Daniel Negreanu – Kid Poker
Tweet ShareJune 23, 2010 by Mike Ferguson · Leave a Comment
If Phil Ivey is the king of the poker world, then Daniel Negreanu is surely a prince, or knight or some other kind of poker royalty. The Canadian with the unpronounceable name (for the record it’s Neh-GRAN-ooh) is universally well liked, approachable, and generally regarded as an ambassador and asset for the game of poker.
He earned the nickname Kid Poker in 1998 as a result of being the then youngest World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner in history at the age of 24, although 2009 Main Event winner Joe Cada currently holds that distinction.
Since moving to Las Vegas at the age of 21 to establish himself as a professional poker player, Negreanu has built up a poker empire as a syndicated columnist, blogger, poker book author, poker instructor and video tutor who regularly appears on television and makes appearances in films, when not owning poker tournaments that have contributed to him being second on the all-time career earnings list, having only recently been ousted from the number one spot by Phil Ivey.
Not bad for a high school dropout who was the source of considerable worry to his Romanian parents, who had fled to the west to escape Communism in order to seek a better life and provide opportunities for their children. Prior to discovering poker, Negreanu spent most of his teen years in pool halls, with his sights set on becoming a champion snooker player.
At the age of 16, poker replaced pool and he ditched high school in favor of legal as well as illegal games in Toronto, where he had a relationship for a time with Evelyn Ng, who he met when he was 17. Negreanu has written in his blog that he was a terrible tutor for Ng, and she eventually did well on the tables in Vegas, as she had previously in Ontario, just as soon as she stopped taking his advice.
Outgrowing Toronto, Negreanu headed to Vegas in his early twenties, and made an eight-month run before going busto, forcing him back to Canada to lick his wounds and rebuild his bankroll.
His second assault on Vegas was more successful, yet Negreanu didn’t really bust out until he reevaluated his career choice, which has been attributed to the to be expected soul-searching as a result of the death of his father.
Shortly thereafter, he was on the rise, first winning two events at the World Poker Finals at Foxwoods in 1997, cashing in for $55,064 and being named best all-around player. Then came the WSOP win in 1998 in the $2,000 Pot Limit Hold’em event, earning $169,460 and the title as youngest bracelet holder up to that point.
He followed that up by winning two World Poker Tour (WPT) events, along with 3 additional WSOP bracelets, making 12 final tables and being named World Series of Poker player of the year in 2004 and World Poker Tour player of the year in 2005.
In 2007, Negreanu signed with PokerStars, becoming an esteemed member of the prestigious Team PokerStars.
World Series of Poker bracelets:
1998 $2,000 Pot Limit Hold’em $169,460
2003 $2,000 S.H.O.E. $100,440
2004 $2,000 Limit Hold’em $169,100
2008 $2,000 Limit Hold’em $204,874
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