‚In love with poker for over 10 years!’
The Brazilian, who is the PokerStars image, participated in the European Poker Tour at Casino Barcelona and gave an inteview for ‚Mundo Deportivo’, where he confessed to his passion for the cards.
Ronaldo Nazario Da Lima, or simply Ronaldo or ‚O Fenomeno’ attended the EPT Barcelona in his position of PokerStars ambassador. He neither played soccer nor anything else, he was only present at the tournament hosted by Casino Barcelona. In an interview for ‚Mundo Deportivo’, he spoke about his excitement about the poker game. ‚I just love poker, the adrenalin flowing whenever I play. I have not had similar feelings since I retired. Poker is something new for me, but I like going to the tournaments and competing against other players,’ confessed the former great soccer champion.
Contenders, wired to win
Ronaldo admitted to liking to play both online and live poker. He told us that the other competitors are going all out to win against him. ‚It is fun when I am online. Whenever I join the game and people see my name, they are really striving to win a hand over me or to beat me at the game, so that they can brag about it,’ he said it jokingly. ‚As a poker player, I am pretty mindful, since I rarely have good cards’, added Ronaldo.
The bliss of playing
When asked about why he thinks elite sports people, like Gerard Pique and Rafael Nadal are so much into the cards game, Ronaldo gave us a reasonable explanation,’Poker is a fun sport, which challenges you and test your intelligence. It all comes down to competition, and we love it to death. To be honest, my experience in soccer has helped me be a good poker player. It has given me the ability to focus and be patient,’ said the Brazilian player.
Poker with peers
Winner of multiple titles in soccer at all the clubs he played and for the Brazil national team, the champion who won the Golden Ball and named the best player in the world, talked about performance in poker. ‚I would love to reach a similar status in poker, but it is unlikely. I need time and dedication. Poker is a game that requires a lot of studying and practice so that you become a great player…But we will see what’s coming out of it,’ said Ronaldo. The former champion went on and confessed – ‚I have been a poker devotee for more than 10 years. It all started in 2002, while I was playing for Real Madrid. I began by playing with my teammates. We were all poker groupies and we were all playing it. And I remember there were so many of us, that some of them were left out of the game. I am still playing with my friends, but the official tournaments are so more thrilling.’
