Memoir by SharmaJI
Posted by Naman Sharma on 2023-04-04 at 7:56 PM
After busting two recently found bankrolls, I was sure I needed to do something differently (mostly bankroll management errors and skill overestimation). I consider myself one of those ‘feel-players’ who know very few technical details about the game, but my love for poker is such that I keep bouncing back somehow.
Working for PokerGuru and seeing the journey of numerous poker enthusiasts and pros, I’ve sometimes been envious and uncertain. However, it has also been one of my biggest motivations to persevere despite losing considerable money.
I was on top of the world after scoring a career-best payday (3rd in PokerStars India’s Master Minds [8-Max] for ₹89,125) in November 2022, and it was smooth sailing for some time. January and February were drastic months for me as one thing led to another, and I went bust before realizing it.
On the other hand, March was a harbinger of new opportunities. Although I have much to learn, I was asked to stream for PokerGuru under the ‘SharmaJI’ moniker, one of the most exciting challenges I’ve ever been issued.
On March 30, right after reaching the PokerGuru HQ, the usual work continued, with everyone pitching in for the Daily Majors report. I was writing about a few of the ongoing NPS and ITM events, wondering when I would get to take down an event.
Around 6 PM, I started grinding on PokerStars, playing the ₹375 buy-in, ₹50K GTD Super Stack PKO 8-Max. Only fifteen minutes into the event, I busted out once, and in hope and desperation, I fired my second bullet, which did the trick for me. Moving one step at a time, I was doing everything quite cautiously and built a decent stack before the close of late registration. The next step was to wait for the money bubble to burst, which was a task. Somehow, I reached the money and entered the final table as one of the shorter stacks.
On the FT, I worked my way up before a misclick of folding pocket aces once. Lady luck smiled upon me, and I found a double-up with pocket jacks. The game continued, and at the time of three-handed play, I was again the shortest stack before jamming jack-eight suited (diamonds) from the button and finding a double-up from another runner who held ace-king suited (spades). After that, I had the chip lead; from then on, it seemed like a cakewalk. I eventually shipped the tournament for ₹12,154.
What made March 30 even more memorable was my getting to the final table of two more PokerStars India tourney’s ₹1 Lakh Gtd Ultrasonic (4th for ₹7,754) & Late Night Last Chance [Hyper-Turbo] (4th for ₹1,089).
This is a start, and I feel blessed to be part of a community that is so supportive when at the end of the day, we are all competing against each other at the tables.
Also, a big shoutout to all who have been tuning into my streams. I hope to see you all on my next stream very soon.
