If you look at a summary of results for any major online poker series, there is one fact that you can bet on pretty comfortably: the winners’ list will be well represented by Brazilians! It’s hard to name all the factors that made online poker in Brazil so big (although we’ll try), but the numbers don’t lie.
Brazilians love online poker, especially tournaments, and they keep showing up in big numbers for online events of all shapes and sizes, and across all poker sites.
What’s really interesting is that this trend isn’t limited in any way to a particular buy-in bracket. If you look at any tournament lobby, whether it is a $1 MTT or $1,000+ Main Event of a major online series, the number of Brazilian flags greatly outnumbers that of any other country.
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The Case in Point
We don’t need extensive or detailed research to realize that players from Brazil dominate online poker tournament fields. In this particular instance, there is more than enough “casual” evidence to make such research unnecessary.
If you open any completed tournament lobby on PokerStars right now, the odds are that the number of Brazilian players in the first 20 or 30 names will be overwhelming. And this is just as true for small stakes events as it is for big buy-in MTTs.
If we look at reports from other operators like 888poker, players from Brazil are always up there in terms of total entries and titles won as well.
So, what is it that attracts so many people in the country to online poker, and is this a short-term phenomenon, or will numbers continue to grow in the years to come?
Brazil Online Poker Is Only Getting Bigger
Online poker in Brazil has always been big, but we’ve seen a proper boom over the past five or so years. There isn’t a single reason for it, but when we add a few of them together, the picture gets much clearer.
First of all, Brazil is a big country with population of well over 200 million people. In terms of online poker, there are currently no bans or restrictions of any kind in place, which means that this vast market is a part of the international player pool and Brazilians can freely play on all of the biggest sites and make deposits and withdrawals without any obstacles.
This is a huge factor, as many amateurs aren’t willing to deal with all the complications that exist in some other big markets.
But that’s just one part of the puzzle. Poker in Brazil has been popularized by the like of Neymar Jr., who has been a part of the Team PokerStars in one way or another for many years now. And it is no secret that the famous footballer holds an iconic status in the country.
Then, there are players like Andre Akkari, a Brazilian who has had great success in live and online tournaments alike. He’s followed by tens of thousands of his compatriots on the social media, and his regular successes inspire many to give online poker a go.
Other famous Brazilians, including the original Ronaldo, have been known to dabble with poker and appeared on many live streams and TV shows, further popularizing the game in the country.
Brazilians Are Here to Stay!
The number of players from Brazil in online poker events will only grow with time, as the more popular the game becomes, the likelier it is that new stars will be born and new success stories will be written, creating even more inspiration.
Although it’s not the most prudent thing to judge the playing style of an unknown player just by their country of origin, Brazilians are often viewed as aggressive and willing to take risks, which makes them the kind of opponent you’d rather not have at your table.
But this also means that these players are willing to take chances and go for the glory.
The online poker landscape is a living organism that changes constantly. It’s hard to predict what will happen in a few years’ time, but if nothing changes in terms of legislation, one thing we can be pretty sure of is that Brazilians will continue to be a force to be reckoned with on the virtual felt for the foreseeable future.