Don’t Call It An Obsession: Rami Singh Talks Trophies

The “Raminator,” the “Last True Amateur,” “Kingpin of Team Singh” – Raminder Singh has a few nicknames at the table as one of Florida’s most prolific poker players with hundreds of tournament cashes and dozens of wins totaling $3.5 million in earnings. This is despite maintaining an amateur status, running a white-collar IT and management consulting firm while being dad to two teenagers.

But how does a guy collect 532 tournament cashes as an amateur?

Simple – he channels his Type-A personality into everything he does. Singh gets up very early to start his workday, whether it’s as CEO for his company or for his side business in real estate. He then goes above and beyond to fulfill his family obligations, competing against his kids for trophies while taking the family to Romania and India in the summer to visit relatives.

Singh’s drive translates directly to his poker game – he’s a finisher. He plays to win and in fact has won 76 of his 127 final table appearances – a mind-melting 60% winning percentage.

I caught up with Singh at a Moneymaker Poker Tour stop in Daytona Beach, Florida where in addition to the interview, he was kind enough to serve me my exit papers on day 1B.

Discovering Poker Late In Life

Singh, 50, was introduced to poker in 2006 through a bar league game.

“My boss took me to play, wrote down the hand rankings on the back of a napkin and I ended up winning the tournament,” Singh said. “People were upset that I was cracking kings with A-5, but it was all beginner’s luck.”

Slowly, the game took over. In 2016, his kids were out of diapers and his company was well established with trusted lieutenants, allowing Singh more time to play cards in the evenings and on weekends.

“I wouldn’t call it an obsession, but I’ll call it a very strong hobby that I love,” Singh said. “I’ve never read anything or looked at a chart in my life. It’s life experience and reading people in this game. I like the human aspect of poker. I’ve never played online.”

Since shipping his first bar win, Singh’s string of wins places him third in the world. Only Men Nguyen (97) and Flaminio Malaguti (97) have more wins on record, and each of those players’ records could be picked apart with wet paper straws.

One could get hypnotized scrolling through Singh’s tournament results as it seems he lives at the Seminole Hard Rock. Less than 1% of his cashes have come outside of the state of Florida or Las Vegas – he cashed three times at WSOP Paradise and once in Texas.

The Floridian admitted as much he doesn’t like traveling for poker.

“You won’t find me much outside of Florida,” Singh said. “I’ve heard those other places are phenomenal. My problem is running a business with close to 100 employees, then there’s raising family – we travel to our home countries Romania and India during the summer. So, it’s very hard for me to travel solely for poker.”

Singh’s weekly planner reads like he’s the world’s busiest man. If he spends this much time on his hobby in a hyper-competitive environment, how does he find time to relax?

The simple answer is that he doesn’t.

“I have issues with lack of sleep,” Singh admitted. “My wife rarely comes with me on poker trips – she’s not a fan in general. But she sees how poker can be and gets on me about getting enough sleep.”

“How do I operate?” Singh asked aloud. “You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. I love my family, I love my business, and now I love poker too.”

A Family Man At Heart

“My parents don’t think of poker as a mind sport with a lot of strategy; it’s just gambling to them and they wish that I’d pick another hobby,” he said. “But my kids and nephews love it, and they’ve turned it into a trophy competition with me. They’re thriving now because of it.”

“If I come home with a new trophy, it motivates my kids to beat me,” Singh continued. “My daughter is a national math champion and she already passed me. She has over 90 trophies, I think I have 76 and my son is getting there – he’s got about 45 now.”

Singh’s daughter also competitively ice skates and his son also competes in math and swimming.

“They love to compete,” Singh said smiling ear-to-ear. “Anytime I bring home a trophy, it makes them want to do better in their activity.”

Singh’s fascination with trophies has somewhat numbed him to the real money that’s on the line, but he insists he’s never bought a win before.

“Whether I want the trophy or the money – it’s synonymous with me. I compete. Whether there’s a three-way chop or even, I want the money on top. I’ve never offered somebody extra money for a trophy. I don’t do that. It has to be an ICM deal or an outright win – it’s the same thing to me.”

It was a three-way chop that resulted in the biggest win of his career last year, taking down the $3,500 Lucky Hearts Poker Open for $486,353 after a deal with Dan Martin and Jesse Lonis.

Other notable wins include a side event at the Hard Rock Poker Open for $200,000, and the WSOP Circuit Palm Beach Kennel Club main event for $168,995. He also took down the inaugural RunGood All-Stars ProAm in Las Vegas.

While a World Series of Poker bracelet is one measurement of poker success, Singh realizes that a bracelet might not be in the cards for him.

“I don’t like Vegas all that much. My workday starts at 5 am and I cannot play multi-day events,” he admitted. “My main goal and title that would make me happiest would be a World Poker Tour title. It’s probably on everyone’s bucket list.”

Singh’s outward personality relaxes a little after some time at the table.

“Poker is my prime hobby and it’s not just relaxing, it’s a form of therapy for me,” he said. “To be honest, it helps to deal with life’s grind. Life is a grind, we know that.”

“Poker is great, but I enjoy it part-time,” he continued. “I’ll play tennis and cricket when the family is here. I love spending time with my kids. I’m actually pretty good at their video games and am always involved with their school projects.”

Eyeballing The Future

Singh isn’t the outlier in his family playing poker; his nephews Japneet and Harmeet also play in Austin, Texas. They’re easy to spot in Team Singh shirts that feature a golden lion.

“My message to them was to establish themselves first – have a strong foundation, a full-time job in their profession. First, cover your bases and then you can pick it up,” Singh said. “My kids, too. I’ll tell them the same – to be great, you must have a foundation.”

While Singh’s family are just laying their foundations, he’s got his eyes towards the future.

“Once I retire, my plan is to play those Aria $10,000 and $25,000 events, take some trips abroad for some EPT events and so my wife can visit her family in Eastern Europe. You may see me do that,” he said. “But that’s far away when the kids go to college. I want to make sure they’re settled and perhaps ready to take over my business.”

“I don’t compete with anybody here,” Singh said motioning to the rest of the field on break. “They keep a leaderboard at Seminole Hard Rock – I don’t care for it. My competition is at home.”

• Photos by WPT, Seminole Hard Rock, and Rami Singh