Daniel Negreanu has a lot of things to celebrate this summer: First and foremost, the Canadian poker pro will tie the knot with his long-time partner Amanda Leatherman on May 17. The couple got engaged in December 2018 and will be married before the 2019 WSOP commences.
While Negreanu is very happy to get married to his partner, he is also very pumped to play at the 50^th anniversary of the WSOP.
Over the years, Negreanu’s jam-packed WSOP schedule has mostly consisted of bigger buy-in events, including the $10Ks and $50Ks, up to the $1 million buy-in. He makes sure his fans are updated with his games by putting vlogs out on a daily basis via his YouTube channel. This year, his followers can expect the same, albeit with a huge twist – he will immerse himself in more of the smaller buy-in events.
Scoring More Points for Player of the Year
On the DAT Poker Podcast which aired last week, Negreanu revealed the main reason of the major shift: he wants to earn more points for the Player of the Year race.
The larger buy-in events usually attract a smaller but stronger field, which is better if you’re looking to win a WSOP bracelet. However, while those events used to be an effective way of accumulating POY points, the current setup makes it harder for the bigger buy-in players to win POY. This is down to how events have morphed through the years.
Presently, it is much easier to collect min-cashes in large-field, smaller buy-in events, compared to winning $10Ks in which points are limited. Negreanu is targeting 15 cashes at the 50^th anniversary of the WSOP and he’s betting $5 million dollars that he can do just that.
This year’s schedule is crowded with events which award money to the top 15% of the fields. Taking account of that, the Canadian player believes he will have a greater chance to win in the smaller buy-in events especially as the competition is not that strong compared to the usual events he takes part in.
Negreanu also thinks playing in these events will be fun as he will have the chance to experience this type of schedule for the first time. Negreanu said his plan is to play in as many events as he can and just go all out.
Higher ROI
So the 2019 WSOP will not be a bracelet hunting journey for Negreanu as he will prioritize accumulating more POY points. Aside from this, he is also seeing another benefit: in the softer fields, there is higher ROI.
Negreanu said playing the small buy-in, large-field events will allow a player to maximize their profit. The usual $10K events usually attract a maximum of 150 entries, with probably 20 amateurs. However, in smaller buy-in events, the field can reach thousands of recreational players as well as mid-stakes professionals. Negreanu just wants to experience first-hand how soft the field is.
Sitting Down With The Everyday Poker Player
Negreanu is one of the most famous poker players of this generation and a long time ambassador for PokerStars. He has a wide reach in the poker community, and is not afraid to speak his mind on poker-related subjects, even if it means drawing criticism from some poker players and fans all over the globe. Recently, his credibility in representing the majority of the poker-playing public has been questioned.
Negreanu is brave enough to acknowledge that criticism. He admits that he sometimes can be out of touch with the game today, and that’s due to his lack of experience in playing smaller buy-in events.
While Negreanu gets to talk to a lot of people playing in lower buy-in events, he never really had a first-hand experience of playing at the low stakes level and encountering challenges that low stake players face at these games. This is what he aims to do at the 2019 WSOP as he is keen on sitting down with hundreds of low stake players and learning first-hand the issues they face on a daily basis.
Most of the subscribers to Negreanu’s YouTube vlogs are not high-rollers but the everyday and average poker player. These are individuals who play the game for fun and usually spend around $500 or $1,000 at the poker table. The 2019 WSOP is a great opportunity for Negreanu to meet them in person and have one-on-one conversations with them!