BENGALURU: Clawin Dsouza quit his job in business development to pursue poker as a fulltime occupation. He made twice his salary during the long hours he spent on Pokerhigh.com and Spartan.com every day.
‘’Many, especially in India, don’t consider poker a serious profession. I find the returns stable and passion is my driving force,” Dsouza told City Express. He says he makes a few lakhs every month.
Two years ago, Dsouza made the acquaintance of Rishabh Chawla at the India Poker Championship, held in Goa every year. Together, they started planning a website that would teach the game through videos and Word documents. “The website will be launched on May 2. We are now doing the trial runs,” Dsouza said.
The website will have the address pokerhighschool.com. “It teaches the rules, and offers basic and advanced strategies to make a profit at this game,” he said.
Players can navigate five grades and 12 lessons, which end with references. D’Souza’s inspiration comes from the structured approach he employs during his training sessions. He conducts two to eight 90-minute sessions a week, and admits about 30 students for each.
“I wanted to reach out to a larger audience in the same structured way,” he said.
Dsouza does not play poker live at clubs in the city, but sticks to the online medium as it is accessible from the comfort of his home. His biggest accomplishment was winning the Championship of the Asian Poker Tour 2012 in Goa.
What is Poker?
It is a card game that involves betting. Chance plays a role, as in all such games, but players also base their actions on probability, psychology and game theory. It has gained in popularity since the 20th century, and now boasts professional players and multimillion-dollar tournament prizes.
'It's safe, if odds are not predictable'
Advocate Suresh KN, who fought for legalising the game, through the fight titled ‘Indian Poker Association Versus State of Karnataka’ tells us how game is legal.
Is poker a game of skill?
If a game has the element of chance higher than skill, it could be considered illegal. Poker has more skill than chance. This was demonstrated to the court before it was removed from the ambit of the gambling act.
Is playing poker legal online?
The rules for offline gambling apply to online as well. The same laws apply. As long as the odds are not predictable, it’s safe.
You have fought for legalising poker in Karnataka and West Bengal. Where next?
The Indian Poker Association is targeting Punjab, Chennai and Hyderabad in Telengana.
Is poker a practical choice of occupation?
It’s a hard way to make an easy living. All gambles have extreme discipline and focus.