CA & IIM MBA turned professional poker player

• Hi, I’m Deepak Bothra, a Chartered Accountant and an MBA from IIM…And a professional poker player. 
• Now, before you judge – becoming a poker player was never part of the plan! In fact, in 2008, while at IIM Indore, I stumbled upon poker by chance! 
• Today I am India’s Top Poker player and earn a lot more than I did in my corporate job.
• But trust me, it ain’t all fun and games—95% of players lose money! 

Hindi medium student to a first-attempt CA

As a student from a Hindi medium school who spoke broken English, pursuing CA never really crossed my mind.

I wanted to pursue a Bachelor of Computer Application (BCA) course, as it was very popular back then.

But because of scoring average marks in the 12^th board exam, that dream never became a reality.

That is when I came across Chartered Accountancy from ICAI (The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India).

Since it required no demanding entrance exam and had a reasonable fee structure, I went for it. Also, I was very good with numbers.

A lot of people around me said – You will not make it. It is very tough.

I too was nervous, after all, they were right.

Despite the odds, I went ahead, thinking that even if I only completed the intermediate course (aka PCC) I would get a good job.

Luckily everything fell into place and I qualified as a CA in 2008, that too on the first attempt. Not an easy feat for someone who could not even speak a word of English!

It surely built up my confidence.

Unexpected call from IIM Indore

After 4-5 months of becoming a Chartered Accountant, I started working at Tata Telecom as an Analyst, and thereafter within six months, I switched to Torrent Pharmaceuticals.

Surprisingly the job was not as hectic as I thought it would be. Most of the time I was done with my work by 6’o clock.

Coming from Gujarat (a state in India where most people are entrepreneurs), I too felt I should be one.

Unfortunately, I had financial responsibilities and did not have the capital to start.

As I had nothing specific on my to-do list and with no intention of doing an MBA … I decided to take the IIM entrance exam aka CAT.

I kept telling everyone I would go for an MBA only if I got into IIM Ahmedabad, fully knowing I would never get selected there!

As luck would have it, I scored 99.5 percentile in the entrance exam and got a call from IIM Indore.

My well-wishers encouraged me to go for it as it was a great opportunity.

It was a difficult decision for me though, considering I got married 6 months before this, and opting for an MBA meant studying for two years with no income.

But my wife and parents encouraged me to go about it. I took the decision and went to IIM Indore.

Brush with Poker 

One day at IIM, I saw some classmates playing poker (I know, not what you’d expect!). Curious, I asked them to teach me – and that’s where it all began.

Yes, they taught me the ins and outs of the game.

Poker is all about mental strength and mathematics, and guess what I turned out to be naturally good at it.

Fast forward two years went by and after completing my MBA, I took up an opportunity with CRISIL.

Poker, coach and a full-time job! 

Life was going on…But again the desire to do something of my own resurfaced. This time I had even more financial responsibilities considering the study loan I had taken for my MBA!

Life continued and nothing extraordinary happened in the next 3 or 4 years concerning my “starting something of my own” plan.

The turning point was a trip to Goa where I discovered Online Poker platforms.

After finding out that it was legal, I slowly started playing it for fun. In fact, for one year, my poker earnings were even greater than my formal salary!

Over the weekends I also started providing coaching classes to a few CAT students. Four of them even got into IIM. This gave me a business idea – Why not go full-time and start a coaching class for students who want to do an MBA from IIMs?

Quit my job 

I had enough savings to get us through two years without income.

“This is the moment,” I thought – later, with growing financial obligations, it might be harder.

After discussing it with my wife, I quit my job to start a CAT coaching institute. And to cover our regular expenses, I decided to play poker on the side.

As you guessed, the coaching institute plans got pushed aside, and poker became the center of my life.

Of course, my family—and especially my wife—were against it at first. To them, it was just gambling.

But over time, they came to accept my choice, and that’s how this unpredictable yet exciting journey began

Over the years, I’ve won several tournaments like Sunday Millionaire and PLO Super High Roller on Spartan Poker, Full House and Adda Milli on Adda 52, and WPT PLO and Team Events at Deltin Poker Room, Goa.

I’ve also been part of the Poker Sports League for the last three seasons, which even aired on OTT.

Today, I’m proud to say I’m one of the top poker players in India.

But let me clarify…

My nights are spent playing (8 PM to 5 AM), and my days involve constant learning and practice. This schedule has disrupted my routine and made life hard for my family—but I try to prioritize them.

The upside? Freedom. I can work from anywhere, travel, and pursue hobbies like learning the flute, writing, or meditating.

Despite misconceptions, we live frugally, and I’m very risk-averse.

And hello… I study for hours about Poker. It is a lot of hard work!

Poker is not for everyone… as 95% of people lose their money 

Poker is mostly skill-based rather than a luck-based game, in the long run at least.

There are mainly three important factors that play a huge role in poker; mathematics, game theory, and psychology.

Let me elaborate on each of them.

Mathematics: Through math, we can understand the probability of a certain card coming up, using permutation and combination to figure out what type of cards there could be. There are also many books, videos, MIT courses, and Poker software out there that could teach us how to build those winning strategies.

Game theory: Figuring out what type of cards could be in the other person’s hands. What type of cards do I want to show to my opponent as compared to what I have? Game theory teaches us these strategies.  With the help of game theory, we become vulnerable to our opponents.

Psychology: You have to be mentally strong if you want to win this game. In the short run, luck plays a role though. When you put money into the pot suppose you have an 80% chance of winning and the second person has a 20% chance but because of luck, the second guy might win the first few times. So, you should not be mentally affected by that and remind yourself that in the long run, it will be evened out.

But the downside of poker is scary!

• It can be very addictive
• Poker puts a lot of pressure on you both mentally and physically. Need to be very strong mentally to go through inherent variance in poker
• Many people just start playing poker thinking it is easy money. It requires a lot of study and discipline to be a winning player in this game
• It’s very difficult to manage your private/family life while being a professional poker player

Wrapping up…

I still remember a manager at Torrent Pharmaceuticals once telling me I’d never become a VP, let alone a CFO.

That stuck with me, and I thought, “Why can’t I?” I made it my goal to prove him wrong.

But 10 years later, I’m so glad I didn’t.

I realized I didn’t have the skills—or the passion—for climbing the corporate ladder. And forcing myself into that path would’ve only made me miserable.

Sure, a fat paycheck is nice, but if you don’t enjoy what you do, what’s the point?

Poker isn’t for everyone—95% lose money, and only 5% succeed.

But my message isn’t about poker—it’s about taking the leap. Whether it’s your passion, a job, or a business, go for it. It’s better to try and fail than never try at all.