Victor Ramdin Knows What It Means To Be Down And Out

"Positivity helps your whole game."

Before he’d actually busted from the EPT Sanremo Main Event, Team PokerStars Pro Victor Ramdin took a few minutes to talk with PokerNews rookie Jennifer Robles about how his day was going and, more importantly, how he plays for and supports a number of charities.

Additionally, over on Pokerlistings Ramdin remembers his start in poker. A late bloomer, Ramdin got serious about the game in his mid-thirties (although, in the article they refer it to his age as “extraordinarily late stage”). Ramdin recalls a time when he was down and out in the game and how it was currently embattled popular poker pro Phil Ivey who came to his aid.

“I had met Phil Ivey but I didn’t really know him. He was already at the top of the world in 2005. When I was most devastated, he walked up to me and said, ‘I saw you play, Victor, and I want to back you’.”

“I was amazed, as I wasn’t really doing well. I asked Phil what I had to do differently and he said ‘nothing’. A couple of months later I won WPT Foxwoods for 1.3 million dollar. You can say that Phil Ivey saved my career.”

While he’ll always have Ivey’s back, it’s another Phil that Ramdin really looks up to.

“My idol is Phil Hellmuth. Hellmuth can get inside your head like nobody else. He can make bad players play worse. He convinces you to do stupid things. And whatever the size of a field is, be it 50 players or a thousand, Hellmuth finds a way to come out on top. I like the styles of other players like Negreanu, too, but the sheer number of bracelets tells you that he is a genius.”

Through it all, the World Poker Tour Champion doesn’t lose sight of what is important to him. Family and charity, both of which he finds himself extremely dedicated to. For more on Victor and his story, check out the entire article over at PokerListings.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call the Virginia Council on Problem Gambling (VACPG) helpline at 1-888-532-3500
published 10 years, 6 months ago • by permalink

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