The Indian poker scene is flourishing with more and more players joining the space, which was once considered a niche and looked down upon. And what’s even more empowering to see is the number of female players joining the space. The emergence of female players is a testament to the game’s inclusivity and evolving dynamics.
One female poker player who is proving her mettle with each passing day and telling the world out loud that she is here to conquer one step at a time is Ishita Arora.
Ishita Arora’s Journey
Introduced to poker in 2021 by a friend, Ishita Arora is a 23-year-old female poker player. She started her journey playing for 30 minutes every day on Zynga Poker. She later shifted to PokerStars wherein she built a humble bankroll of 2K-3K by playing freerolls. Later, she started playing on Natural8.
Despite a few setbacks in initial days, her insatiable thirst for knowledge and dedication propelled her forward. Eventually, she started to live stream for the poker community. The promising player shared how her first stream was with female poker pro Muskan Sethi.
Guided by Mentors
Under the mentorship of ace Indian Poker pro Ashish Ahuja, Arora has honed her skills, finding strides in the competitive arena. She found her first break in the Poker Sports League, where she applied for the women’s draft and was selected to play for the Deccan Aces. She also credits players like Mithun Mahesh, and Shuchi Chamaria, whom she met at the PSL, and ever since they have been guiding her through her poker endeavors.
She proved worth by shipping the very first PSL MTT she played and also winning the Woman of the Series award that season and the rest is history.
A Multifaceted Talent
Interestingly, poker is not the only sport, this 23-year-old has her hands into. Arora has also been a national-level chess player. Besides, she is also a law graduate, however, in an interview, she shared she has no plans to pursue a career in law, and poker is where she’d love to be.
Notable Achievements
This law graduate has been consistently achieving notable results in the low-to-mid stake games. She has some of the most coveted online titles in the domestic circuit under her belt.
Some of these include NPS, The Big Show, Voyager, Iron Man, ITM, Winter Series, Sunday Highroller, Sunday Showdown, and several others. Arora reportedly has shipped a total of 130 tournaments including satellites and flights in her career of just over two years.
Likewise, she has amassed a total of ₹1.83 Crore in lifetime earnings through her online poker endeavors. Her biggest score to date is her Main Event win at PokerStars’ Anniversary Special-13 [8-Max, PKO] 50 Lac GTD in May 2023. She bagged her career-best sum of ₹8,89,623 for her Main Event win.
Recent Achievements
Most recently, Arora took down PokerBaazi’s NPS#52 Sunday Kickoff 25L GTD on March 10, 2024. She emerged victorious over 773 players and cashed an impressive paycheque of ₹3,64,926. She also cashed at several NPS events, including the Main Event. The pro chess player from Chandigarh cashed ₹21,258 for her 698th finish out of 963 players at the NPS 2024 Main Event.
Arora has been only growing and flourishing since the day she stepped into the dynamic world of poker. In a relatively short span of time, this female player has not only earned a name and credit for herself in the poker world but is also a testament to the fact that poker is a game of skill and is open to everyone who has perseverance and passion.
Her journey exemplifies the transformative power of perseverance and the boundless opportunities that poker offers to those willing to seize them. As she continues to ascend, Ishita Arora remains a shining star in the ever-expanding realm of poker.
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