At the end of this month the 2024 World Series of Poker is set to begin and players from all over the world will travel to Las Vegas to compete in the wide variety of poker tournaments that will take place all over the city. One of them will be 888poker ambassador Alex Mantovani. We reached out to the player known online as “Cavalito” to find our what his planned tournament schedule will be, as well as to discuss his poker career thus far. In addition, he provided a few tips for players who will be playing at the WSOP for the first time.
Alexandre is a very successful online player, where he has won $5.9M according to PokerStake. His best result was obtained in 2017 when he came third in the WCOOP Main Event for $612K. On the live circuit he has earnings of $480K on his Hendon Mob profile, with his biggest cash being a fourth place finish in the 2019 PCA National 1K 
for $47K. He is among the top 100 players on Brazil’s All Time Money List 
.
Alex playing in the 888poker LIVE Barcelona / Photo: 888poker
Interview with Alex Mantovani
What poker tournaments do you plan to play in Las Vegas this year? Will you focus on the WSOP or will you also play other festivals?
The Vegas summer season is incredible and all the casinos have good tournaments! As my goal is to get the highest EV possible, I’m going to play in all the casinos, analyze with my friends which is the best tournament for each day and play.
Which WSOP tournaments are you most excited to play?
Always the Main Event! It’s the best poker tournament of the year and after I played it the first time I just know that I want to come back every year to play it! Mystery bounty live tournaments are really fun, too, and I’m excited to play some of them.
What advice would you give to someone traveling to Las Vegas for the first time to play $200-$3K tournaments?
My advice is not to just stick to the WSOP. All casinos have very attractive games and it is often worth playing a cheaper tournament at another casino than a more expensive WSOP tournament.
Alex playing at the WSOP / Photo: Jamie Thompson, for PokerNews
At the 2022 WSOP you had a deep run in the Main Event, placing 266th. What memories do you have of that tournament? Do you feel like that’s your greatest live poker achievement?
It was a very special tournament for me. From the second day of the tournament I was short at the beginning of the day and spent the whole day battling. Due to the incredible structure of the tournament I managed to survive. It was really cool to have survived the Main Event until tables broke down to collect every player in the tournament in one room. To have sat at the same table as that year’s eventual champion (Espen Jorstad) before being eliminated was really cool, too!
What is your typical day in Las Vegas like? Do you place last longer bets with other ambassadors?
The Vegas season is so intense that it’s very difficult to spend time with other people. I usually just wake up, do my morning routine, and go play! I’m not one to make last longer bets with any other players.
How can someone traveling to Las Vegas in June and July for the first time prepare and study at home?
Vegas is the poker festival of the year! There are players of all types, profiles and technical levels. I don’t think specific technical preparation is necessary, the games are very good and if you put a lot of pressure and demand on yourself, you end up not having fun and performing your best.
A truly gross runout for a FLOPPED full house!
How many outs did Dan have on the flop? #poker #fullhouse #madrid pic.twitter.com/I9poB6HXnF
— 888poker (@888poker) April 21, 2024
What do you like most about playing online at 888poker? What are your favorite tournaments?
I really like the offerings and variety of tournaments. Also the possibility of qualifying for very little money to the 888poker LIVE circuit tournaments in different parts of the world. Sunday’s $109 Mystery Bounty is certainly a great tournament with an excellent prize pool and there’s also the excitement of pulling out the bounties!
What’s different about the 888poker LIVE circuit compared to other festivals? What’s your favorite spot so far? Would you like it to reach Latin America in the future?
The field of 888poker LIVE events is very good, I believe it is a friendlier atmosphere for recreational players and there are several that I see at most stages. My favorite place is Madrid 
and I dream of them doing stages here in Latin America in the future!
READ MORE: About the 2024 888poker LIVE Madrid Festival
What goals and dreams do you have with poker?
I want to continue competing at a high level with the best players in the world, always learning and evolving on and off the tables. Furthermore, I want to win big tournaments, both online and live!
Thanks Alex for answering our questions. If you’d like to check out some of Alex’s content, you can do so on the 888poker YouTube channel. Below are a couple videos where he gives some interesting tips and tricks.
Cover photo credit: Mundo Poker Brasil
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