Inspiring journey of Poker Ustaad Ramu Kushwaha from UP

Jalaun. In the last 10 years, the #poker environment in India has been removing the misconceptions related to this game. One of these misconceptions is that poker is a game of rich people only, but the country's poker players are constantly challenging this notion. Skilled players, who understand the strategy and try to increase their knowledge in poker are performing well, and Ramu Kushwaha's story is similar. Before coming to the poker world, Ramu was a roadside food vendor, but now he has made his mark in PokerBaazi and Jio Cinemas' final game show Poker Masterclass.

Ramu Kushwaha is 29 years old and lives in Jalaun, Uttar Pradesh. Before Covid-19, he used to drive a small food lorry and make burgers and pizzas. But after the lockdown, it became difficult for him to support his family. Then he started searching for online games that offer prize money and then he came across Poker. He started learning about poker and initially played low-stakes games. After understanding the game, he participated in PokerBaazi's National Poker Series and won the gold medal. This achievement encouraged him to play tournaments regularly and take up poker as a profession. It is a reality TV show which is like a game show, and is presented by PokerBaazi. The show is aired on Jio Cinema.

Sharing his experience, Ramu said, "It was indeed a very exciting experience. We were selected through an auction, just like in big cricket leagues. I got a chance to meet poker players at PokerBaazi's 'Night of Glory' event, but there was no meaningful conversation and I did not even see poker players playing. My mentor Vinod Meghalmani was also a great help. For example, I cannot speak English and he is not that good in Hindi either. But during the training sessions, he spoke in Hindi for my convenience. The friendship and practical training of my team members gave me the strength to understand better strategies and improve my skills.”

Ramu's team was led by renowned poker mentor Vinod Meghalmani and Ramu says that this was a turning point in his poker career.