Daniel Negreanu

Daniel Negreanu is one of the more popular poker players on the tournament circuit. He’s a crowd favorite, as fans recognize him from TV. They regularly for pictures and autographs, and when he can break away from the table, he obliges. So given that, and his results as a poker player, we thought we’d write up a brief biography for him.

Early Life

Daniel Negreanu was born in Toronto, Ontario in 1974 to Romanian emigrants. From a young age he was ambitious. He knew he wanted to be rich, and for a short period, entertained the idea of becoming an actor.

He was also a troublemaker, frequently getting into trouble in school for his manners and behavior. Not that it mattered. By the time he hit 15-16 he already learned how to play poker, and was spending his time in pool halls betting on sports and playing cards. He quit school a few credits shy of graduation.

From there he worked on building his poker bankroll. He spent a lot of his time in local charity and illegal underground games, honing his skills and bankroll for his shot at Las Vegas.

His took his first shot at Las Vegas at 22 years old. But Vegas spit him out just as fast as he arrived. Daniel returned to Toronto with his tail between his legs. But not for long. He rebuilt his bankroll, headed back out to Las Vegas, and hasn’t looked back since.

Earnings, Tournament Scores and Bracelets

Although Negreanu is a well-rounded player, I think it’s obvious that his specialty lies in tournaments. He’s been playing tournaments since the 1990s and has racked up an impressive number of wins, final table appearances and cashes. It was hard, but we hand picked some of our favorite scores that Daniel has had up until 2013.

1998 WSOP Pot Limit Holdem – 1st - $169,460
1999 US Poker Championship – 1st - $210,000
2002 WSOP Omaha Hi/Lo – 2nd - $85,400
2003 L.A. Poker Classic (WPT) PLO – 1st - $49,400
2003 WSOP S.H.O.E. – 1st - $100,440
2003 WSOP NLHE – 2nd - $210,980
2004 WSOP LHE – 1st - $169,100
2004 Borgata Poker Open (WPT) – 1st - $1,117,400
2004 Five Diamond World Poker Classic (WPT) – 1st - $1,770,218
2005 6th Annual Jack Binion World Poker Open (WPT) – 3rd - $384,322
2006 Jack Binion WSOP Circuit – 1st - $755,525
2007 World Poker Open (WPT) NLHE #20 – 2nd - $502,691
2008 WSOP #20 LHE – 1st - $204,863
2009 WSOP #14 LHE – 2nd - $138,280
2009 WSOPE Main Event – 2nd - $783,061
2011 PokerStars EPT Caribbean Adventure – 2nd - $1,000,000
2012 EPT Grand final NLHE High Roller – 2nd - $791,649
2013 WSOP Asia-Pacific – 1st - $1,087,160

Keep in mind – we grabbed a combination of his 1st and 2nd place wins, and highest cash scores. He’s earned over $17 million in tournament wins alone. That doesn’t count cash games, endorsement deals and other wagers that he makes.

Along with his tournament scores Daniel has also won awards and records. His most notable awards include:

Winning the Card Player Magazine’s Favorite Poker Player award at the POY Awards in 2006.
Winning 5 WSOP bracelets.
Winning the 2004 ESPN Player of the Year.
Having 60 cashes in the WSOP.

You can see all of his major accomplishments at Full Contact Poker. [1]

Daniel Negreanu: A Friend and Enemy of Many

Daniel Negreanu is a polarizing person. Lots of people like him, and like playing poker with him. It’s not uncommon to hear players state that they felt more comfortable at the table, even during their first time, because Negreanu sat down and started to chat everyone up. He likes to have fun, while ensuring that everyone else is having fun, too.

He’s also known for being opinionated. Depending on where you stand on a particular issue, his opinions might or might not rub you the wrong way.

Most of his ‘good’ opinions revolve around poker and trying to put poker in a better light. Progressing the game, and getting more people involved. So he comments on anything from tournament structures, to rulings, to situations like the Ladies Event at the WSOP, where in recent years we’ve seen some insensitive actions from other ‘pro’ players.

On the other hand, he’s known not to hold back when it comes to individuals and his feelings towards them. One person in particular that he’s gone back and forth with is Annie Duke, sister of Howard Lederer. He’s made comments about her table etiquette, stance on women’s rights (in poker), her failures in regards to Epic Poker, and her role at Ultimate Bet, the now out of business poker site that has had it’s own share of scandals. You can find many of the old forum posts from RGP at 2+2. [2] If you follow him on his blog, Twitter or Facebook pages, you’ll undoubtedly see the occasional Duke comment.

What’s Daniel Negreanu Up to Today?

Daniel Negreanu is busy, to say the least. He continues to play poker, and has had a stellar 2013, winning a bracelet in the Asia-Pacific WSOP. He’s also a regular in the big cash games, namely the one at Bobby’s Room at the Bellagio, as well as on TV shows like Late Night Poker, Poker After Dark and High Stakes Poker.

He runs his own blog at Full Contact Poker, too, splitting his posts up between written articles and videos. Daniel also updates his own Facebook and Twitter accounts.

In addition to playing poker, he has different contractual obligations to uphold. One is with PokerStars, whom he’s been with since 2007.

Outside of poker, he enjoys golf, making prop bets and participating in charity events, like Ante Up for Africa, and the Big Swing, a charity golf event that he started.

Ultimately, and arguably most important, Daniel continues to be an advocate for poker, working to improve how the public views it and making it better for everyone of all walks of life to play.

6 Facts About Daniel Negreanu

Here are 7 interesting facts about Daniel Negreanu.

1. Daniel won his first bracelet at 23 years old.

2. He had a small role as a poker player in the movie, X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

3. Daniel started his own online poker site in 2005. It was called Full Contact Poker. However, following his signing with PokerStars the site was converted into an informational portal and blog.

4. Daniel has written 3 books. One is titled Hold’em Wisdom for all Players, Power Hold’em Strategy and More Hold’em Wisdom for all Players. He has also contributed to Doyle Brunson’s Super System II and has written more than 100 articles for Card Player Magazine.

5. He was married once in 2005, but divorced in 2007.