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Player in Focus: Abhimanyu Mittal

Meet 25-year-old Abhimanyu Mittal whose desire and passion for poker knows no bounds. The lockdown has definitely proved beneficial for those individuals grinding online as well as balancing their professional 9-5 jobs, and Mittal stands tall among such people. The eagerness to learn and success in this up and coming poker player is tremendous!

The IMT Ghaziabad graduate is currently working as a consultant in Deal Advisory in KPMG, Gurgaon. He was introduced to the mind sport by his classmate in 10th standard after which Mittal started playing Zynga Poker on Facebook. During his Masters first year, Mittal was reintroduced to the game when Spartan Poker conducted live and online events at his college where he shipped one event and had two FT finishes.

“I already had a knack of numbers and probabilities,” said Mittal, and that being an MBA graduate certainly helped him take his game ahead. While he’s not one who has won the biggest of tournaments of one that plays the highest of stakes, he’s surely growing as a player, slowly and steadily. So far his best online cash has been INR 68,000 for finishing 2nd in Electric Afternoon Hi-Fi on Spartan Poker. Keep reading for Gutshot’s complete interview with Abhimanyu Mittal…

Hi Abhimanyu, please tell us how were you introduced to poker.

“I was in 10th grade when I was introduced to the game by one of my classmates. After that I started playing online on Zynga Poker for the next couple of years. During my first year of MBA I was reintroduced to the game Spartan Poker when they conducted both live and online tournament at the college and I pulled off great results! And this gave me a chance to explore the world of online poker. After shifting to Gurgaon in 2019, I started grinding regularly and studying the game and getting decent results. I mostly grind MTTs on weekends with buy-ins not exceeding INR 2,000.”

What about the game of poker attracts you to it?

“The fact that it involves continuous and intense battle of mind is what attracts me to the game. Just the passion and desire to ace these intriguing, mind-boggling battles draws me to poker.”

What have you done to improve your game? Any mentors or coaches?

“Initially, I was mostly playing micro stakes and little did I know the depth and complexity of the game. It was only until I moved up the stakes I realised that it requires much more critical approach for playing poker. After losing for few weeks, I went to the drawing board and started watching free content available on the internet. I watched videos on channels like Doug Polk and Raise Your Edge. The Twitch streams of RunItOnce and Sharad Rao also proved of immense help to improve my game. I also started making notes of my hand history to fix up the leaks of my playing style. I have not had any formal coaching yet but intend to get some mentoring post this lockdown situation. By taking baby steps to building a steady bankroll, I also plan to get some paid online course subscriptions and getting a HUD in place.”

Are you a full-time poker professional?

“No, I am not a poker pro. Right now, I’m working as a consultant in Deal Advisory – Mergers and Acquisition department of one of the Big4 companies, KPMG. I feel content for being able to get a headstart in my preferred domain and that’s Finance. Consequently, I have an increased passion and improved focus for poker.”

What are your future plans in the game?

“There’s still a long way to go as I have recently got my feet wet in the competitive field of MTTs. I plan on evolving as a student and keep grinding online at the same time. I wish to get better by working on key areas like pre-flop ranges, post-flop play, pot control, ICM implications, heads up play and tilt control.”

“The tournaments that I am looking forward to are the ones that fit into my bankroll and have great value like Spartan Value Series, Spartan Super Series and IOPC. I would also take shots at some satellites to participate in few of the marquee tournaments online. As of now, there’s no plan to play any live tournament but I will definitely look forward to participate in the next IPC at Goa.”

3 players who you look up to in the Indian circuit?

• Goonjan Mall
• Ankit Wadhawan
• Pranay Chawla

Stay tuned to GutshotMagazine.com for latest updates on online poker tournaments in the country as well as similar interviews with some of the quick growing poker players.

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