Daniel Negreanu is one of the most feared and popular poker players on the planet today. He is not only amazingly skillful, but it seems that he can get into the head of an opponent like no other, and put them on a hand in a way that almost appears to be ESP. He has won almost everywhere he has gone, in almost every game, and by his own account has had only one losing year in his entire career. He will also be a big part of the upcoming season of High Stakes Poker on the GSN Network. Daniel talked with us about that, that modern state of poker, and about how the game has changed over the past decade
br> Launchpoker: Daniel, you are a big part of the upcoming season of High Stakes Poker. You are obviously a very successful tournament player, and you have no doubt had plenty of success playing high stakes cash games. Which do you gravitate to? Daniel Negreanu: Well, when I started my career, cash games were my bread and butter. They weren’t no limit holdem, it was limit holdem and then it was mixed games. What I used tournaments for, were more of like a treat, if you will. So, cash games were the bread and butter; that’s how I made my money, and tournaments were, you know, you took some shots. As time evolved, and poker tournaments got on television and became a big deal, I started doing more of that. I built a bankroll so I don’t have to grind quite as much in cash games. Now I would say the majority of my play is tournaments, and very little is cash.
br> Launchpoker: A great moment on the show High Stakes Poker was when you and Gabe Kaplan traded seats. You got to be the host, and he got to play. When the co-host seat became available, did you entertain any notion of possibly taking that position?Daniel Negreanu: Actually, I considered it for about 0.0000 seconds. No, absolutely not, no. It’s not something that I don’t feel like I couldn’t do, that’s not the issue. I enjoy playing, and I would always want to be a player first. With cool events, or cool kind of TV programs, if I have a choice, I want to be at the table and not in the booth.
br> Launchpoker: You’re a player who is successful both online and in live casino games, do you have a preference?Daniel Negreanu: I wouldn’t even say that I am successful online or live. Clearly live, I have had success, but online, not really. Not so much. I never really put in enough time and energy online to be successful. So, I wouldn’t even say that. So obviously I prefer live because it plays better to my strengths; the ability to see people, understand how they think, and see what they’re wearing. ~laughs~
br> Launchpoker: In the past, you have displayed almost a psychic ability to put people on a hand. Is this something that comes natural, or is this something you had to develop?Daniel Negreanu: Well, it’s not psychic, I mean a lot of people think it’s magic, but it’s really not. It comes down to a few things. First it comes down to understanding how a person’s mind works. The better you have that down, the more you can sort of narrow down the type of hands they will play in situations. You couple that with some physical tells and the way that they bet their chips. Then you combine that with sort of their betting patterns and how they play in certain situations. So, there are certain situations where I say, “okay, you can’t have that, you can’t have that, you can’t have that”, it’s just deductive reasoning. Then you say “Okay, that’s what you have!” A lot of pros do that, I just don’t think a lot of them verbalize it.
br> Launchpoker: Is there any event or tournament that you have had problems with; you know, that one event where things just don’t seem to go your way?Daniel Negreanu: Well, for me, the one that I’ve had the toughest run of luck…it’s funny, because when I play the Bellagio, I do well, there’s no cameras, I get on High Stakes Poker and spooky things happen. I’ve run into quads three or four times on the show and I’ve looked, there have never been quads on the show except if I’m in the pot. So I’ve had just a really tough time dealing with the bad luck that I have had on the show. Plus, as the shows progressed, it’s becoming even more sophisticated, and the players are even better. So the show has got less of the casual players involved; now it’s just mostly pros.
br> Launchpoker: How much do you think the game has changed in the last ten years?Daniel Negreanu: Oh, it’s changed immensely. I mean, you look at some of the people that could win ten years ago, because the game was easier. Today, they simply have no chance. They struggle because the average player has gotten so much better. They’re just a lot more intelligent. The players that don’t evolve and improve their game, they’re just not going to win anything.
br> Launchpoker: This ties into something you said about a year ago. In the winter of 2009 you made some comments about Phil Hellmuth and that it is unlikely that he will win another WSOP bracelet. Could you flesh that out a little?Daniel Negreanu: Well yeah, I was speaking earlier about players that were successful ten years ago, that could no longer compete in the young, up and coming brand of poker, and he’s a prime example of a guy who had a style works well with novice players, amateurs, and players in the pre-boom. But the kids today, he just hasn’t caught up to the sophistication of the way that they play, and they really just take advantage of him. He’s probably worse today then he’s ever been in terms of poker, in relation to the average player. If you look at his numbers, he hasn’t won a $10,000 buy-in or come in second in a $10,000 buy-in since 1989. That’s a long time. There have been a lot of tournaments that have been played since then, and he’s really not shown any sort of fundamental ability to beat the new age poker players. And he doesn’t spend a lot of time planning out his game; he’s spending a lot of time trying to hobnob with celebrities and whatnot. The only thing I find offensive is …its one of two things with him. Its either A, he tells people that he’s the best hold’em player in the world, by far. Okay. That’s either, A, just a blatant lie, or B, so delusional to think that he can compete with Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan, and Patrik Antonious. I’ll take myself completely out of the equation. I’m looking at those guys, and I play with them, and I look at the difference, they’re so much more advanced. There are kids today that are 20, 22 years old that would absolutely lick their lips if they could get Phil Hellmuth in a game, because he is fundamentally so much weaker than they are, because they have spent the time and they’ve put in the energy. So, I have absolutely no respect for his ability to win now, and don’t think, unless he learns to play poker again, he’s going to be able to compete. It’s something I’ve been conscious of, the online play, for the last three years and understanding that I need to make adjustments, and I need to improve my game. I don’t think he’s there yet, and I don’t know if he ever will get there because of his massive ego.
br> Launchpoker: Poker is a big part of the pop culture now, and your one of the bigger figures in the sport. What is the most untrue thing you have seen in the press about yourself?Daniel Negreanu: I would say that there is a misconception about my background in terms of high stakes poker, because I’ve lost on that show and had bad luck, and people assume that I lose in high stakes games at the Bellagio, and nothing could be further from the truth. I’ve only had one losing year, and that was the year 2000, when I just drank for a year, and had fun. But other than that, I mean I feel today that in terms of overall poker skills, I think mine are underrated in the public eye in terms how well I can play all the games. I think I’m a complete player, not just a hold’em player.
We would like to thank Daniel Negreanu for taking the time to speak with us. Those who would like to see him competeing against the best high stakes poker players in the world should tune in to the High Stakes Poker season premier on February 14th, at 8PM on GSN. Check your local listings for times.
