Poker Pays for University Degree!

(Photo: Dailymail.co.uk)

It’s an expensive business putting yourself through university these days, and most young graduates leave with huge debts to pay off, but for one young student in Scotland poker paid the way – and then some!

22-year old Anmol Srivats chose St Andrews University for his Maths degree, and being from Bangalore, India, he not only had to pay tuition but also all his living costs too – so raking in £80,000 playing online and live tournaments while his fellow undergraduates worked part-time jobs made student life rather comfortable for the youngster.

"I cover my living expenses each year”, Anmol told reporters, adding “but I know it's possible to lose money very quickly, and I don't spend lots of money on flashy things. It's about making my life a little better - I sometimes eat at restaurants instead of eating halls (of residence) food, or take taxis instead of walking.”

His poker career took off after he turned the equivalent of £8 (given to him by his father) into £240 online, and he has since proved that there is good money to be made even while studying hard.

The maths student recalls winning a huge cash game pot, saying:

"I once won £5,700 in one hand, when I had a pair of aces and went all in with two other players,” and remembers his biggest tournament win well, saying “I also won $20,000 (£16,000) in an online tournament as well.”

His £8,500 from live tournaments has seen Anmol cash in Edinburgh, London and Barcelona, but it’s not just the financial side of the game which has benefited him, as he feels that poker has helped his degree work, claiming:

"My poker benefits my maths rather than the other way round. I think the same skills that make me good at poker make me good at maths.”

A full-time poker career, however, is not part of Anmol’s plans at the moment.

"I'm planning to work as a trader after finishing university, it's a natural transition, and I think there are a lot of similarities between it and poker. They want people who think mathematically under pressure.”

St. Andrews is the oldest university in Scotland and has a reputation exceeded only by Oxford and Cambridge in the UK, and saw Prince William study there – although chess rather than poker was the royal’s chosen game. Your author’s daughter also studies at St Andrews, but there the similarities end!