Vohra patiently builds top-10 stack on WSOP Day 3

Before Raj Vohra ventured to the casino for the first time, he printed out a poker cheat sheet with the hand rankings and studied it during the drive.

“I still remember. I had like three or four hours,” Vohra said. “It was totally brand new.”

Consider him a quick learner.

Vohra, a former professional tennis player, became a hugely successful online poker player before transitioning to live tournaments. And this year, he is poised to make his second straight deep run in the $10,000 buy-in No-limit Texas Hold ’em World Championship at the World Series of Poker.

Vohra started Day 3 of the Main Event on Thursday at the Rio Convention Center in 36th place with 306,400 tournament chips. He had 627,000 chips at the 7 p.m. dinner break, which unofficially placed him in the top 10.

The Main Event, which features a $10 million first prize, continues at noon today at the Rio with Day 4.

“I’m just really looking forward to this tournament and seeing how this one goes, because I’m really keeping my head sharp,” Vohra said. “I’m playing very steady, not trying to play any big pots. I’m just trying to avoid any big mistakes and keep to small pots.”

Vohra, born and raised in India, was one of the country’s top tennis players throughout his youth. He moved to London shortly after turning 18 and played International Tennis Federation and ATP events in Europe for three years before relocating to Florida.

However, a broken wrist ended his playing career, and Vohra maintained his passion for the game by becoming a tennis instructor. During that time, the avid sports fan was watching ESPN and saw Australian Joe Hachem win the 2005 WSOP Main Event for $7.5 million.

“I just said, ‘My god. I’m sweating my ass off in the hot sun for 10 hours, and this guy’s winning millions,’ ” Vohra said. “I just started getting into it. I went to the Internet to see what poker is.”

Vohra started building up his bankroll online and at casinos throughout his home state — he won his first tournament at the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Fla., within the first three months. In 2008, he traveled to Las Vegas and finished fifth in the $5,000 buy-in No-limit Hold ’em event for nearly $196,000.

“My family was very supportive,” Vohra said. “I was learning day by day. The more I played, the more I’m learning. Watching my mistakes, what I’m doing, avoiding those mistakes to get to the next level. It came very naturally, like how it came to tennis.”

Vohra soon became a final-table fixture at tournaments in Florida, and in 2010 he dominated the online poker scene with three six-figure cashes and nearly $1.5 million in total earnings. Using the handle “BadcardsAA,” Vohra won the two-day Full Tilt Poker FTOPS XV event in February for $430,000 and followed that up in May by winning the PokerStars SCOOP Event No. 1 High for $240,026

“I just wanted to be the best,” Vohra said. “It was like a fire.”

Vohra made the money in the WSOP Main Event in 2011, and he was one of the early chip leaders last year before finishing in 285th place. Vohra cashed in two WSOP events this summer, but he said he hasn’t found the same success in the latter parts of live tournaments the way he was able to online.

“Once I transitioned to live games, for some reason, whenever I’m deep, I have not closed a big tournament how I used to do it,” Vohra said. “Hopefully, this time is different.”

Several notable players were eliminated on Day 3, including: defending Main Event champion Ryan Riess, 2003 winner Chris Moneymaker, 10-time bracelet winner Johnny Chan, six-time bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu, eight-time bracelet winner Erik Seidel and actor Kevin Pollak.

Contact reporter David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidSchoenLVRJ.