Feb 15, 2017 | ETBrandEquity

Poker Sports League, proclaims the web page of India’s first professional pan-India poker tournament, is one shot at poker greatness. However, it’s not the pompous declaration but the reasons dished out for the ‘greatness’ that make one sit up and take notice: Poker is as much a sport as cricket or football; skills need to beat luck; and poker deserves its glory and gamification.

Amit Burman, Dabur scion and the man behind Poker Sports League (PSL), echoes similar sentiments. “Poker is a game of skill and needs to get its due,” says the vice-chairman of Dabur. Responsible for the FMCG major’s foray into processed foods, Burman has also taken on the mantle of making the card game popular across the country. A lot of leagues in India, he points out, whether cricket, football, hockey or kabaddi were focused on physical aspects of sport. There are millions who want to be part of a game but can’t because of this limitation. Poker, contends Burman, being a mind sport, gives an opportunity to all.

As PSL got underway last week with live qualifiers, Burman wants to give the card game a makeover: to bring it to the mainstream, out of the confines of drawing rooms and train compartments. And to remove the stigma of it being a yearly ‘gambling’ ritual reserved for Diwali. “We sold out 12 teams within four days,” he says excitedly, “I don’t know how many other leagues can boast of this.” Burman himself has been playing the game over the last few years but is modest enough to confess that ‘he is not the best.’

“We are the only country where we grow up playing cards with our parents,” he says. It’s an integral part of Indian tradition and it’s high time this skill game gets a professional touch. Burman proudly lists the positives learned: probability, math, psychology and game theory. “No game can teach you so much,” he says.

With 12 teams, 108 players, more than 150 qualifiers and over `3-crore prize money to play for, can PSL become as popular as say the Indian Premier League?

Jitendra Gupta, co-owner of the Haryana poker team, reckons that it’s still early days and might take a couple of years. “Poker cuts across age groups,” says Gupta, cofounder of Citrus Pay and managing director of PayU India. And the good part, he observes, is you can learn it at any age. You can play this game as long as you are mentally fit. The game, he contends, will surely become popular.
Despite the fact that PSL won’t be beamed live into living rooms, or have the marketing paraphernalia that IPL is associated with, experts believe the game is poised to take off.

“Poker is the new chess,” reckons brand strategist Harish Bijoor. Decades of championships created an aura around the game which was played indoors and within homes. “In fact, poker is a subset of the movement of chess,” says Bijoor, quickly adding that card games suffer from a rather negative imagery as opposed to board games. While there is betting and money in every sport — be it cricket or soccer — the imagery of poker is tainted with that of luck and gambling. “That is an image to fight,” he says.

Remove the stigma and Bijoor reckons the next task is to teach an entire nation that this is a game of skill and not luck. “That’s a tough task really,” he avers.

Burman, for his part, is leaving nothing to chance and determined to change the narrative: “The league will go a long way in tackling this wrong perception.” He’s convinced poker will rise above the disreputable aura of other card games like teen patti. “Nobody waits till Diwali to play,” he asserts, adding that youngsters have taken to the game professionally and are keen to make a mark at a global level.
The more popular the game gets, the more acceptable it will become. From next year, PSL might get streamed on mobile and TV, he informs. “It’s an exciting game and we will make it even more exciting.”

Even as Burman gets ready to place his bets, there’s another rival league in the reckoning. Claiming to be India’s first Online Poker League, the tournament will have eight teams, says Jatin Banga, founder, Indian Online Poker League, in a release. “We intend to sportify poker and bring it to the masses,” he adds. Let the games begin.