By
MattW
Ahhh Brazil… Carnaval, beaches, sun, girls from Ipanema, soccer, poker….wait. Poker? Yes, POKER! Ok, so poker is not a part of our culture like samba, but many Brazilians have the moves when it comes to playing cards, and they have been doing more than dancing at the tables.With PocketFives Sortable Rankings, you can see exactly which players are making these moves. Every country has different characteristics, and upon inspection you can see certain tendencies of players from different countries. For instance, Northern Europeans are ruthless at the tables, the Americans are very technical and business oriented, the Canadians are quiet and aggressive, and the Brazilians…these are loud, colorful, and creative players who are slowly but surely starting to be heard through the online tables.As poker grows more and more in Brazil (as it has in the last few years), more noise will be heard from us no matter where you are. Brazilians flock around in packs, cheering each other on at final tables as if it were the World Cup finals, and we have fun every step of the way. And isn’t that what Brazil is known for? So how could it be any different in poker?------
For those that don't know, Maridu's not too bad herself when it comes to poker. In fact, she's one of the top 10 online tournament players in Brazil, according to PocketFives.com....but first, let's talk about a few of her compatriates.
Taking the #1 spot in a very talented and eclectic Brazil is Christian "
CKRUEL" Kruel from Rio De Janeiro (C.K. on PokerStars). He has been successful for the past few years both online and live. Two years ago he made the final table of the 2005 WPT Bahamas event, putting his name on the map in the live arena. He has had several large 1st place finishes in 2007, including one for over $18k in the FullTilt $55k Guaranteed. He also won the $25k Guaranteed on Stars for $13,350. In general his resume speaks for itself, mind you, while omitting many of his bigger scores across non-tracked sites. In 2007 he has had 37 final tables on PokerStars, FullTilt, and PartyPoker alone... In Brazil and elsewhere, C.K. is highly respected, and for good reason as he is atop the Brazilian Sortable Rankings Leaderboard with a score of 3,684 points.
Second-ranked is Marcos "
mc_palermo" Palermo from Rio, who comes in with 3,397 points. The biggest win of his online career was a 5th place finish in the FullTilt $750,000 Guaranteed, worth over $30.5k. In addition, he has had various 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishes, including wins in the PokerStars $25,000 Guaranteed and the PartyPoker Super Tuesday. During the last two months of this year, he has cashed for around $90k, effectively putting his mark on 2007 for all to see.
Behind mc_palermo with 3,390 points is Joao "
Joao M" Marcelo Andrade from São Paulo. He has previously been ranked in the top 100, having taken down multiple $55 and $109 Rebuys on PokerStars. In December, he's won a $100 rebuy and taken second in the Nightly One Hundred Grand on Stars. I caught up with Joao and asked him what he thought about the Sortable Rankings, amongst other things: "I really like how it can be done by country. It's a good way to create healthy competition within different regions of the world. I am very flattered to be #3, and I admire C.K. who has inspired me to become a better player. I really think Brazil will become a strong force within poker because Brazilians are uniquely creative, and creativity can play a big part in one's poker game. Math can be memorized and learned, but this is not so with creativity. In my mind, this is what sets Brazilian players apart from other players around the world."
Fourth in Brazil is 35-year-old Igor "
IgorFederal" Trafane from Campinas. He has been a consistent and formidable force on PokerStars for quite some time. In the past year, he has accumulated eight 5-figure scores, totaling just shy of $150k. His largest score was for $43,967 when he won the PokerStars $215 Rebuy. He has also won a $109 Rebuy on Stars. These performances have earned him 2,514 PLB points and a spot amongst the elite players in Brazil.
Raul "
raulsoli" Oliveira (Carteio on PokerStars) from Rio is fifth. He is good friends with C.K. and has been playing poker since 2000. Less than three months ago, he picked up his juiciest score to date, a win in the PokerStars $215 Rebuy for $67,760. He has also finished 3rd two times this year in the PartyPoker $300k Guaranteed. These two finishes were good for over $42k combined. Raulsoli currently has 2,418 PLB points and is right on Igor's heels.
Occupying sixth is 19-year-old Felipe "
fcarrico" Carriço also from Rio. At a very young age, he has already had some huge success. In April he took down the PokerStars $215 Rebuy for a whopping $74,831. Amazingly, on the very same day he also won the PartyPoker $300k Guaranteed Sunday for $62,720. More recently in November, he placed 3rd in the FTOPS #3 for $24,150. I spoke with fcarrico, and he told me this: "I really liked when I saw the Sortable Rankings because I think it stimulates competition in a cool way. About my ranking, I'm sixth right now mostly because of my last score in the FTOPS, but I really have not been playing too many tournaments. I've been mostly playing cash games for the last six months, so it feels great to be in the top six considering all of the great talent that there is here in Brazil." At the moment, fcarrico has 2,368 PLB points.
Number 7 in Brazil is 32-year-old Andre "
aakkari" Akkari from São Paulo. He has had five 5-figure scores in 2007, including a win in a PokerStars $109 Rebuy for $18,930 and a 3rd place finish in the PokerStars $320 Buy-in NL tournament for $21,401. In addition, he has won four other tournaments, and he has 2,333 PLB points heading into the New Year.
The final player to make this write-up is well-known both on and off the tables. It's appropriate that the same player that gave us the introduction for the
Closer Look: Brazil will also be part of the conclusion.
Maridu from Rio De Janeiro is #8 in all of Brazil. She has been somewhat of a celebrity in OT for a while now, but what many do not know is that she has also been diligently working on her game--and it has paid off. On December 14th, she won a PokerStars $55 Rebuy for $12,852. Precisely one month earlier she won the same tournament, also for around $12k. On December 9th, she maneuvered her way through thousands of players to take a heartbreaking 11th place finish in the Stars Sunday Million for almost $6k. These results are a testament to her advancements as a poker player, so let it be known that she is much more than just the OT Queen. As of this writing, she has 2,179 PLB points.
Congratulations to everyone who made the cut in Brazil, and thanks to Maridu for helping out. Until next time check out where YOU stand in the
P5s Sortable Rankings.