Born and raised in Toronto, Daniel Negreanu has risen to become one of poker’s most celebrated legends. With seven WSOP bracelets and over $54 million in live tournament earnings, his career spans three decades. In this article, you’ll discover the journey that led him to the top, the valuable life lessons he’s learned along the way, and the advice he has for newcomers trying to make their mark in the world of poker.
How did you get into the game?
I was born and raised in Toronto—this was my stomping ground. I used to read the newspaper and see Doyle Brunson’s betting lines and odds. That’s how I got into the game. I started playing with friends, and back then, there were charity casinos all over the city. Every few days, I’d head to the Chimo Hotel or other small spots to play regularly. I was making around $45 an hour. I was still in school at the time, but I thought, Hey, I’m doing pretty well—school can wait. So I devoted myself to the game. I wanted to be great at it.
In most things, if you really want to succeed, you have to make sacrifices. So I ate, breathed, and slept poker. Eventually, I started making trips to Vegas, but those early years didn’t go well—to say the least. I went in thinking I was a hometown hero, ready to take over Vegas. But no, no, no. They had seen guys like me before. I still had a lot to learn.
Was that humbling experience?
Moments of suffering and pain are often the most valuable because they lead to breakthroughs. I remember one specific moment from one of my first trips there. I had been playing all night and lost all my money. I was at a table with seven other people. I stepped away to the bathroom, washed my hands, and when I came back, they were all gone. They had left. That’s when it hit me—they were only playing because of me. I was the sucker.
That pushed me to start learning. In Toronto, my aggressive style worked—I could just push people around. But here, they knew how to push back, and I wasn’t used to that. It was a crucial learning experience. If you look at some of the most successful people across different fields, one common thread is failure—tons of it. But they learn, they’re resilient, and they know how to adapt and adjust.
There are people who fear that poker is just gambling—‘I’m going to lose all my money!’ Can you give us a bigger picture of what poker really is?
What do you think the stock market is? You invest money into something, hoping for a return. What about opening a restaurant? What exactly are you doing there? You’re putting a lot of money into something, essentially gambling on the hope that your food will be valuable enough for people to come and eat it. But what if they don’t? Well, then you lose all your money. Even marriage is a risk—you’re betting that it will work out fine and that, by the end, half your money will still be there. Almost every profession involves risk at some point.
Could you help me to understand what difference between good player and PRO is?
One of the most important things you need in your repertoire as a pro is discipline. I remember growing up, a lot of guys had talent and solid skill sets, but they lacked the emotional stability to handle the swings. When they were winning, they were fine. But when things went badly, their game fell apart—we call that tilt.
It’s happened to me many times. Everyone goes through it. Two years ago, I had a horrible year. I’ve been doing this for 30 years, but it felt like no matter what I did, the cards just wouldn’t cooperate. That’s probably the most frustrating thing about poker—you can do everything right, make all the right decisions, and still lose money.
How does the math element work in poker?
If you’re a casual player who just wants to have fun and learn a little, you don’t need to get too bogged down in the math. You just need to know the basics—the same math we used back in Doyle Brunson’s day, before computers. He would literally deal out the cards, track results with pen and paper, and figure out things like, Okay, Ace-King against a pair of fours wins 53% of the time. That’s how he did it.
Of course, we don’t need to do that anymore—computers do it for us. The advancement of AI, software, and solvers has completely changed the way people learn today, especially the younger generation. They study computer-generated outputs and use solvers that function like AI playing against itself. Two AI bots compete, trying to exploit each other until they reach an equilibrium. For example, think about rock-paper-scissors. If you want to play a game-theory-optimal (GTO) strategy, you’d throw each option—rock, paper, and scissors—33% of the time. If I do that, you can’t beat me in the long run.
But what if I notice you always play rock? What’s the best counter-strategy? Play paper. And how often? If your answer is every time, that’s where things get interesting. Eventually, you’d catch on and start adjusting. So instead of sticking to an even 33% distribution, I might shift to 40% paper, 40% scissors, and only 20% rock. That way, I exploit you without you even realizing it—you just think you’re getting unlucky.
In the second part of this interview, you will learn what Daniel thinks about the dangers of AI in online poker, he will tell you about his daily routine and also remember the biggest mistake he ever made at the table….
Source: YouTube/GentsTalkPodcast, Wiki, PokerNews, PGT