An Orbit with Brazilian November Niner Bruno Politano
In less than a month Brazilian Bruno Politano will be heading to Las Vegas to compete for $10 million. That's because he's a member of this year's World Series of Poker Main Event November Nine. He currently sits last in chips, though he has the biggest short stack since the November Nine's inception.
Politano is the only member of this year's November Nine to make the trip to the WSOP APAC, and he's excited to be getting some valuable experience. Two days ago Politano made the final table of Event #7: AU$2,200 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold'em alongside Phil Hellmuth. Neither won that event — they finished sixth and fourth respectively — but it was certainly the highlight of the trip for the Brazilian, who is in today's field hoping for even more WSOP success.
We decided to spend an entire orbit with Politano, who was sitting with 35,500 at a seven-handed table that included 2010 WSOP champ Jonathan Duhamel.
Hand #1 (Early Position): The under-the-gun player raised to 600 and Politano called. Both the cutoff and big blind called and four players took a flop of 
. The big blind checked, the original raiser continued for 1,550, and everyone, including Politano, folded.
Hand #2 (Under the Gun): Politano opened for 450 and took down the blinds.
Hand #3 (Big Blind): The under-the-gun player opened for 450 and a player in early position called. Politano defended his big blind and three players watched the flop come down 
. Politano checked, the under-the-gun play bet 1,125, and the early-position player folded. Politano then woke up with a check-raise to 2,550, his opponent called, and the dealer burned and turned the 
.
Politano fired out 3,325, and that did the trick as his opponent folded the 
.
"You wouldn't be German would you?" the player asked Politano, clearly referencing his aggressive style.
Hand #4 (Small Blind): Duhamel raised to 500 from the hijack and took down the pot.
Hand #5 (Button): The player in the cutoff raised to 500 and Politano folded.
Hand #6 (Cutoff): Action folds to Politano and he released his hand.
Hand #7 (Hijack): Action folds to Politano and he raises to 450. The player on the button responded with a three-bet to 1,125, and after the blinds folded, Politano called to see a flop of 
. Politano check-called a bet of 1,725 and then both players checked the 
turn. When the 
completed the board on the river, Politano led out for 4,525 and his opponent folded.
Politano was very active in this orbit, and one can't help but wonder if this will be indicative of his style of play come November.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
42,000
12,000
|
12,000 |