Player profile: Daniel "The Kid" Negreanu

December 22, 9:28 PMOnline Poker ExaminerSteven Ruddock

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Daniel Negreanu

One of the most colorful, and therefore, popular players, Daniel Negreanu is also one of the games very best. I can personally attest to his accessibility and good nature.

When I began taking the game seriously (back before the poker boom, when only the most hardcore poker players would know who Daniel Negreanu was) I would often discuss hands with Daniel via e-mail, and his help and insights greatly reduced my learning curve. I have also met Daniel on several occasions, he's simply an all around good person.

The Canadian born Negreanu has been playing cards since age 16. He spent his teen years in pool halls and looking for illegal games around Toronto. After carefully building up his bankroll he moved to Vegas, to take his shot. Unfortunately, the city got the best of him the first time around, and he was forced to move back to Toronto.

Undeterred, he stuck with poker, and in 1997, he won two events at the World Poker Finals at Foxwoods. He was also named the tournament's best all-around player. Negreanu followed up his East Coast success by winning $169,460 at the $2,000 Pot Limit Hold'em event in the 1998 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, becoming the youngest WSOP bracelet winner in history.

Negreanu has since won 4 WSOP bracelets, has 2 WPT titles, and is considered one of the best cash game players in the world. He was also the WSOP player of the year in 2004, WPT player of the year in 2005, and has been at 12 WSOP final tables and 8 WPT final tables. Not bad for a guy who went broke at 21!

In May 2008, Negreanu's book Power Hold'em Strategy was released. The book resembles the Doyle Brunson book Super/System in that it has contributions from several other poker players, including Evelyn Ng, Erick Lindgren, Paul Wasicka, Todd Brunson and David Williams. Negreanu's section presents and explains the strategy of small ball poker.

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

He has written over 100 articles for CardPlayer Magazine and contributed to Doyle Brunson's revised book, Super System II. He has tutored on the web as part of Poker School Online, and also personally given lessons to celebrities such as Tobey Maguire.

Daniel also maintains a blog at www.fullcontactpoker.com.

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