Biography Special: Daniel Negreanu

Very popular, residing in Las Vegas and extremely successful: The sympathetic Canadian seems to live the dream of each poker player. Follow the way of Daniel Negreanu.

In 1967, Annie and Constantin Negreanu left the communist Romania to attempt a new beginning in the far away America. They ended up in Toronto, Canada, and on July 26th, 1974, their second son was born: Daniel.

Aged 15, the latter one learned the poker game, and since then gambled in legal as well as illegal poker games, bet on sports events and played a few billiard events. Back then, Daniel would still earn his money with the snooker game.

However, at the age of 18 already, Negreanu dropped out of school and focused on poker. He played a few tournaments in and around Toronto where he met a dealer called Evelyn Ng. The pair became a couple for several years, and since then Evelyn Ng plays poker professionally herself.

Traditional Lifestyle? No, thanks.

At that time, Daniel had a short stint at being a "normal worker". He worked one day in a call center, and a month in a Subway. However, he quickly realised that an 'ordinary' life like this is out of question for him.

Vegas! Vegas? Broke!

So it came to be that he was finally allowed to play poker legally when he turned 21, and immediately headed for Las Vegas to try his luck. He managed to keep his head above water for seven months there, but then had to return home without any money, but with a lot of practice.

Despite this negative experience, Negreanu was convinced he should keep on playing poker and also be successful at it. In Toronto, he built up a bankroll again in the local casinos, and in 1997, he left once more to conquer the world of poker.

First Successes

The second attempt should then turn into a success. He immediately won two events at the World Poker Finals in the Foxwoods and was declared the best player of this tournament. Thus, he had increased his bankroll by about $50,000 within the shortest amount of time, and was now able to take a shot at bigger tournaments.

Kid Poker

Inspired by this experience, Daniel played his first WSOP event in 1998, a $2,000 Limit Hold'em tournament, which he managed to win. Consequently, Negreanu was the youngest bracelet winner of all times. In 2004, he lost this title to Gavin Griffin, but nonetheless this was the hour of birth of 'Kid Poker'. Due to his successes in his early years, Daniel received this nickname which he still uses nowadays when he plays online.

'The Kid' kept on playing poker successfully, for instance by winning the 'United States Poker Championship' in 1999. However, this success seemed to go to his head, or seemed to overstrain him respectively. He drank alcohol excessively, squandered his money and often felt so alone that things turned quiet around him in 2000.

However, already a year later he was able to pull himself together and changed his life radically. In 2001, he cashed in several tournaments and also called attention to himself in the WSOP Main Event, when he barely missed the final table as 11th.

In the following years as well, Daniel would kick up a fuss at the WSOP: In 2003, he won a S.H.O.E event, and in 2004, he won another bracelet in Limit Hold'em.
In the same year, Negreanu had five further in the money finishes in WSOP tourneys and won two WPT events. This outstanding performance was honoured with the 'WSOP Player Of The Year Award' as well as the 'Card Player Magazine
Player Of the Year Award'.

Chosen Tournament Wins
Year	Series	Tournament
2008	WSOP	Limit Hold'em
2006	WSOP	Jack Binion Circuit Event No-Limit Hold'em
2004	WPT	Five Diamond World Poker Classic No-Limit Hold'em
2004	WPT	Borgota Open No-Limit Hold'em
2004	WSOP	Limit Hold'em
2003	WSOP	S.H.O.E
1998	WSOP	Pot-Limit Hold'em

With four bracelets and two titles at the WPT by now, Negreanu is one of the most successful tournament players of all times. These wins and further top finishes let Negreanu's tournament winnings amount to an incredible sum of over $11,200,000. He is the player with the highest income at WPT tournaments and is only beaten by Jamie Gold in the 'All Time
Money List' for tournament winnings.

However, while a player like Jamie Gold is followed by a dubious reputation, Daniel Negreanu is well-regarded and respected by almost every poker player and fan. Besides his amazing poker skills and unique reads, it is the easy-going Negreanu who convinces - the ice hockey fan who likes to sit at the poker table in a shirt of his favourite team 'Toronto
Maple Leafs', or greets his mother enthusiastically.

Because of that alone, Negreanu's blog entries and poker articles are very popular. Besides his poker career, he thus virtually turned into a popular author. In 2007, he released his own poker book to the market: 'Hold'em Wisdom for All Players'.

As a poker fan, you could also experience his nice way at the TV series 'High Stakes Poker'. Negreanu is one of the few players who has been present in each season, and is the only one who also sat at the table in each episode. During this, it certainly caught your eye that Daniel is a vegan. Since he started playing poker at the age of 18, his mother has made his meals regularly. This resulted into her being seen many a time at different poker events when she brought her son some food.

Cash Game in the Casino

In 2005, Daniel was shortly under contract at the Wynn Casino in Las Vegas. He played there exclusively, but cancelled the contract after a few months to not be limited to one casino. Consequently, 'Kid Poker' can also be found at the Big Game in the Bellagio every now and then, and at the cash game tables in Vegas.

However, Daniel Negreanu does not only play in casinos, he also plays online. After his own poker room ended up in failure, he has been a Team PokerStars Pro since 2007 and a figurehead of the company.

Off the poker table, Daniel remains loyal to his second passion, the billiard game. Furthermore, he enjoys playing video games and is an avid golfer.

On top of that, he gets involved in charities, like the 'Make a Wish Foundation' and several charitable companies from Canada. He also tries to play in tournaments which are for a good cause.

Meanwhile, Negreanu lives in Las Vegas and is divorced. From October 2005 to November 2007, he was married to his wife Lori.

If you still don't have enough of Daniel Negreanu, you will have to look forward to the next X-Men film: He will act as a poker player who will have to face a mutant (Wolverine).