Daniel Negreanu

Daniel Negreanu was born in Canada in 1974, the son of immigrants from Romania. He dropped out of high school to play poker professionally, and even made a trip to Las Vegas to play in the big time. But it was a false start, and he had to return to Toronto to go back to work. Eventually, the dedication did pay off. His first big win came at Foxwoods in 1997. Then, Daniel won his first WSOP bracelet in 1998 in Pot Limit Hold'em. For six years he held the record as the youngest bracelet winner ever. His second one came in SHOE in 2003, and then his three-peat in 2004 was in No Limit Hold'em. In that same year, WSOP named him Player of the Year, as did Card Player Magazine. The year 2004 was a banner year for Negreanu. He took first at the WPT Borgata event in that year, and was the WPT's 2004 money leader because he had three other good finishes as well. After all those wins, his lifetime live tournament winnings had suddenly accumulated to almost $4.5 million.

Daniel is often seen at "the big game" at the Bellagio. He is respected for his ability to read opponents, which he says is simply noticing which hands they like to play and how well they play them. He makes frequent appearances in guest columns for Card Player Magazine and on poker-related telecasts. He is the editor and coordinator of Daniel Negreanu's Power Hold'em Strategy, a definitive work on Hold'em, patterned on Doyle Brunson's Super System, to which he also contributed. He also was named "Favorite Poker Player" at Card Player Magazine's 2006 Awards Presentation. As of 2008 his lifetime earnings in live tounaments exceed $10 million, putting him in fourth position behind only Phil Helmuth, Joe Hachem, and Jamie Gold. He is WPT's second all-time money winner. Daniel is widely liked by his colleagues as a talented player, a successful winner, and a pleasant personality. A number of other professionals count him as a close friend. Daniel Negreanu plays online and is a spokesperson for PokerStars.