Vivek Rajkumar Interview and Biography
About Vivek Rajkumar
Vivek makes his living playing both online and off gaining much of his popularity after winning the LAPC prelim and his success in the Party Million tournaments.Vivek Rajkumar is an up and coming young poker player who in his very short playing career has already managed to win an impressive total of over $380,000. He turned $50 on Party Poker into hundreds of thousands. His player screenname is “Psyduck”.
Born in India and growing up in Singapore, Vivek’s family moved to the United States when he was 12.
Having gained his experience from online play, Vivek moved to the live circuit as soon as he was of legal age. Only three months into his professional poker career, Vivek managed to reach the final table at the Party Poker Million for two consecutive weeks. Vivek now lives in Las Vegas and plays poker full time.
BetOnline.com is still accepting real money USA players.
Interview with Vivek
Vivek kindly agreed to answer a few questions about himself and his poker career:
CP – When did you start playing poker – are there any poker genes in your family?
Vivek – I started playing poker with friends for $1 at a time after watching it on TV with Chris Moneymaker winning.
CP – How did you find the move from online poker to the live poker circuit?
Vivek – I started on the live circuit as soon as I turned 21 because I had immense experience from online play. I felt very comfortable from the get-go although sometimes I do get adrenaline rushes.
CP – What was your first big break in a tournament setting?
Vivek – I final tabled the Partypoker million 2 weeks in a row about 3 months after starting tournaments seriously.
CP – Tell us about your first big win? Were you surprised?
Vivek – First big win was the 113k I won in a LAPC prelim, besides that I’ve had multiple live cashes for 30k-60k, and a fair amount of medium-sized wins online. I felt really mellow after I won the event – it was small and there was a crowd gathered but I felt good finally closing one.
CP – How do you spend your days? Is it all poker?
Vivek – Besides poker I watch a fair amount of TV. As for poker itself, I record all the hands I played that I didn’t feel like I played to maximize my expectation and review them later using specific poker tools. I send off hand histories to people I respect to gather their opinion.
CP – What was your most embarrassing moment at the poker table?
Vivek – My most embarrassing moment is when I mucked a winning hand face down during the very early stages of my career. I was so embarrassed that I didn’t even mention it at the table. Luckily it was just a local $3/$6 limit game.
What is your favorite type of poker tournament?
Vivek – I love deep stacked live tournaments. Online I love the turbos because they end so quickly and because you get to gamble so much – it feels a lot less stressful than grinding out slowly. I play turbos every once in a while as a form of relaxation because you get to be all-in about 15 minutes after the tournament starts.
CP – Do you have any suggestions / tips for up and coming poker players?
Vivek – Study study study. Play play play. Get as much experience as you can and think about why you make the plays you do. Don’t get lazy and get into a fixed pattern – question all the plays you make.
CP – Lastly, where do you see yourself in five years from now?
Vivek – In 5 years from now I see myself playing poker 100% recreationally instead of full-time. I’d like to have many forms of passive income so that I’m comfortable financially. I’d also love to be pretty good at many different forms of poker and EXCELLENT at NLHE, since I rate myself as “okay-good” right now 
This biography and interview was conducted on March 17, 2008 by Renee Kingsley.
