Is anything even a passion for you, if it doesn’t get you out of the comfort zone?
Today, we have Mandar Darade, with us in our Rising Poker Stars segment, who is a digital marketing manager at Citi Bank and plays poker in free time. Mandar made headlines after winning Adda52’s 10 Lac GTD Inception title on Monday night bagging INR 2.62 Lac. In the chat session with PokerSpot, Mandar opened up on his poker passion, creating a balance between professional life and poker and many such things.
Here are the excerpts from the chat –
First of all, a big congratulations to you on winning Adda52’s Inception title. Can you please tell us a little about you and your educational background?
Thanks. I am an MBA from FMS Delhi (Faculty Of Management Studies) and working with Citibank for the last six years, based out of Mumbai.
Tell us about your poker journey and how it all started?
I got introduced to poker by my roommates after I got into a job, four years back. And ever since, I have always been fascinated by the game.
Tell us a bit about your current win Adda52’s Inception title and the heads up deal with Abhijeet Kumar. How it all happened?
Well, the title feels really good. I had the chip lead when there were 3 of us left, and wanted to get into a deal right away. However, the player who finished third Ram Kakkar aka ‘mowgumotu’ wasn’t willing to get into a deal. So, I eliminated him, fortunately, and then the deal was taken; we never wanted to play Heads Up.
How are you going to spend this prize money? Are there any plans or will it go straight into the bankroll for playing poker?
Well, some part of it will definitely go into the bankroll. The rest, I am not sure how to spend it even if I want to, as there is lockdown just about everywhere.
What impact does the lockdown has on your life? Most of the poker platforms have started various tourneys in the lockdown period to keep poker players busy. So, is it keeping you busy?
Not really. I am majorly a cash game player and play tournaments once in a while, mostly through free deposit tickets.
Yes, when the lockdown began, there was a lot more action on cash game tables, with newer players. That initial spike I feel has settled now, and games are almost similar to pre-COVID times. So, in that sense, the lockdown hasn’t changed much.
Do you believe tourney players get much attention than the cash game players in India?
Definitely, for example, a cash game player making Rs.10k per day would make 3L in a month and Rs. 36L a year but no one would know about it (of course except the players he plays against) unless specifically told.
But tournaments are different, and almost everything is news. That’s how the dynamics are. I am not saying it needs to change, or that it’s unfair. Let’s just acknowledge that’s how the culture is.
Having said that, I feel the best cash game players are known and respected enough in the industry.
Online poker or live poker, which is more exciting to play?
I have played live, and I enjoy the format. In fact, there was a time when 12-16 hour marathon sessions were common on weekends between us friends. But strictly from a poker perspective, I prefer the online format more as it’s physically less demanding, there is more action, and there is flexibility.
Given that I get only an hour or two on working days and obviously a bit more on weekends. So, the online version provides 24*7 flexibility. In fact, this is also one of the major reasons why I got hooked on to cash games format. Being a working professional, it is extremely challenging too, to find the time, play your A-game and keep improving. So, in order to not disrupt work/personal life, I started getting up early to play poker and used to watch Run it once videos while commuting to the office.
So, the flexibility provided by the cash game format suits me the best, given the situation.
Are you planning to take up poker as professionally in the near future?
Not in the short term, as I guess being a professional is much more than just being passionate. I am happy with the way things are at the moment. I personally stop enjoying playing the game when there is too much volume. So, having a full-time job is a good contrast for playing poker as and when I get time, as it definitely helps to be less worried at the poker table.
How do you balance out your passion for playing poker along with the professional life?
As mentioned, it’s a challenging task. So, to extract time as I said, I used to sleep less, get up early to play and used to study through Run it once videos during commute time to and from office.
My wife, fortunately, has been extremely supportive of the same so far, and we have a set arrangement of poker and non-poker time, which makes things easier.
So yes, it’s demanding but then, is anything even a passion for you, if it doesn’t get you out of the comfort zone?
Which are the Indian platforms you love playing at?
I majorly play 100/200 NLH, and 250/500 sometimes. So, I have over 90% volumes on Adda52. There aren’t much of these tables running on other sites, so pretty much no choice.
Can you describe one memorable moment of your poker journey so far?
It was back in 2018. I had shipped Juice tournament for 2.5 lacs. I was a micro stakes grinder back then and got the ticket through a single satellite. So, it felt really good to get a BIGG score, 5X of the bankroll I had. Also, it was as much about the money as much about the circumstances it came in. I had gone to a friend’s place, and there was a get together of 7-8 old friends. Initially, I was slammed for being glued to poker, but when I told them about being on FT, and the pay jumps, all of them were railing me, and every knock out on FT was cheered. There may be bigger scores in the future, but the adrenaline and euphoria could be difficult to match.
So, that’s all for today! Stay tuned for the next Poker Star.