Poker in Goa

Poker in Goa: Hottest Live Action for High Stakes Games

Poker has turned out to be a spectacular game in the constantly growing and thriving Indian poker circuit. However, due to the legal constraints laid down by the Indian government, live poker tournaments can’t be hosted in the majority of states in the country. The only few states where live poker tournaments are legally hosted are Goa, Daman and Sikkim only. Needless to say, Goa has been the perennial home of live entertainment which is why live games of Poker in Goa happen to be the centre stage.

Having said that, Poker tournaments in Goa have become the buzzword for the pros in the Indian gaming community and the big guns in the circuit seem to be riding the wave like moths to the flame which is why casinos in Goa are brimming with the most whetted minds. As of today, poker tournaments in Goa are the most sought after events not just among those who got the big bucks but also the sharpest brains. It's a lethal combination really which is why when the action begins, Goa poker tournaments can be marvellous, taxing and highly rewarding by the time the sun wakes up again.

What Goa Poker Tournaments are Like?

Indeed, tournaments of poker in Goa can stretch for hours and can be gruelling to say the least both for the players and for the hosts, however, the inherent thrill these tournaments carry can be extremely satisfying for the lovers of the game. Over the past decade, as the popularity and most importantly, awareness of poker in India grew as a skill based Games, casinos have been more than welcome to host mega poker events and nationwide tournaments and witness new stars lay bare their competitive spirit and minds to claim the felts for themselves after grinding for hours at stretch.

Indeed, any poker tournament in Goa is a celebration in its own right which is why, the biggest ever tournaments in the Indian Subcontinent unsurprisingly find their seating in the most dazzling casinos of Goa.

PokerBaazi Live Poker in Goa

PokerBaazi too, has spent and enjoyed a fair amount of time along the shores of the Arabian Sea since its inaugural run of the spectacular annual event, Baazi Poker Tour (BPT) onboard the gleaming Casino Deltin Royale in June 2016. The online gaming giants then took a three year sabbatical and returned for its 2nd edition of the BPT at PokerBaazi Live Poker Room onboard Goa’s Casino Pride 2 in 2019.

Following that, the PokerBaazi team hosted the final table of its two main annual featured Goa poker tournament events of one of its extravagant online poker series , PokerBaazi Premier League (PPL) at the PokerBaazi live poker room in Goa in 2019.

Also Read- How to Play Poker Online

Meshing Online & Live Poker Action

In 2020, the gaming operators of PokerBaazi took a decisive shift to experiment with the latest BPT edition. BPT January 2020 edition turned out to be a mix of online and live poker action , the first four days of action were run on the online poker platform and then the team flew to Goa to live stream the 6 remaining days of action of all featured events at their live poker room, onboard then, Casino Pride 2. This turn of events was preceded by the gaming giants back in October 2021 when they hosted the final table of the Goa poker tournaments, PPL High Roller and MoneyMaker in the same venue, months before BPT 3rd Edition goa poker tournament 2021 kicked off.

In 2022, after experiencing nearly a two year hiatus due to the COVID pandemic, live MTTs of poker in Goa of the BPT 4th edition made a stunning comeback to the coastal waters of Goa onboard the Casino Majestic. No wonder, the anticipation for PokerBaazi’s BPT poker tournaments in Goa had been massive in 2022 and when it began, Poker in Goa went on full steam. The last week of March witnessed unparalleled action at the felts of the live poker room with the 35K Main Event drawing in over 900 entries and consequently, generating a prize pool of ₹2.96 Crore+. It was Nitin Arora who claimed the 2022 BPT Title for an appetising ₹42,00.00.

Such is the magic and grandiosity of a poker tournament in Goa that the big shots sniff their way into such mega events and flaunt their prowess to clinch the biggest titles of the season. With the COVID wave laying low for about a year now, the coastal waters are welcoming similar events of poker in Goa in full swing. Thankfully, with online poker pioneers like PokerBaazi, you can still swing it to the live tables of poker in Goa without flying right away and instead, opt to play an impressive range of satellites for premier events on the PokerBaazi app itself.

Having said that, lately, due to the overwhelming success of the recent Baazi Poker Tour and National Poker Series Goa poker tournaments, PokerBaazi recently ended its 3 year long partnership with Casino Majestic. The management reckons they have ambitious plans for the future with the intent to accommodate larger turnouts in the coming season and it will be interesting to witness where will they take us next now that a new live venue seems to be on the cards.

Future of Poker Tournaments in Goa

In the past decade or so, Poker in Goa has witnessed edgy young and adult minds taking over the felts and creating historic moments in the sport and carving thriving niche careers for themselves. Evidently, the fever of poker tournaments in Goa isn’t dying down any time soon, it's only going to get bigger from now.

India is an emerging market for poker and experts in the industry acknowledge the sport to be entering the golden era of Poker today. With the online poker industry growing at a 30-40% year on year rate in India, fans of the mind sport can be rest assured of plenty of drama and sick action in the years to come with a much more eclectic and relentless poker combination of online action and live poker tournaments in Goa.