Daniel Negraneau

Daniel Negreanu was born in Toronto, Ontario on 26th July, 1974 to parents Anna and Constantin, who had fled communist Romania in 1967 to find a fresh start. It was clear from an early age that Daniel would not follow a conventional path in life.

He first learnt to play poker at age 15, and was gambling and hanging out in pool halls by age 16. He failed to graduate high school by only a few credits, and commenced sniffing out illegal games around the city while making the rounds of various high stakes games, most notably at Casino Country and Fundtime Games. He moved to Las Vegas in 1996, only to be forced to move back to Toronto after losing his bankroll.

Negreanu’s first professional year was 1997, where he broke through to win three tournaments, two of which were held at the World Poker Finals. The following year he won his first World Series of Poker bracelet, and at 24 was the youngest player to have done so. This record stood until 2004.

He won additional bracelets in 2003, 2004, and 2008, and has a total of 23 WSOP final table appearances, and 48 money finishes. Daniel excels in all forms of the game, including Limit and No Limit Hold’em, Omaha and Omaha Hi/Lo, Razz, and Stud. He currently places sixth in overall poker tournament rankings. He was named Card Player of the Year and WSOP Player of the Year in 2004, 2004-2005 WPT Player of the Year, and CardPlayer Magazine’s “Favourite Poker Player” in 2006.

As of 9th January, 2011, Daniel is once again at the top of the All Time Money List, retaking the title from Phil Ivey by taking second place at the Super High Roller event at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.

Negreanu’s demeanour at the table is the exact opposite of some of today’s biggest poker professionals: He is nice – really nice. So nice, in fact, that a lot of players are not intimidated by him, and often underestimate his skill level, only to rethink their perception after losing.

He is also quite personable, appearing often at public events, and has been featured on the big screen in such movies as X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Grand, and Lucky You, as well as Katy Perry’s music video for Waking Up in Vegas. On the small screen, he has been featured on High Stakes Poker and Poker After Dark.

In addition, Daniel has just released a book titled Power Hold’em Strategy. He is currently a member of Team PokerStars, where he is undertaking a personal bankroll challenge to turn $10 into $100,000.