WSOP Champion on Canadian TV

Published: Tuesday, May 26, 2009 Online-Casinos.com

Toronto, Canada, native, poker celebrity, Daniel Negreanu was on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's talk show The Hour last nght. Negreanu's road to fame gives hope to mostly young amateur poker players and makes most parents cringe. Leaving high school just one credit shy of graduation, he built up his bankroll in underground games all over Toronto. Warehouses, basements, clubs where Negreanu was consistently up against people double or even triple his age.

At 21, he took his shot, and went to Las Vegas. It didn't go so well. He lost his entire bankroll. Bullying pots in Vegas isn't quite the same as bullying in Toronto - people pushed back...hard. Now a lot of people would pack it in, call it quits, and find themselves a nice 9 to 5. Instead, Negreanu returned to Toronto, built his bankroll back up and fixed the weaknesses in his game.

In 1998, Negreanu became the youngest player, at 23, to win a Word Series of Poker bracelet then in 2003, he added another. In 2004, he made 11 finals tables, added a third World Series of Poker bracelet, and earned over 4 million dollars. How did he do it? Like any poker player will tell you, it's more about your opponents than the cards dealt to you. Reading their mannerisms, playing style, personality, it can help you take down a King-Queen with a mere 5-2.

Negreanu is one the best in the world at reading his opponents, and possibly irritating them as well. But even that has it's purpose. As one of the more colourful personalities on the Poker tour, Negreanu is constantly talking, joking, and poking at his opponents. But the more he talks, the more he learns. Negreanu is famous for getting people off their games, predicting their moves, and forcing them to make mistakes.

Negreanu was very candid on the show explaining that it takes skill and stamina to win at poker. He explained how todays young poker champions are learning a lot by playing online poker. When they come to the tables at the Main event they are really focused and in good physical shape to stay keen. At 34 years old now he said staying fit is one of his tactics and it is more difficult to win now mainly because almost 9000 people start at the tournament. The olds are higher someone will beat you, he concluded.