Kunal Patni

Kunal Patni - private banker turned professional poker player - made a spectacular debut in the world of poker by winning the prestigious Asia Championship of Poker (ACOP) in Macau in 2014.

For over a decade, he held a regular job as a private banker - working for companies like IIFL, HSBC, Anand Rathi and Aditya Birla Group. Pretty soon however, his casual interest in poker developed into a passion.

For a few months, Kunal balanced poker and his job at the bank. He soon realised it wasn’t possible to focus on both, and in 2015 he made the call to give up his banking career and turn pro.

In his first year as a professional player, he was ranked as the Number 2 poker player in India as per the Global Poker Index (GPI).

Kunal has continued to excel in the game, winning multiple titles over the years, including ones at the Asian Poker Tour (APT), World Poker Tour (WPT), PokerDreams and the Deltin Poker Tournament. One of his most memorable achievements was securing 2nd place in the Berlin WPT DeepStacks in 2018.

Kunal was also part of the first-ever team of sponsored pros in India and continued for a record eight years. He has been captain and mentor of the Deccan Aces in India's Poker Sports League since its inception leading them to victory in Season 3.

Kunal attributes his ability to play poker professionally to the support of his wife and family. He is also passionate about changing the perception of poker in India - from one of “luck and gambling” to that of poker being a game of skill and knowledge.