With the biggest guaranteed prize pool ever seen in India, the new “End Boss” poker tournament has kicked off in India. According to PokerBaazi, an independent online poker room that facilitates the tournament, the participants who go against their peers in this poker game will be able to reap the total prize pool of INR 5 crore, which is about $650,000.
The popularity of professional poker in India
Poker in India is one of the most popular entertainment sources. Yet once looked upon as a type of gambling, offered by a real money online casino for Indian players, poker has become a source of income for Indian players, not to mention the economy itself. People are increasingly leaving their high-profile jobs to become professional poker players and enjoy the thrill of the game.
One great example of this trend is Kunal Patni, a professional poker player from India who had quite a high-paying job and a guaranteed future but didn’t feel like it was to be his future. So, he updated his wardrobe, shifted from suit-and-tie to hoodies and that sort of apparel, and went full-on with his pro poker career.
The first poker tournament that Patni attended as a professional player was the Asian Championship of Poker in Macau. And from 2014 till today, he has become one of the best poker players in India, earning tens of thousands of dollars per single tournament.
Legal development of the game
Now, while the game has amassed such a high level of fame, its legality is still under the haze even today. In 1967, the Indian Supreme Court has ruled that rummy, a classic card game, is a game that requires skill and can be legally offered in various clubs. However, the Court didn’t specify the use of real money while playing the game. For that reason, numerous courts in the country have provided countering verdicts around the legality of rummy with stake money.
This ambiguity also has translated into the legality of poker. Even though online poker providers are offering their platforms to Indian players, they know that at any given time, the government can stop them, even though they believe they’re acting according to the original verdict of 1967 that a card game is a game of skill and is legal to play on the Indian soil.
The biggest poker tournament India has seen
With all this pretext, poker tournaments across the country have become one of the most lucrative sources of income for Indian poker players. And one such tournament is the “End Boss” facilitated by PokerBaazi with a total prize pool of INR 5 crore.
According to the creators, it is the biggest prize pool an online poker tournament has ever offered to Indian poker players. Previously, the record was set by the local provider called Spartan Poker that offered a 3-crore (around $390,000) prize pool through its poker tournament at the beginning of the year.
With this innovative tournament, PokerBaazi is planning on “crowning India’s biggest-ever winner” of the poker tournament. According to Varun Ganjoo, Marketing Director of Baazi Games, this tournament will definitely attract new and existing poker players with its incredible prize pool and the affordable entry fee.
