Top 5 Daniel Negreanu Moments

The Canadian superstar of poker is one of those love-hate characters of the game – incredibly charismatic and great fun to be around or watch, but at the same time he seems overly self-confident that his every word or deed is the ‘one-true-way’! So here’s a little compilation of the best and worst of Dnegs so you can make up your own mind…

Daniel the lovable ‘soul-reader’

The all-time money winner is an affable soul at the table, always up for chit-chat and friendly banter – but at least part of this is an information-seeking exercise, and he’s one of the best in the game at extracting useful little nuggets… although my colleague here at PokerTube lets you all in on how it works in practice for Dnegs.

Daniel the political animal

Last year’s US election saw a different Negreanu to the fore – a fiercely anti-Trump rhetoric transforming him into a hate-filled Twitter beast, and, although it’s easy to understand his reasons, even friends were wondering if the bile was healthy for Negreanu… and it wasn’t just Trump who got it with both barrels, Trump-eter Mike Matusow coming in for some nasty and ill-advised personal abuse…

I used to really enjoy civil discussion with Republicans but I have so much hate for Trump and so little patience for his supporters.

— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) July 18, 2016

Daniel the PokerStars shill

This one is a long-running to and from between Negreanu and, well, just about everyone else in the poker world. Negreanu has been the high-profile face of the Amaya-owned poker giants, and despite all the changes the site has made affecting almost every aspect of the once-great company, Negreanu is still defending them on a weekly-basis.

His recent defense of the rake system incurred the wrath of long-time foe Doug Polk and a Twitter spat broke out – one which saw Dnegs ‘one true way’ against the rest of the poker world…

I'm not sure if you realize you're lying, but you specifically said that recreational players lose less and that's better for the ecosystem. https://t.co/jRC9rAVmlq

— gN Doug Polk (@DougPolkPoker) March 22, 2017

Daniel the passionate thinker

It’s clear from almost every aspect of his life and career that Negreanu is a passionate man who thinks and cares deeply about everything he does. Yes, that does spill over into an egocentric view at times, where others’ ideas are less important, but when he does focus on the greater good his thoughts are always intelligently articulated.

A recent blog post entitled ‘A foolproof plan to becoming a professional poker player’ should be required reading for any prospective pro setting out on a career in the game, and Daniel’s experience when he sticks to subjects like this makes it all the more relevant.

Daniel the nasty piece of work!

With the good always comes the bad, and Negreanu’s behavior on the odd occasion goes well beyond the boundaries of common decency! Perhaps it’s because he is usually seen as an upbeat, cheery character at the table that when he does get down and dirty it’s a bit of a shock.

As I wrote last year in a Top 5 Who hates Who in Poker ‘it’s not every day you’ll see the usually mild-mannered Negreanu calling someone a “fucking cunt”, so Annie Duke must have seriously pissed him off, and it apparently goes back to when Daniel was a newbie in town, trying to make his way among the poker world’s big names.’

Of course, he also uses his position to have a go at those who really deserve it, such as Chris Ferguson on his return to the WSOP last year…

Chris Ferguson returns to WSOP issuing no apologies, no remorse, as if nothing happened. Feels like a giant slap in the face to players.

— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) June 7, 2016

…but it’s probably useful to know that Daniel isn’t always the squeaky-clean nice guy of poker – you have been warned!