Hi all... I figured with everyone's help, I should post some of my recent findings. I just spend four weeks in Brasil. If you want to play poker in Rio, there are several poker rooms. One is between Copa and Ipa, and can play pretty big. One night there was a 10-25 (reis) NL game going. But, most nights they play a 10-10 mix, one round PLO, one round NL. They LOVE PLO.
There is another place in Jardim Botanico, walking distance to Solarium, if ya know what I mean
Perfect day is to hit Solarium, take care of some business, then mosey on to play some poker. And the dealers in the cash game are pretty hot. Slightly smaller game, the biggest was a 10-10 mix, and that only happened two or three times a week.
The problem is that there may not be a game every day in Rio. But, there is a fairly large poker room in Barra, and I think they have a game every day. I never went, but on the one Saturday I called, they had several 5-5 NL games, and said they would probably start a 5-10 game that night. I was getting wasted on the beach in Copa at the time, so the thought of a 45 min taxi ride was not appealling.
I spent a weekend in Sao Paulo, played at a new club in Barrio Itiam Bibi. Close to Cafe Foto (again, if ya know what I mean). Pretty expensive city, but the game was not great. Very small limits, and they play this Pot Limit Hold em, with just 5 on the button (So you straddle like hell in the cutoff). They play with 11 players, and half of them are beginners (you can't even give them credit as "bad" players). So, if ya got a big pocket pair in early position, watch out. You are gonna have 5 random hands coming after you. Good luck to you.
There was a big tourney going on that weekend, so maybe the big-game never got going. But the biggest I saw there was 5-5.
The play in Sao Paulo is horrible, for example I had AA against KK, we got it all in pre-flop. And K-3 suited was in there calling us every step of the way. Thank you K-3. I promise not to spend all your money in one shot. Oh wait, it's Sao Paulo... that might pay for the cab ride back to the airport.
But, overall, tough... every hand feels like a lotto, because you are likely to have 4+ other players in the hand.
I loved Rio before and I like it better now that there is poker. But don't expect to pay for your trip (and your other hobbies) with your poker winnings. If you want the best combo of poker and... the other hobby... Macau is great. You can play basicly a 10-25 game every night at the Wynn. A good night can net you 10K+ USD, which will pay for your entire trip (including the other hobby).
Hope this helps, PM me if you want more info. It may be silly, but am a bit hesitant to put actual names of the clubs here, just in case.