ 100,000 + 8,000 NLH High Roller at APT Manila, which gave him a hefty $ 39,773 in top prizemoney. That is not all, he also defeated an entry-crowd of 31 at the India Poker Legend (IPL) Casino Royale, Goa to take home INR 12.50 Lac ($24,360) for his win.

Adda52.com has been one of the biggest hunting grounds for Goindi. The Bangalore pro has notched up several big scores on the poker site this year. He kick-started by winning 2nd Chance tourney  for INR 1,50,000 in top prize. He followed up that win with 3 final table finishes in Godfather tournaments. Later in July, he took part in One Time tourney and finished 2nd runner-up for INR 1 Lac. Now this win in the Main Event adds more to his already impressive poker resume.

After his Chip-Up Series Main Event win, we caught up with Goindi and here is what he had to say:

OPN: Hello, Abhishek Goindi (pomfret1989)! Thank your for taking out time for a conversation with us. Congratulations on winning the ‘Chip-Up Series Main Event’! For our readers who don’t know much about you, please tell us how you got into poker and how has been your journey so far?

Goindi: I got into poker when I was around 17 years old back in 2006. A very close friend of mine – Nandini Asavari Bharadwaj got back from the US and taught me the game at one of our slumber parties during the summer. There has been no looking back since then. I was instantly hooked to the game as it was not like any other card game. There’s a reason as they say that poker is the caddilac of all card games! I have been in this industry since its inception and was one of the first few people to take up the game professionally along with my mates – Aditya Sushant, Dhaval Mudgal , Romit , Samoh and the others under the guidance of Aditya ‘intervention’ Agarwal. My passion and love for the game has made me to want to get on to the business side of things as well as to help to grow this industry.

OPN: Coming back to the Main Event, how do you feel to win this special tourney on Adda52?

Goindi: A win is a win and it always feels special! It’s what poker players want every time they go out there to play. However, the key is to consistently keep performing and winning.

OPN: How was the field? How was your overall experience in this particular tourney?

Goindi: The field was actually quite soft as it was the Chip up Series Main event and there were a lot of satellite qualifiers.

OPN: You have been working with Adda52 for more than a year now, how has been your journey? Could you share a few big things Adda52 has done to promote poker in India over the last year?

Goindi: It’s been great working for Adda52 so far. They have been the pioneers and leaders in this industry. They pretty much created this industry, especially when it was non-existent. Their vision and hunger to grow this industry is commendable and they are continuously doing this by adding new players and taking the game to new people. I think, both have added tremendous value to each other and their management team is extremely professional. I also get to experiment a lot with ideas and concepts, because of the huge database of players they have acquired, their willingness to keep growing and the funds they have to back up them.

 OPN: How do you see the future of Indian poker, especially after big stars – Chris Gayle, Viswanathan Anand and Patrik Antonious joining the game? What does it mean to players in India?

Goindi: The future of this Industry looks very bright. There are a lot of new players taking to the game, especially the youth. The industry as a whole is growing quite rapidly. However, there are a few challenges that we need to overcome, especially demystifying the stigma attached to the game and creating more awareness around it. The likes of ‘Vishy’ and Gayle endorsing this game is for sure going to help the cause and add more credibility to it. It will also help with the awareness part too.

OPN: How about your future plans in online and live poker? Any upcoming poker travel plans?

Goindi: I mainly play online because of my schedule these days. I try to balance work, play and fitness at the same time, which is really hard thing to do. With each passing year, I am getting better and better at the game. So, I definitely plan a couple of trips to play live poker as that’s what I love doing. However, playing online offers a better ROI and works best for me at the moment, given my position.I genuinely enjoy working for this industry and growing it is definitely one of my goals.

OPN: Finally, any advice for new poker players looking to make a mark in poker industry?

Goindi: Be Humble! There’s a famous saying in poker – “It’s a game that takes a minute to learn, but a lifetime to master.” This statement is entirely true as per my experience. Patience, persistence , discipline and tons of learning is required. In poker, it’s easy to lose focus on your goals with everything that is happening around you. A poker player’s lifestyle is hard, although it has a lot of merits that come with it. One can easily get caught up in the act. It’s a slippery slope. However, if you don’t slip, there is a lot of light at the end of the tunnel. Poker- it’s a hard way to make an easy living!