Our Verdict:
"At the highest levels everyone has a decent understanding of the math. Feel or psychological warfare is what it's all about. I honestly don't think that a pure math guy has much of a chance in those games because they aren't psychologically prepared for the game," says Daniel Negreanu.
Canadian Daniel “Kid Poker” Negreanu is one of the most successful players in the Poker world with a reputation for dominating various styles of poker and is the 2004-05 World Poker Tour (WPT) Player of the Year. Astonishingly, In 2004 Negreanu not only won a bracelet at the World Series of Poker, but finished in the money in five other events.
He is easy to spot in a tournament, almost always wearing a hockey jersey and listening to music on headphones which he says relaxes him. He is known for his ability to read other players – gathering information about his opponent’s hand by studying their betting patterns and physical expressions.
In the last few years he's racked up more tournament wins than any other player in history, raking in millions of dollars, and he has perhaps made more money in poker than anyone else.
Similar to Phil Ivey, Negreanu exudes the confidence of a new generation of poker player who are committed to poker as a sporting competition and is also among an elite group of poker players who can lay claim to having won three or more World Series of Poker bracelets.
"People watch poker on TV and think everyone is a millionaire that lives in a mansion. In truth, most of the players are struggling. I learned lessons from all the mistakes I've made and I'm not ashamed of any of them," says Negreanu.
Mind you, given Negreanu's success in the Big Game at the Bellagio, where players such as Doyle Brunson, Chip Reese and Phil Ivey play limit poker with blinds of $4,000-$8,000, Negreanu almost certainly is a millionaire mansion guy!
It doesn't always go Negreanu's way though and you can seem him lose a pot worth $575,000 when his full-house get overturned by Gus Hansen's quad 5s.