Daniel Negreanu
Daniel "Kid Poker" Negreanu (born July 26, 1974 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a professional poker player.
Early life
Daniel Negreanu's parents, Annie and Constantin, moved to Canada from Romania in 1967 with their two sons. With just one credit short of graduation, he 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. 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.
Poker career
His luck began to change starting in 1997 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.
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".
Negreanu is known for his ability to "read" other players. This means that he can gather information about his opponent's hand by studying their betting patterns and physical expressions, although it is difficult to assess how well he, or any other player, is able to do this. He has written over 100 articles for CardPlayer Magazine and contributed to Doyle Brunson's "bible" of poker sequel 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.
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.
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 listening to music 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.
Tournament finishes of over $35,000
| Event | Description | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha | 8th / 145 | $45,000 |
| 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 |
| 2003 L.A. Poker Classic | $500 Pot Limit Omaha | 1st / 136 | $49,400 |
| 2003 L.A. Poker Classic | $500 Pot Limit Omaha | 1st / 136 | $49,400 |
| 2002 World Series of Poker | $5,000 Omaha Hi/Lo Split | 2nd / 79 | $85,400 |
| 2002 L.A. Poker Classic | $1,000 Omaha Hi/Lo | 1st / 123 | $46,740 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 1997 World Poker Finals | $100 Limit Hold'em | 1st / 376 | $37,600 |
As of January 2006, his winnings exceed $7,300,000 and he is the second all-time leading money winner on the WPT circuit, trailing only Tuan Le.