In a rather male-dominated world of poker, where men are known to excel at the game, there are a few females, who have emerged as formidable forces going against stereotypes. These talented women break through the male dominance and prove that the game is inclusive for everyone who possesses the talent and the passion to excel. Over the years, the global poker scene has witnessed a massive influx of female poker players and so has the Indian poker space.
One such shining star is Pratibha Arya, who has carved a name for herself as one of the few fearless and talented women to defy the gender odds. A software engineer by profession, Pratibha took the leap by swapping her coding keyboard for a deck of cards. With her skills, she conquered the hearts and tables alike.
The transition from software codes to poker chips
Pratibha Arya was a bright student in her growing-up years. An ace in school, Pratibha scored 99 both in her 10th and 12th exams. She planned on becoming a software developer by profession which she also started initially. But destiny had different plans. Her career plans took a huge turn after she was introduced to poker when she was in the final semester of college. Since then she began playing poker regularly and found herself crushing it.
Soon, Pratibha Arya decided to take up poker professionally and dedicate her undivided attention to learning and mastering the nuances of the game. For Pratibha, she says the transition from a software developer to a professional poker player was smoother than most others. She says that she didn’t face any struggle to make the choice.
Pratibha Arya poker journey
Pratibha Arya made her live tournament debut in Goa in the year 2015. Since then she has grown from strength to strength and emerged as a huge inspiration for many amateur players, especially female poker aspirants in the country.
Pratibha’s biggest turning point came about in the year 2021 wherein she clinched the 10th position in PokerBaazi’s flagship tournament, Baazi Poker Tour. This achievement made her known among her peers grabbing the limelight. Besides, it also established her name as one of the most powerful ones in the competitive poker arena.
Later she went on to grab eyeballs once again making a mark at the Match IPL poker league. She was part of the winning team in the first 2 seasons of the prestigious poker league. She played a significant role while being a part of both the Mumbai All Stars and the Haryana Hawks teams respectively.
Interestingly, in the second season, she was even named the Player of the League. Her impressive run at the #MIPL opened the doors of Oxford and Bangkok for her, wherein she was seen representing #TeamIndia at the Poker Nations Cup and the IFMP Asian Nations Cup, respectively.
In 2021, she was recognised and named Baazi Gaming Pro by one of India’s leading poker platforms PokerBaazi. Later in 2023, another leading online poker platform, Adda52, announced the Delhi-based pro as their Game Ambassador.
Pratibha Arya poker stats
In her years of successful poker career, Pratibha Arya has earned Total Live Earnings of $9,167 according to Hendon Mob. Her best live cash to date has been $2,673. She pocketed her career-best cash for her 259th place finish at the APT ₫ 32,400,000 + 3,600,000 No Limit Hold’em – APT Main Event (Event #26) of the Asian Poker Tour – APT Hanoi Billions, Vietnam 2023, held in Hanoi.
The poker pro ranks 175,742nd on All Time Money List, and 603rd on India All Time Money list according to the site. Although she is yet to clinch her first live poker title, it won’t be long before the female pro tastes victory owing to her consistency and talent.
Talking of Pratibha Arya’s online exploits, she has won about 10 online poker titles on domestic poker platforms. Her Largest Cash to date from her online endeavours came from the WPT India 6 Max Championship on Adda52 back in 2020. She took down the event claiming the title and a WPT trophy along with her biggest online cash prize of almost a million (₹9,40,000).
Owing to her 10 online titles and countless impressive cashes, Pratibha Arya has earned a lifetime total of ₹1.03 Crore from her online exploits.
Given that Pratibha Arya continues to grow in the game, this seems to be just the start of a promising and illustrious poker career that awaits her in the years to come.
Keep following PokerProNews for more such inspiring stories of women in poker.
The five-time triton title victory is just the tip of the iceberg of what Tang has achieved. He also holds one World Series of Poker gold bracelet for his victory in the 2019 $50,000 WSOP NLHE High Roller for a staggering $1.6 million. Tang also came close to scoring his second bracelet during the 55th Annual WSOP but finished in 2nd place for $a 1.4 million payday in Event #79: $50k PLO High Roller.
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