Minissha Lamba: I am Semi-Professional Poker Player

Photo by World Poker Tour / CC BY-SA 2.0 Caption:

Minissha Lamba has entered the world of Poker! The Bollywood beauty has stepped into the world of Poker Tournaments and has introduced herself as a semi-professional poker player. Lamba talks about juggling two careers and her ultimate goals in life, acting and poker at a Poker Tournament in London. The actress, who has made her mark on the big screens with films like Bachna Ae Haseeno and Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd., has been swept off her feet by the world of poker and was spotted in London talking about her ultimate career goals, her poker playing experience and the emerging market of Indian poker. Lamba shared how a couple of friends got her interested in the game. A few of Lamba’s friends learned to play poker in the United States and taught her the basics of the game. Since then, she has not only been engrossed in the poker world, but she has also dedicated time and energy into improving her game.

 

She loves poker for its surprising element which, even after years of playing the different formats of poker, can make one feel that they don’t really know the game at all. Her participation in the London tournament was a result of winning a seat in a raffle. What followed after was a journey from a pastime to becoming a semi-professional poker player. Poker in India When asked about the Indian poker market, she excitedly talked about the increasing number of women playing the game. It comes as no surprise that Poker in India is booming, especially among women. Just this year, poker professional Muskan Sethi was honoured by the President of India in collaboration with the Ministry of Women and Child Development for her success in a traditionally male-dominated field of sports. Most people in India prefer playing high stakes cash, however making the switch from a high stakes cash player to tournament player is not so easy, as Lamba explained.

 

 Photo by World Poker Tour / CC BY-SA 2.0 Caption: Minissha Lamba at WPT500 @ Aria Season 16 From High Stakes Cash to Tournament Poker

 

She also talked about the difference between playing high stakes cash and tournament poker. Minnisha entered the space of poker tournament after winning a raffle at the WPT in Berlin. Her playing style required quite a tightening of discipline for her to play tournament poker. The switch from being a high cash stakes player to tournament player has made her realize that improving one’s poker game strategies is a never-ending process. She has put in hours of work into improving her strategies and preparing herself for the world of tournament poker. She also emphasized the multidimensional of poker, as it offers many different playing formats. Bollywood vs Poker When asked whether her decreasing on-screen presence has anything to do with prioritizing her career in poker, her answer revealed that her ambition is not only limited to Bollywood. As a performing artist, she is always doing something or other.

 

Currently, Lamba has her toes dipped in theatre and television. Lamba who is known for playing roles of the girl next door, can now be seen on the commercially acclaimed television series, Tenali Rama, on Sab tv playing a negative role, who is both sultry and mysterious. True to her word, Minissha has always prioritized the content of her project rather than the medium, or doing any random film to maintain visibility in the media circle. The actress praised the theatre medium for not only bringing out the artist within her but also helping her to understand her craft better. Aside from her career in acting, Lamba now proclaims herself to be a semi-professional poker player. Years of playing experience and her switch to tournament poker has Lamba yearning to make a possible career out of it. She talks about keeping her options open and not restricting herself to only being an actress, but also pursuing a very real possibility of becoming a poker professional. We are elated to see Minissha’s journey till now and are very excited for her ambitions to pursue various projects in life, and wish her all the best for all her current and upcoming ventures. You can catch her interview below: