Poker is for anyone and everyone who has the passion and a knack for strategic gameplay, and this has been proven and established countless times before and continues to be proven again and again. It surpasses all barriers and differences giving everyone a fair chance at the felts. Thanks to this, several female poker pros have emerged and made it big in the world of poker.
One such female force is India’s very own Maria Kirloskar. She has made a name for herself as being one of the most talented and renowned players in the poker circuit of India.
Maria Kirloskar’s life before poker
Unlike most poker players who start playing poker in college or the early days of their non-poker careers, Maria Kirloskar’s journey into poker breaks from the ordinary. She completed her graduation in History from Allegheny College, Pennsylvania. Maria was a dedicated corporate professional for over 25 years. She was heading the Corporate Communication and Knowledge Management Departments of a renowned multinational company. After a successful corporate career, she later ventured into entrepreneurship by starting her own company focused on business research. Till that point, poker was nowhere close to her life.
Also Read: Maria Kirloskar Set To Return to Poker Tables After Adda52 Ambassadorship
Interestingly, Maria Kirloskar was first introduced to the game when she watched a game on ESPN while on a work trip to the US in 2006. She found herself utterly taken in by the game. During an interaction she said, “Although I had no idea what was going on in the game, I was fascinated by the players, their concentration, and their ultra-cool vibe!”
Maria Kirloskar’s Journey into poker
Like many other players, once the poker bug had stung, she started learning the game’s intricacies by playing online on Zynga Inc. Poker on Facebook. Eventually, she transitioned to regular home games. Once she learned the game, she dived into the realm of professional poker. She began competing in the domestic poker circuit in 2015
Since then this female pro has been playing poker for a living. She has even notched up some impressive performances in her career. Some of her most notable titles include the Baadshah Gaming Live Tournament, World Poker Tour (WPT) India, and the Baazi Poker Tour.
Reminiscing about her time as a professional poker player, Maria says, “My poker journey can be reflected perfectly in the quote by Jack Canfield – Everything you want is on the other side of fear. I am in the process of learning to surrender to everything I was afraid of – mathematics, regular losing sessions, terrifying coaches, others’ judgment of my game, being labeled an imposter. Poker has taught me that if you leave the unimportant stuff aside and focus on working your ass off, you can be happy!”
Mindset Coach
Apart from just playing the dynamic professionally, Maria is also a mindset coach wherein she is known to coach several emerging poker players. She helps them with means and methods to handle the mental aspects that follow when one chooses to play poker professionally.
She advises, “Don’t buy into the myth that playing poker for a living means you can chill, click some buttons and make easy money. To be among the best poker players, you have to constantly work on your discipline, patience, and mental clarity.”
Apart from being an active force in the poker space, Maria has also contributed to the domain of knowledge management. She has co-authored the book titled “Leading with Knowledge: Knowledge Management Practices in Global Infotech Companies” along with Dr. Madanmohan Rao. This book was published in 2003 by Tata-McGraw Hill.
Poker Brand Ambassador
Maria Kirloskar’s list of achievements doesn’t end there. Her diverse background, spanning over 25 years in the corporate sector, has played a huge role in establishing her multifaceted role in the poker world. Some of the top online poker brands in the country even signed the female pro as their brand ambassador. She served as the ambassador of Star Poker (between October 2015 to July 2016). She was also associated with brands like Adda52, and PokerBaazi (from May 2017 to June 2019).
Maria Kirloskar’s live poker stats
Maria Kirloskar boasts of $15,727 in live poker earnings in her career. Her best live cash to date has been $12,253, which she won for her final table finish at the Baazi Poker Tour in Goa in 2019. Here she took the 7th place for a paycheque of $12,253.
Her first live cash was in 2015 at the India Poker Championship 10,000 + 1,500 No Limit Hold’em, wherein she finished 11th for $ 674. This was followed by another cash at the next edition of India Poker Championship in February 2016. Here she finished 15th at 8,000 + 2,000 No Limit Hold’em – Kick Off event for $ 451.
In December 2017, she finished 5th at the Baadash Gaming Live Tournament 15,000 No Limit Hold’em – Bounty Event for which she bagged $ 1,177. After a dry run in 2018, she came back and recorded two cashes in 2019. First at the Baazi Poker Tour 50,000 No Limit Hold’em – Main Event, where she recorded her career-best score.
Just 10 days later she cashed at the World Poker Tour – WPT India, taking the 6th place at 19,200 + 800 No Limit Hold’em – Megastack (Event #8) for a sum of $ 1,171.
Apart from her live exploits, she is an active player on the virtual poker felts too and has several impressive scores to her name.
Keep following PokerProNews for more such inspiring stories of women from the world of poker!
