Poker Tales - The Rise of Kid Poker

Thousands of poker players wake up every day from a dream in which they have finally made it at poker. Winning bracelets, WPT titles, huge sums in cash game sessions, and living the high life on the Las Vegas Strip is a dream they all share. For most, the dream will never come true, but for others it already has and they are the idols of the poker community. Few in the world of poker can say they have accomplished more or gained more fame and fortune than Daniel Negreanu.

Unlike some of the other pros, Daniel didn’t have it easy. He was born in Toronto to parents who were Romanian refugees, Annie and Constantin. Daniel was not a model child, and at a young age he had trouble following the rules and behaving. While most boys dreamed of being firefighters or policemen, Daniel dreamed of becoming a professional snooker player and spent most of his youth in pool halls, playing pool, betting sports and eventually playing poker.

Young Daniel started building his poker bankroll playing in charity casinos in Toronto and he was crushing the games there on a consistent basis. At the age of 21, as one would expect, Daniel made his way to Las Vegas, dreaming of riches and glory. But, instead of glory, Daniel found misery, as his bankroll was quickly busted by the sharks of the City of Lights and by his own inexperience. It was back to Canada for young Dan, but as champions do, he just kept on fighting, rebuilding his bankroll, and ended up busting it a few more times in Vegas.

In 1998, Daniel finally made his way into the poker elite. He entered a $2,000 Pot Limit Hold’em event at the World Series of Poker and ended up winning it. At the age of 23 he was then the youngest player to have won a bracelet, giving him a nickname that stuck, “Kid Poker.” It would take Daniel a few years after that to win his next big event, but once he did, he never looked back.

In 2003, Kid Poker won his second bracelet, this time in a SHOE event, proving that he can play all the games and can play them with the best. That win gave him a lot of confidence and in 2004 he had the best year of his life. Daniel ended up winning two WPT tournaments that year, one in Borgata and the other in Bellagio, as well as his third WSOP bracelet in a Limit Hold’em event. The year was made even better for Daniel when he made eight other final tables in major tournaments around the circuit. Kid Poker was now the one to beat, and the poker media praised him as one of the best in the world.

Tournament victories kept coming for Kid Poker and prompted PokerStars to name Daniel as a Team Pokerstars Pro in 2007. He soon became the face of the company, a position that he holds today, and is possibly the most recognizable poker face throughout the world. After being named a Pokerstars Pro, Daniel kept traveling the world playing in tournaments and cash games, and kept winning as well.

In 2008, Daniel once again won a $2,000 Limit Hold’em event at the WSOP, and in 2013 won two more bracelets in Australia and Europe, making him the first player to win WSOP titles on three continents. 2013 also saw Daniel win his first online title at Pokerstars in a $5,200 Pot Limit Omaha tournament for over $200,000.

Kid Poker’s total tournament winnings now exceed $29,000,000 and continue to rise with almost every tournament series held, as he keeps sweeping his opponents aside and coming out on top. We expect to see many more wins racked up by Negreanu in the future.