Daniel Negreanu, Professional Poker Player, Online Casino Poker, Play Poker, Online Poker Articles, Poker Gambling Tips

Daniel Negreanu

 

Daniel Negreanu has been steering an unstoppable hurricane right across the green felt over the past twelve months. Bluff recently caught up with him to chat about meatball subs, magic vitamins, Jesus and golf. Oh, and poker.

 

Daniel, you’re on fire. What’s going on? How do you do it?

 

I live by a motto that’s pretty simple: “Don’t do anything stupid.” I think a lot of pros try to do too much and they’re really not having enough faith in their system. A lot of guys try to make something happen when it’s not necessary. I don’t give up, I don’t get paranoid or stressed out, I just play.

 

You won over $4 million in tournaments alone last year. What are you going to spend it on and will you lend us $20 till Thursday?

 

Of course. After I won the $1.8 million at the Five Diamond Classic, I went off big time: I bought six Xbox games and two CDs. I spent about $500.

 

That’s why we like you. You’re so down to earth. What’s your most extravagant purchase to date?

 

I would say my Lexus SC 430 convertible.

 

Nice! You like to listen to your iPod at the table. What’s a typical Daniel Negreanu track list?

 

It’s funny, and a lot of people don’t believe me, but I often listen to the sounds of the ocean and birds chirping.

 

No industrial techno, then?

 

(Laughs) Late at night, if I need a boost, I’ll throw some Missy Elliot in there. But usually its like ‘massage music’ - just to keep me relaxed and focused.

 

Is that because you get impatient at the table?

 

Well, It keeps me from getting restless during those mundane, boring moments that can happen in poker. I’m also taking these new poker vitamins, which I’ll be endorsing soon – they help too.

 

Poker vitamins? What the…

 

It’s a new product. A guy from the auto racing industry approached me and said: ‘Try this, it will really help you focus.’ It’s got adrenalin blockers in it and it keeps you really relaxed. It keeps you on an even keel – calm, but alert. I started taking it and I was like, ‘Wow!’ As a poker player, especially in long tournaments, the key is to control your adrenalin.

 

You’ve said before that you need a high-pressure situation to stay focused.

 

Absolutely! I always thought of myself as a ‘play-off’ type performer. When the pressure’s on that’s when I raise my game tenfold. If the pressure’s not there, I’m just useless, basically (laughs) .

 

We’re big fans of your blog at fullcontactpoker.com, where you write quite openly about your life. Is that strange for a poker player? Aren’t you supposed to ‘keep your cards close to your chest’?

 

I’ve always been a very open person and I feel like I’ve been through a lot in the poker world. I know a lot of young people read my blog and if they can take something from it that might make a difference to them, then it’s a good thing. It’s good to share your problems. I used to write about the days when I was drinking and partying in Vegas and going broke all the time. I like to share the struggles I’ve been through because I genuinely feel that they can make a difference to someone.

 

You talk about your wild days, but you recently found Jesus?

 

Yeh, I’ve always been a logical person, I always wanted proof of everything. But I read this book called Case for Christ and that was that.

 

Has it improved your game?

 

100 percent.

 

How?

 

I’m a happier person. If you look at the timeline of my results, finding my faith and my big wins coincide. There’s less bitterness in my heart, there’s no anger or venom or jealousy - I can just focus on poker. You’ve got to realize that when you’re doing poorly, it’s often based on your mental state. If you’re having trouble in your life it’s virtually impossible to do well at poker.

 

And you’ve become less outspoken and opinionated these days. Do you regret some of the things you’ve said in the past?

 

I don’t really regret things I’ve said, because I’m happy about what I’ve become. The mistakes I’ve made in the past, I’m not proud of them, but I’ve learned from them, and maybe if I hadn’t made them I wouldn’t be who I am today. But it basically comes down to being less judgemental. In the past, I was too quick to judge others. I try to see the bigger picture now.

 

Someone once called poker ‘the most realistic of all disciplines’, by which they meant that there’s no room for superstition in the game. Do you have any quirky superstitions? A favorite hand, perhaps?

 

I think it’s unlucky to be superstitious (laughs) . I realized from a young age that I was going to take a very businesslike, scientific approach to this game and that that would mean eliminating the kind of thought process that tells you: “I’m on a rush, so I should play differently,” or: “This dealer is my lucky dealer.” Completely avoid that way of thinking. I jokingly talk about 10-7 offsuit being my favorite hand, because I’ve been ridiculously lucky with it, but I wouldn’t play it any differently because of that. It’s coincidence.

 

You were a teenage rounder back in Toronto , but did you ever have a crap job?

 

I was a telemarketer for precisely one afternoon. I could have been a world champion Subway sandwich maker too. If I had gone pro and traveled the world making Subway sandwiches, I could have been the best.

 

I bet you packed a mean meatball sub. What’s this Stacked video game you’ve got involved with?

 

This is by far the coolest and most exciting project I’ve ever got involved with. It’s a game that’ll be released both for Xbox and Playstation 2 in mid-July. What’s unique about it is that the artificial intelligence involved is so much more advanced than any of the other games out there on the market. The computer will actually adapt its play to your play. If it thinks you’re bluffing too much, the computer will pick up on that and start to call you more often. This is software that has been worked on by a university department in for the last twelve years. It’s actually called ‘Pokie’ and we have exclusive rights to it. So you’ll work your way up from the lower rankings and eventually you’ll play against me. I don’t even know if I’ll be able to beat myself. We’ve got Jennifer Harman, Evelyn Ng, Josh Arieh, David Williams, Eric Lindgren and Carlos Mortenson involved too.

 

You’ve been hesitant to endorse products up to now. Is there any reason for that?

 

Absolutely. I will not do anything unless I think it’s the absolute best possible product. If I’m putting my name to something I have to really believe in it. I just got involved with a new online poker room called PokerMountain.com. I turned down over 100 offers from poker rooms before I found this one. I was impressed with what they had to offer and I know they’ll be successful, so I decided to break my longstanding ‘free agency’.

 

We hear you’ve been tutoring celebs like Tobey Maguire?

 

I wouldn’t go so far as to say I’m a coach. I discuss poker with celebrities and I’ve helped them with their games here and there. But I’m not a paid tutor. Mimi Rogers might call me up and say, “Daniel, I had this hand…’ but that’s about it. Tobey Maguire doesn’t need my help too much. I would never take any credit for his abilities, because he’s very, very good and he’s done it on his own. He’s a legitimate player. He’s more of a poker player than he is a celebrity (laughs) .

 

How does Daniel relax outside of poker?

 

My life is in major transition right now so a lot of the things that I would like to do, I’m not doing, because I don’t have enough time. Golfing was something that I loved doing when I was doing it, but I just haven’t been able to recently. Golf is a great escape when you spend your days in a stuffy poker room. It’s also challenging – like poker, it’s a personal challenge – and I think that’s why a lot of poker players like it.

 

Is there a lady in your life or is it just you and Mushu (Daniel’s beloved Chihuahua )?

 

I’m kind of engaged actually, but she lives in Michigan and I live in Vegas, so we’re kind of working things out at the moment. She’s a great woman. She’s been the single most influential person in my entire life.

 

Aww!

 

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