Daniel Negreanu, Poker Player

by Jennifer Newell

He is one of the most well-known players in the game. He has set records, written books, appeared on television shows, launched a poker training website, and accomplished more in a decade than most will during their entire careers. He is Daniel Negreanu.

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Born in 1974 to Romanian parents, Negreanu was raised in Toronto with an older brother by parents who earned a modest living but provided a solid education and foundation for their children to pursue their dreams. While they didn't suspect that their youngest would go the direction he did, their apprehension and concern eventually led to unconditional support.

Negreanu discovered a knack for sports betting and billiards hustling during his teenage years, and those activities led to the discovery of poker. He learned the game well enough to challenge his fellow high school students to cash games, where he not only won but took those skills to the back room games at local establishments to beat the adults as well. He first traveled to Las Vegas at the age of 21 with bankroll in hand, but he returned home when he didn't find the success he chased. But after rebuilding his bankroll in private games and Canadian card rooms, he left for Las Vegas again, which has been his home ever since.

He quickly began to find tournament poker success, as an August 1997 win at the Heavenly Hold'em tournament in Los Angeles set him on a path that not even he could have predicted. But at the same time, he experienced the loss of his father, Constantin, which deeply saddened but inspired him to make the most of his new career. He won two tournaments at the Foxwoods World Poker Finals in late 1997, as well as the honor of becoming that series' best all-around player. The young player was beginning to show that he was proficient in many variations of poker and a certain force to be reckoned with in hold'em.

Nicknamed "Kid Poker" because of his young age, the newest player on the scene was on a tear. By the summer of 1998, he was able to claim the title of World Series of Poker bracelet winner by taking down the $2,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em event for more than $169,000. In 1999, he won the United States Poker Championship in Atlantic City for $210,000. The final tables and preliminary event wins continued to accumulate in the years to come.

The next few years were admittedly tough for Negreanu, as he began to discover the downsides of the poker circuit lifestyle and careless money management. But it was through those experiences that he learned from the mistakes, set out to improve his life and his game, the results of which were evident as he soared as a star player once again. In 2003, he claimed another WSOP bracelet, this time in a S.H.O.E. tournament and made two other WSOP final tables. The following year brought six WSOP cashes, one of which was his third bracelet, as well as six World Poker Tour final tables, two of which were WPT victories, and the Borgata Poker Open and WPT World Championship titles garnered him the coveted WPT Player of the Year title.

Negreanu's list of accomplishments in poker includes 20 WPT cashes and 43 WSOP cashes, four of which were bracelets and the latest of which was a second place finish at the WSOP Europe Main Event in 2009. As of April 2010, he had $12,583,677 in tournament winnings to his credit, which doesn't include cash game earnings or online poker successes, and that amount has him battling with Phil Ivey for the top position on the all-time earnings list with only a few thousand dollars separating the two.

Not only does Negreanu continue to seek more tournament victories in events all over the world, but he plays in the largest cash poker game in the world at Bobby's Room in the Bellagio, a game that often requires millions of dollars to participate and boasts of other names like Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, and Jennifer Harman. His signing as a PokerStars Team Pro has taken him into the realm of star sponsorship as well as voice-over work for tournament broadcasts. He has also found the time to pen several books about poker strategy as well as create PokerVT, a poker training websites that contains videos for all levels of play and features a line-up of top-notch pros. He was also integral in the launch of Full Contact Poker, a website where he continues to maintain a regular blog to keep in touch with his fans.

Negreanu is also no stranger to television. He has appeared on numerous television shows as a featured tournament and cash game player, and is a regular on shows like High Stakes Poker on GSN. And most recently, the entrepreneur also appeared in a full season of the PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge as its star player, and the show ran a successful season on Fox Sports Net. Cameo appearances in music videos, i.e. Kate Perry, and movies like The Grand and Lucky You, not to mention a cameo in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, have given him worldwide publicity and only added to his notoriety.

In his spare time, Negreanu enjoys golfing and frequently participates in charity poker tournaments and other philanthropic ventures. The 2009 death of his mother, Ann, inspired him to live life with even more enthusiasm and vigor, which is obvious to anyone who watches him in a poker tournament. The poker table is clearly where he is most comfortable.

Read Daniel Negreanu's Profile for more information including his tournament results and total winnings.

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Jennifer Newell is a freelance writer, originally from St. Louis but now living in Los Angeles. She fell in love with poker while working at WPT and began writing about it in 2005.