Daniel Negreanu Shares Secrets of His Wealth… Could You Emulate Kid Poker?

In poker’s history, no-one has built their profile in the game quite like Daniel Negreanu. Nicknamed ‘Kid Poker’, the Canadian All-Time Money List leader spoke with Sam Parr and Shaan Puri this week, talking about how he made his money on the My First Million podcast.

Podcast guests don’t come much better than the Canadian former PokerStars Team Pro and long-time GGPoker Global Ambassador Daniel Negreanu. This week, the man with $50m in live tournament earnings alone took to the airwaves as he joined Sam Parr and Shaan Puri on the My First Million podcast. In doing so, ‘DNegs’ revealed several secrets about his career and how he made money, some amazing stories about his fellow players and a single tip to help poker players of any level win more and lose less.

The Inspiration Behind Kid Poker

“In poker, as in life, it’s an opportunity for a breakthrough.”

When he first started playing poker, Daniel Negreanu admits that he was greener than the currency he was so desperate to grab when he took to the poker felt. Greenbacks didn’t come easy to the kid from Toronto, the son of a Romanian parent who moved to Las Vegas to hit the big time and fell short.

Explaining that he lost his entire bankroll early, Negreanu said that instead of putting him off, it taught him valuable lessons and that he conquered the leaks in his game. Negreanu took some time at the start of the podcast to discuss The Moneymaker Effect. He then went on to tell the hosts that his inspiration came in the form of Phil Hellmuth’s unexpected win against Johnny Chan when he denied The Orient Express three WSOP Main Events in a row between 1987 and 1989.

That achievement, of course, has never taken place, and likely never will again given the field in World Championships is often above 10,000 players. Negreanu also mentioned the Main Event victory of Scotty Nguyen in 1998 was inspiring too.

“In 1998 I won my first bracelet, and Scotty Nguyen was that guy having a Michelob and smoking a cigarette. He says ‘You know if you call, it’s gonna be all over, baby!’ and he was making it easy on [the amateur Kevin McBride] but it was such a smart play.”

Negreanu was later asked about what it can be like to deal with a downswing, the like of which he endured in the year 2000 after he blew all his bankroll after a year of ‘living the life’ in Las Vegas.

In one of several moments of raw honesty, Negreanu admitted he lost every cent he had and had to start again, but as often is the case with anyone who hits ‘rock bottom’, he used it as a foundation for success.

“In any downswing, you have to ask: ‘Is there anything I can do better?’ In poker, as in life, it’s an opportunity for a breakthrough. Am I going to accept where I’m at and be all ‘woe is me’, or do I try a new angle, doing stuff to get myself to a better place? People call it ‘rock bottom’, but what is that? It’s the decision point. Are you gonna die here like this? Something has to happen.”

The Instincts of a Master Observer

“I wanted to play with the best – that was what money provided me with.”

Negreanu revealed that long before he was known as ‘Kid Poker’, he used to watch people pass in the street and observe then, trying to ascertain real-life knowledge about them from the way they acted, walked, talked or looked. He says that anyone can employ this tactic at the poker table.

“We can abandon our instincts.” he said, before going on to tell the story of a player who he observed for days in a tournament before he used his ‘tell’ – the player would stop his frantic gum-chewing if he made a bluff – to eliminate him later in the event. Other physical tells, such as smiling, which can start and end with the mouth or involve the whole face, were highlighted by Negreanu, before he warned against one of the greatest weaknesses that he can identify in people who don’t fulfil their ambitions.

“A large percentage of successful people became successful because they love what they’re doing,” Negreanu says. “If you’re doing something because you think it’s going to get you money, but you don’t have that passion for it? No. When I started playing [poker], I wasn’t playing it for money. Money was a tool, not the end goal. I wanted to play with the best – that was what money provided me with. Ask yourself – what are you going to use the money for? For me, it was to provide myself with the freedom to do whatever I wanted in my 30’s, 40’s, 50’s. Travel, relax, stay home, not do a day job, and to be my own boss.”

Emotional Intelligence and Keeping Control

Over the years, Negreanu has proven that his emotional intelligence might be his USP, coming back from numerous setbacks with his positive outlook and intention declaring ways inspiring others to make tangible changes to their lives.

“If my bank account had ten times as much money in it than what I have now it wouldn’t change the way I live at all.” he said. Shaan Puri appreciated that attitude and quoted Kidlan’s Law when pressed by Sam Parr on the famous method for breaking down problems and leading a solution-focused life.

“It’s said that if you write down and identify a problem, you’re halfway to solving it.”

Negreanu agreed and went on to talk about some of his poker heroes, such as the late, great Doyle Brunson. Having already shared before that his wife Amanda’s favorite player was ‘Texas Dolly’, Negreanu quoted the 10-time WSOP bracelet winner and poker legend on one of his sayings about poker pros.

“We’re all just degenerate gamblers… we just found something we could beat.”

Dialling it in is vital in poker and Negreanu said that the best he ever saw do that important part of the game was his friend Phil Ivey. Negreanu said that Ivey could sit for 15 minutes if the table was bad, or two days straight if it was good.

“If the great players see another shark is wounded, they’re going to rip off their tail. Ivey was the example of that.”

The Future of the Game

One tip for poker players of all levels was imparted by Negreanu later in the episode. In doing so, he recalled a time when his then-girlfriend Evelyn was playing cash games and had a winning record. But when she won, she returned home instead of pressing that edge into a longer winning session. When she lost, she chased those losses for hours, attempting to repair the damage. This is very common, of course, but Negreanu said not pressing the winning sessions for longer, thereby winning more, was the real leak in that situation.

Negreanu, of course, continues to learn from all players around him, even the younger generation coming through. That’s because he remembers a time at the felt from his younger days very clearly.

“It happened when I was 22 or 23,” he said. “It was a grind, and I could see some established guys scoffing at what I was doing. I said to myself ‘Never be those guys’. Every three or fours years, I’ll update my knowledge. The day you stop learning is the day everyone else surpasses you.”

In an age where new ideas are commonplace and solvers are a player’s best friend, it’s refreshing to hear that some old school tricks sit behind the constant moneymaking of one of poker’s favorite sons.

You can watch Daniel Negreanu in conversation with Sam Parr and Shaan Puri on the My First Million podcast right here. It’s unmissable stuff.