Bruno Kawauti is one of Brazil’s biggest poker stars

Bruno Kawauti Talks Planning for the Future, and Predicting it Too

There are not many things where, if you take 15th place, your life is going to completely change. That is the beauty of the World Series of Poker Main Event tough. Ever since Brasil’s Bruno Kawauti finished 15th in 2013, his life, his priorities, his opportunities all completely changed. From that point forward, Kawauti has done his best to make the most of these new possibilities while still balancing a social life with his time at the poker tables.

“I used to play cash online in 2013 before my deep run in the Main Event,” Kawauti recalls. “I was quitting tournaments. I used to play only cash games and decided to not play tournaments at all. Then I made the semifinal table of the Main Event, I got 15th, and everything changed.”

The changes included a sponsorship with 888 poker and the opportunity to play poker all over the world. He continues to take part in events near his home, including a runner-up finish in the Brasilian Series of Poker Main Event in Sao Paolo for over $92,000. He was joined at the final table with some familiar faces, including Thiago Nishijima, another Brazilian who made a name for himself at the WSOP in Vegas.

Often people will try to make a story out of the competition between women in poker or players from up and coming poker communities. Such was the case with Kawauti, who became the top Brazilian finisher in WSOP Main Event history. Shortly after his run, a question came up in an interview which threw Kawauti for a loop.

“I was the best Brasilian ever [in the Main Event] and there was an interview here in Brazil. The guy asked how I felt about my record and if I wanted to keep it. I said of course not. I want this record to be broken,” Kawauti said.

As fate should have it, the day after Kawauti finished in 15th, he had a dream about what would happen the following year.

“I had a dream that someone broke my record and it was a friend of mine and I was on the rail,” Kawauti says.

Then, Bruno Politano, a friend of his, broke his record by finishing eighth and Kawauti was on hand to watch the entire thing.

“I have some sick, sick dreams.”

His dreams weren’t just limited to Politano either. On the first day of the WSOP in 2015, Kawauti had a dream his friend Nishijima would win a bracelet. On June 18th, Nishijima won the $3,000 No Limit Hold’em event.

When not predicting the future, Kawauti spends his time working on the future of his own game. With the help of a team of players he works with, including Guilherme Cheveau, Kelvin Ferber, and Fabiano Kovalski. He previously intended to focus on cash games and shift away from tournaments, but post-2013, his mindset has completely changed.

“I used to mostly play live cash games here in Brasil, but I decided that if you play lived games in general, you play against worse players, but your game doesn’t improve. Online gives you that need to be better in order to beat the games,” said Kawauti.

So, he joined his team and now grinds five days a week, taking scheduled breaks every Saturday and Tuesday. His Saturdays off help him rest up for a busy day of Sunday grinding. His Tuesdays are spent away from his computer too for a pragmatic reason as well. “Tuesdays are the days I lose more money,” Kawauti admits, pointing out with higher buy-in offerings, there are more experienced players in the field, making all the MTTs a little tougher than other days of the week.


From 888 poker Magazine: Poker – Is it a Game, a Sport or Both?


Kawauti’s discussion of why he chose tournaments gives you a glimpse into how his competitive mind operates. As he mentioned, cash games were lucrative, but didn’t prepare you to improve and win long-term. Plus, there is an intangible reward to poker tournaments that can be summed up in a single word: validation.

“I think one of the things that also made me change from cash games to tournaments is that feeling at the final table of every elimination down to heads-up. To win a trophy, to win a tournament…you really feel it,” said Kawauti. “After the deep run, I started to look more for moments. It is more interesting and every hour that you study, the choice you made to be a poker pro is worth it and means so much in that moment.”

The extrinsic rewards that come with winning tournaments keeps Kawauti hungry, focused, and professional about his poker player, both as an 888 ambassador and as a full time pro who grinds a dedicated schedule online week in and week out. He does find time to relax though and, like many poker pros in his home country, he returned from the WSOP in time to enjoy the recent Summer Olympics.

“In the beginning I thought the Olympics would have a lot of riots. Rio is a very nice place, it is a must-visit place for everyone in the world, but it is a very small place. I thought there would be a lot of traffic jams and lines to everywhere. I thought it was going to be a mess. Then Nicolau (Villa Lobos), one of my best friends, said, ‘Bruno, you have to come here. It is one time in your life you’ll have the Olympics in your city.’”

“It was the best decision I made in 2016, I think,” Kawauti claims. “I am addicted to sports. I love soccer, so I watched the semifinals and finals against Germany.”

It seems Kawauti loves sports, but his life choices since he made his run in the Main Event tell you he loves any sort of competition, be it against the best players in the world, the best players in Brazil, or just competing against himself as he strives to grow and get better at the game that changed his life.