Daniel Negreanu

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

**Daniel Negreanu**
Daniel Negreanu in a World Poker Tour event
Nickname(s)	Kid Poker
Hometown	Las Vegas, Nevada
World Series of Poker
Bracelet(s)	3
Money finishes	24(+1)
Highest ITM main event finish	11th (2001)
World Poker Tour
Titles	2
Final tables	5(+1)
Money Finishes	10

Daniel "Kid Poker" Negreanu (born July 26, 1974 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a professional poker player.

1 Early life
2 Poker career
3 Personal life
4 Tournament finishes of over $50,000
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Early life

Daniel Negreanu's parents, Annie and Constantin, moved to Canada from Romania in 1967. When he was just one credit short of graduation, Daniel dropped out of high school and began his life as a rounder playing at the local charity casinos and looking for illegal games around the city. While in Toronto, Daniel met and began dating Evelyn Ng who would also become a well known professional poker player. After building up his bankroll, he left for Las Vegas at the age of 21 to pursue his dream of becoming a professional poker player. However, "The Strip" got the better of him and he was forced to move back home to Toronto to rebuild his bankroll.

[edit] Poker career

In 1997 his luck began to change when he won two events at the World Poker Finals at Foxwoods, earning himself $133,600 as well as being named the tournament's best all-around player. Negreanu followed this triumph in the 1998 World Series of Poker by winning $169,460 at the $2,000 Pot Limit Hold'em event and becoming the youngest WSOP bracelet winner in history — a record he held until 2004.

Over the next few years, he became one of the most successful poker tournament players in history, winning two World Poker Tour (WPT) events, another two World Series bracelets, and appearing at 11 final tables. He was also named the World Series of Poker player of the year in 2004.

Upon opening, the Wynn Las Vegas resort recruited him as their "Poker Ambassador" to play for any stake in their poker room. The arrangement lasted until October 2005 when he opted out because it was restricting his ability to play for high stakes outside the Wynn. However, in December 2005 he started his own online poker cardroom "skin" site on his official site, Full Contact Poker, which also includes his blog and a variety of poker forums. He plays at his cardroom under the screen name "KidPoker". In 2006 he used Full Contact Poker to launch a campaign for a Protege, who Daniel would attempt to mold into a world-class live tournament poker player. In addition, he would buy the Protege in to four $10,000 buy-in events. Daniel's first Protege was Brian Fidler.

Some of Negreanu’s success is often attributed to his ability to read opponents. When asked about this skill, Negreanu explains the most important aspect he employs is observing what hands his opponents play and how they are capable of playing them.^[1]

He has written over 100 articles for CardPlayer Magazine and contributed to Doyle Brunson's Super System II. He has tutored on the web as part of Poker School Online and also personally given lessons to celebrities like Tobey Maguire. In addition, it was announced in early 2006 that Negreanu had assembled a team of "Superstar Contributors" to write a book called "Daniel Negreanu's Power Hold'em Strategy". Modeled after Brunson's "Super/System", the book delves into every aspect of hold'em, and is due to be released in early 2007.

Negreanu's other televised poker appearances include Late Night Poker, High Stakes Poker and Ultimate Poker Challenge (as a commentator and stand-in host.) He will also be appearing in the third season of Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament.

Negreanu was named "Favorite Poker Player" at the Card Player, Player of the Year Awards Gala in February 2006.

Negreanu is also featured in the 2006 poker video game "Stacked with Daniel Negreanu," providing tips and hints as to how to play effectively.

[edit] Personal life

On August 19, 2005 he married Lori Lin Weber and the two reside in Las Vegas, Nevada. Negreanu is easy to spot in a tournament, almost always wearing a hockey jersey and likes to listen to relaxing music like oceanwaves and pan on headphones which he says relaxes him so he can win. His surname is pronounced "Neg-rah-noo" but he is not bothered about how others choose to pronounce it.

Daniel is a vegetarian, and is well-known for eating healthy vegetarian meals at tournaments, which are commonly prepared by his mother. Daniel has also been known to enjoy many sushi restaurants in Las Vegas.

[edit] Tournament finishes of over $50,000

Event	Description	Place	Prize
2006 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions	Freeroll No Limit Hold'em	2nd / 27	$325,000
2006 National Heads-Up Poker Championship	$23,438 No Limit Hold'em	5th / 64	$75,000
2006 Jack Binion WSOP Tournament Circuit-Grand Tunica	$10,000 No Limit Hold'em	1st / 241	$755,525
2005 L.A. Poker Classic	$2,778 No Limit Hold'em	3rd / 180	$60,000
2005 The Sixth Annual Jack Binion World Poker Open	$10,000 No Limit Hold'em	3rd / 512	$384,322
2004 The Five Diamond World Poker Classic II	$15,000 No Limit Hold'em	1st / 376	$1,770,218
2004 Borgata Poker Open	$10,000 No Limit Hold'em	1st / 302	$1,117,400
2004 Championship Poker at the Plaza	$10,000 No Limit Hold'em	1st / 68	$310,000
2004 World Series of Poker	$2,000 Limit Hold'em	1st / 287	$169,100
2004 World Series of Poker	$1,000 No Limit Hold'em	3rd / 538	$100,940
2004 Party Poker Million III	$7,000 No Limit Hold'em	2nd / 546	$675,178
2004 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure	$7,500 No Limit Hold'em	3rd / 221	$192,270
2003 Showdown at the Sands	$10,000 No Limit Hold'em	6th / 197	$67,900
2003 World Series of Poker	$3,000 No Limit Hold'em	2nd / 398	$210,980
2003 World Series of Poker	$2,000 S.H.O.E.	1st / 135	$100,440
2002 World Series of Poker	$5,000 Omaha Hi/Lo Split	2nd / 79	$85,400
2002 L.A. Poker Classic	$300 Limit Hold'em	2nd / 591	$84,987
2002 L.A. Poker Classic	$500 Pot Limit Hold'em	1st / 227	$113,500
2001 World Series of Poker	$10,000 No Limit Hold'em	11th / 613	$63,940
2001 1st Annual World Poker Challenge	No Limit Hold'em	3rd / 171	$82,935
1999 United States Poker Championship	No Limit Hold'em	1st/ 70	$210,000
1998 World Series of Poker	$2,000 Pot Limit Hold'em	1st / 229	$169,460
1997 World Poker Finals	$1,500 Limit Hold'em	1st / 64	$96,000

As of August 2006, his total live tournament winnings exceed $8,400,000. He is the second all-time leading money winner on the WPT circuit, trailing only Tuan Le.^[2]