Nikita Luther

More about Nikita Luther 

Anyone who is familiar with the Indian poker circuit has surely heard about Nikita Luther. The Delhi-based poker dynamite is one of India’s first-ever female poker pros to emerge from the country. She played a huge role in putting India on the world poker map and is the first and only female poker player from the country to have won a World Series Of Poker (WSOP) bracelet.

She claimed the coveted bracelet while playing Event #55: $1,000 Tag Team No-Limit Hold’em. Her first place finish got her $87,903 in cash prize. With a WSOP bracelet to her credit, Luther has already achieved something many players can only dream of. 

A math nerd who loves equations, puzzles, and mathematics, Luther’s first recorded live poker outing came in August 2015, where she played the ₹10,000 + 1,500 No Limit Hold’em at the India Poker Championship (IPC), where her 4th place finish earned her ₹1,90,000 ($2,913). 

Being a Bachelor of Commerce graduate, she initially worked in the marketing field. Starting off on Zynga to then becoming one of the most influential players in the Indian poker circuit, Luther has made all the right moves. Luther’s father being an Air Force personnel became a strong reason for her disciplined approach towards her profession. Luther began playing professionally in 2016 and started to give the pros a real run for their money. There’s been no looking back for her since then.

It is also worth noting that Luther launched the Poker Sports League in 2016 and also served as their Chief Operating Officer (COO) in its first two seasons. She has attended and recorded some great scores at other international poker events, including Aria Poker Classic, World Poker Tour (WPT), European Poker Tour (EPT) and Estrellas Poker Tour (ESPT), among others. Luther’s best live cash came at ARIA Poker Classic, where she recorded a second-place finish in the $500 + 65 No Limit Hold’em – Zynga Poker WPT500 to pocket $109,300.

The poker pro made a name for herself in the European poker circuit when she registered a 16th rank finish at the €1,100 No Limit Hold’em in Estrellas Poker Tour Main Event (Event #6) during EPT Barcelona 2022. She earned €27,930 (~$28,529) for her outing during that tour. 

Luther recorded 13 cashes and earned $212,554 at the biggest stage in WSOP. One of the biggest highlights of her career came when she played the much-talked-about WSOP 2023 Main Event. The Indian poker pro managed to record a deep run (9th for $78,900), which resulted in poker legend Phil Hellmuth even tweeting about her performance.

Earlier an Adda52 and Spartan Poker Pro, Luther was named the brand ambassador for Natural8 India in October 2023. The Delhi girl is a versatile player who has tasted success on both virtual and live felts. She is often seen playing poker online with usernames like ‘Nikitaluther’ ‘Pterodactyl’, Or ‘Nikita Luther’ across online poker platforms. She has grabbed headlines on both live and online platforms with her impressive performance and is among the country’s top 30 players.

Luther has undeniably become a force to recon with in the Indian poker circuit and is making a headway in the international stage as well. It remains interesting to see who this poker pro scales greater heights in the coming future.