About Joao Barbosa Portuguese player Joao Barbosa joined the tournament circuit in 2008. He has already earned over $800K in prize money and is 1st on the Portugal All Time Money List. Joao has got record- breaking 8 cashes (1 win) in the EPT in addition to his Open Madrid win.
Joao started out playing low-stakes Limit Hold ‘em and small buy-in tournaments in 2003. Over the next few years, he learned about poker by reading books by David Sklansky and Gus Hansen, watching videos by Cardrunners pros and posting on forums. He practiced for several hours a day and as his confidence grew, he switched to No-Limit Hold ‘em. In 2008 he decided to play full time.
In May of that year, he won the €1.5K No-Limit Hold 'em event in Madrid, banking over €115K in prize money. He followed this with a cash finish in London at the EPT £5.2K No-Limit Hold ‘em Main Event. Joao then travelled to Poland and battled his way through a field of over 200 competitors at the EPT Polish Open’s €5.4K No-Limit Hold ‘em event. He walked away in 1st place and with €367K. His run continued into 2009, with two further cashes in EPT No-Limit Hold ‘em events.
Joao favors No-Limit Hold 'em 6-max games when playing online, but he is currently focusing on improving his heads-up and Pot-Limit Omaha play. He attributes his success to his discipline and drive to learn as much as possible about poker. To new players he advises; “focus on learning the game, including managing the bankroll and understanding the variance involved. Don't worry about short term results, and always question yourself. Play the miniFTOPS event #1 with host Joao Barbosa here
