Marriage and Poker
Prakhar Jain and Smriti Dewari may not be the first married couple in poker that comes to mind, but their personal journey in poker has made them a familiar face in the San Diego poker scene at Jamul Casino.
Dewari shared that she was the first of the duo to immerse herself in the poker scene after immigrating here from India in 2020. Dewari shared that she had experience playing cash games in casinos, but it wasn’t until she went on a trip to Sydney, Australia, after immigrating to San Diego, that her love for poker took on a new form.
“When I came back from Sydney, we were both hooked,” Dewari said.
Dewari and Jain began to play poker more often, leading to them beginning to play the tournament scene in earnest in May of 2024.
Jain shared that he used to love to play and watch cricket in his home country of India. Poker felt like a natural transition for him due to what he feels is an overlap in strategic thinking skillset.
Due to his competitive background, Jain shared that it is the sport competition that draws him to the game of poker and tournaments specifically.
His wife, Smriti, has similar motivations.
“It feels good to be right,” Dewari said in jest when asked what keeps her coming back to poker.
Smiriti, when asked if she and her husband, Parkhar, even play against each other, stated that in tournaments so far, it hasn’t happened too often, but that they do play at home against one another from time to time.
Naturally, Smiriti was asked who gets the best of the duels, to which she replied, “I get lucky against him, but he has a good read on me.”