Meet Shivam Shukla, a prominent poker pro in India’s poker landscape, boasting more than 200 online poker titles and several prestigious live victories. Hailing from Lucknow, this 29-year old poker prodigy and a former DPT champion made headlines for winning two turbo events this year one at the Hanoi Series of Poker and another at the WPT Prime Cambodia. Here in this article, we dive into his inspiring journey and remarkable success in the world of poker, based on our recent interview with him. Keep reading to discover more about Shivam Shukla’s inspiring story.
From Movie Inspiration to Poker Prodigy
Shivam’s poker journey is nothing short of remarkable. It began like a scene from a movie—literally. In 2015, a film called “Rounders” captivated Shivam, sparking his interest in poker. Inspired by this movie, he downloaded Zynga Poker and began playing on a regular basis. His initial foray into poker was purely recreational, but it laid the foundation for what would become a remarkable poker career.
Early Days: From Zynga to International Platforms
Shivam’s passion for the game led him to explore beyond Zynga Poker. He started playing on platforms like 888, Unibet Poker, PokerStars, and Americas Cardroom. Shivam honed his skills by playing Freerolls initially and built a strong foundation in online poker. At this time around, he was unaware of the Indian online poker platforms, which later became a significant part of his journey.
Discovery of Indian Platforms
In 2018, Shivam saw an advertisement for Adda52, one of India’s leading poker platforms. This marked a pivotal moment in his poker career. Transitioning to Indian sites, he quickly made a name for himself. One of his early notable achievements was winning Adda52’s Hitman for over INR 1.6 lakh in prize money. This was like a turning point, cementing his decision to pursue poker professionally.
Shivam’s Live Poker Career
Shivam Shukla is a formidable presence in live poker tournaments. With several victories and a string of final table finishes both domestically and internationally, he has established himself as a prominent poker pro. He notched up his first cash back in 2019 when he placed sixth for INR 167,000 in the INR 14,500 No Limit Hold’em at DPT July 2019. Since then, there has been no looking back as he has won and final-tabled several prestigious events both on the domestic and international poker felts.
His best live poker career score came in December 2023 when he finished runner-up for $ 13,192 in the ₫ 9,000,000 + 1,000,000 No Limit Hold’em – Single Re-Entry (Event #38) at the APT Hanoi, Vietnam. Most recently, he won two turbo events, one at the WPT Cambodia and another at the Hanoi Series Of Poker.
Shivam’s Notable Live Scores
>1st place in Hyper Turbo (Event #11) for ₫ 18,700,000 at Hanoi Series Of Poke (2024)
>4th place in Mini Main Event (Event #27) for $5,302 at Poker Dream 8 – Malaysia (2024)
>1st place in Hyper Turbo (Event #30) for $3,455 at WPT Cambodia Championship (2024)
>2nd place in HSOP Grinder Main Event for $ 12,503 at Hanoi Series Of Poker (2024)
>1st place in Big Bounty for INR 4,72,494 at the Deltin Poker Tournament (DPT) July 2023
>3rd place in Double Stack (Event #68) for $ 8,212 at APT Hanoi Billions, Hanoi (2023)
>2nd place in NLH Single Re-Entry (Event #38) for $13,192 at APT Hanoi Billions (2023)
Online Poker Success
Shivam is a force to be reckoned with in the online poker world as this MTT crusher has raked in more than 200 online titles and over INR 1.5 crore in total online winnings. His best online score was in September 2020 when he took down the 25 Lakh GTD Grand Ultron at Spartan Poker’s Grand Poker Series (GPS) for a hefty INR 4.73 lakhs.
Here is a quick look at Shivam’s recent notable online scores:
>Runner-up in Adda52’s Sunday Showdown for INR 2,07,257
>Runner-up in PokerBaazi’s Blockbuster 15 LAC GTD (RE) for INR 1,57,050
>Third place in Adda52’s The Mint tourney for INR 1,43,002
Our Exclusive Conversation With Shivam Shukla
From a recreational player to a professional poker player with significant earnings and titles, Shivam’s poker journey is both remarkable and inspiring. A couple of months back, we had the privilege of interviewing Shivam. In this interview, he shared insights into his journey, victories in Vietnam and his online success. He also talked about his approach to turbo events, India’s poker scene after GST challenges and a lot more.
Check out the throwback video to our conversation with Shivam Shukla!
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