Team partypoker’s Joao Simao remembers watching clips of the World Poker Tour on YouTube when he was younger. He dreamed of one day getting his own shot to chase some WPT glory.
That opportunity is now playing out on the site for Simao and others with the WPT World Online Championships running on the site through Sept. 14. The series once again offers players a close facsimile of a live WPT tournament.
“To have the chance to play in WPT events on partypoker is amazing, especially as we have not had many live tournaments in the last year,” he says.
“I particularly love the event formats with multiple day one flights, like the $215 Opener event. I will grind all the WPT schedule and hope to win another WPT title, as I did in the WPT Online Series in May.”
Simao spoke this week with PokerScout about the series and more.
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Winning big in online poker
The 32-year-old poker pro from Brazil has been among the top online players in the world the last several years. It’s also been a nice online run for Simao in 2021.
At the beginning of August, Simao scored his first World Series of Poker bracelet. He took down a $1,111 event online for $206,075.
He’s now hoping that success continues with the WPT Online. Adding his name to the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup would be a dream come true.
“I’m a hunter of event titles,” Simao says. “I won a WPT PLO event in May on partypoker and now I’m looking to go for more titles because the feeling was incredible, and I want more of it.”
Simao’s list of accomplishments is long. He’s been the top-ranked online poker player in the world. At the MILLIONS Germany festival in February 2018, Simao scored three six-figure cashes in a five-day span. His poker resumé also includes nine POWERFEST titles as well.
Simao is the second most-successful Brazilian player ever. A nice run in the current WPT events isn’t out of the cards for this poker shark.
A life in poker
The game of poker has been good to Simao and he certainly appears to love the game. However, in recent years he’s let off the gas a bit, enjoying some of his other interests outside the game.
“I used to be more serious about my routine,” he says. “Now, I play tennis or go to the gym or wakesurf. I try to stay happy and take it easy to allow me to enjoy the session.”
When not playing online poker, Simao’s interests include spending time with family and friends. Sports also occupy some of his time.
Some business opportunities have recently become a new challenge and the poker phenomenon is always interested in learning new things.
Anyone paying attention to the poker world of late may have noticed the success of Brazilian players. Players from Simao’s home country continue to rack up big wins and scores. He’s excited to see so many taking up the game and finding success.
“Brazil is crushing it at the moment, and I don’t see this changing, because we are working as a community,” he says. “I believe in this power – the Brazilian storm!”
The future of the game; an online poker tip
As a longtime online poker player, where does Simao see the industry in 10 years? He believes keeping recreational players involved in the industry is a must.
“I hope to see a decent ecosystem where the recreational players have a chance to win, without needing to use HUDs, et cetera,” he says. “Yes, they are open for everyone, but recreational players want to have fun and want to play poker, not to operate a program or a simulation.
“We all need recreational players for a healthy ecosystem and for the game to continue to grow. I think we should deliver what they want in a fun and fair model. Therefore, I support many of partypoker’s decisions recently that are looking out for the interests of recreational players.”
That has included running more qualifiers. Many of these, such as in the current WPT series, run for as little as $0.01. The site has also geared its mobile app and software more toward social gaming players.
With so many recreational players entering the game, what is one tip Simao would offer new players?
“Be patient, but don’t be lazy,” he says. “Being patient means enjoying the ride at the table, living in the moment, and avoiding getting anxious and tired due to spending too many hours in front of the computer.”
The WPT World Online Championships continue at partypoker. Here’s a complete schedule of events.
2021 WPT World Online Championships
Dates Event Buy-in Guarantee Format
Aug 21-23 Omaha Championship $2,100 $300,000 6-Max
Aug 28-30 7-Max Championship $2,100 $1,000,000 7-Max PKO
Aug 29 – Sep 14 WPT Main Event $5,300 $5,000,000 8-Max
Aug 29-30 High Roller Championship $10,300 $1,000,000 7-Max
Sept 4-6 6-Max Championship $2,100 $1,000,000 6-Max PKO
Sept 5 Super High Roller Championship $25,500 $1,000,000 7-Max
Sept 11-13 Mix-Max Championship $2,100 $1,000,000 Mix-Max PKO
Sept 12-13 Turbo Championship $2,100 $200,000 7-Max