Top 5 earning Indian poker players

Nipun Java is India’s brightest shining light in poker

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The game of poker is still in its infancy in India. Concentrated in only a few urban areas among the neo-rich youth, it is only now catching the imagination of the larger public. The reason for the lack of the game’s popularity in the country is largely due to the fact that it has the “gambling” tag attached to it and is largely frowned upon by the general populace who lack knowledge about the element of skill involved in playing what is probably the highest stakes mind game there is.

Such taboos, however, have not stopped Indians from taking up the game and become quite successful at it. A few of them have even started representing the country, albeit unofficially, at WSOP (World Series Of Poker) events across the world, managing to win handsome sums of money in the process.

In poker, it is said that success is measured only and only by the money you make and going by that adage, we have put together a list of the cream of Indian poker pros who have won the most amounts of money in tournaments across the world. It is an inspiring list and the sums of money exchanging will make you want to abandon everything else that you’re doing and jump into a game of online poker.


#1 Nipun Java

As per the Player of The Year (POY) rankings, Nipun Java is the best Indian poker player currently plying his trade. He has a POY score of 1,648.75 which puts him 688th on the all time poker money list but stands first on the Indian money list. His all time best rank on the money list is 686th while his current Global Poker Index ranking is 190th which, simply put makes him the 190th best player in the world.

Nipun’s total online poker earnings stand at $394,601 while his total live earnings are an astonishing $1,977,177 which makes him the highest earning Indian poker player ever. His biggest win came in 2016, when he won $16,280 on the WSOP Circuit in Cherokee.

In 2016, he also cashed at the WSOP Circuit in Los Angeles where he won $1,430 and finished 8th in the No Limit Hold’ Em Ring Event.

#2 Raghav Bansal

Raghav Bansal

Second, on the all-time Indian winners' list, Raghav Bansal is one of the more popular figures on the Indian poker circuit. Playing live games in a customary hoodie and shades, he would not look out of place in a shady alley but has made his home in the biggest of casinos in India and abroad.

He is also the 2nd highest rated Indian player with a POY rating of 1,444.97 points in 2016 and ranked 245th in the Global Poker Index.

Bansal’s total earnings are $735,024 with his live cash earnings contributing $335,910 to his total winnings. Notable recent achievements by Bansal include the $25,000 he won at the Macau Poker Cup. He also won the No Limit Hold’Em Main Event where he took home Rs 3,060,000 at the Deltin Poker Tournament at the Deltin Royale in Goa.

#3 Aditya Agarwal

Aditya Agarwal at a WSOP Event in 2015

Aditya Agarwal has won a lot of money not only in online tournaments but has also recently been making headlines by cashing out of several major WSOP events in the USA. He is India’s 3rd highest ranked cash winner and his highest win came last year when he cashed out of No Limit Hold’Em Main Event Championship that saw him take home $18,714. Aditya also specialises in the online tournament and cash games which have contributed to him winning over $2,201,866.

Along with standing 3rd on the Indian all-time money list, Aditya is also the 2,325th highest money winner in the in the world. The young Indian’s total online earnings are over $700,000 while the rest of the money has come from live events where he has managed to successfully cash out.

The youngster’s success has also made him very popular amongst the Indian poker community, as a result of which he is also the 942nd most popular poker player in the world as per the Global Poker Index.

#4 Taha Maruf

Taha Maruf at the Borgata Open in 2016

Another young pro who is taking the domestic circuit by storm is Taha Maruf. He has grown to become one of the more prominent poker faces in Indian Poker after finishing 3rd at the No Limit Hold’Em WPT Main Event in Atalanta City.

That event saw him take home a bumper prize money to the tune of $3,00,361. He also finished 6th at another event held in the same tournament winning another sizeable sum of money which was the second highest haul of his career.

Taha is an avid Manchester United fan and has been spotted wearing the Manchester United kit during a few tournaments. Maruf stands around 2,400th in the all time money list and is 1,654th best player in the world, clearly indicating that the Indians urgently need to do something about their standing in the game.

#5 Aditya Sushant

Aditya Sushant at the WSOP Event early in 2016

The 5th placed all-time poker winner in the country makes it evident that the country has no standing whatsoever in the poker universe. With total career winnings stretching a little over the $3,00,000 mark, the fifth ranked poker player in the country is only the 5,480th best player in the poker world. At this level of poker, rankings are irrelevant and subject to change every day.

Sushant also stands 1,668th in the Global Poker Index with a popularity ranking of 6,016 which makes him a virtual unknown both at home, and abroad. His best live cash win stands at $75,319 while his total live earnings are at levels just above the $3,25,000 mark.

Edited by Staff Editor