Born in Toronto, Canada July 26, 1974, Daniel Negreanu was anything but a good student. His high school principal called him disruptive and even threatened to expel him if he didn't pay closer attention to his studies.
Negreanu beat him to the punch. He dropped out of school to play poker.
Daniel wasn't like other kids his age. He may not have excelled in math, science or English Literature, but he was extremely bright at learning to play cards.
At 16, he could be found in pool halls and other Toronto establishments where gambling occurred. His father, a native of Romania, was an electrician by trade and he had an older brother, Mike, who finished school.
But it was Daniel who was the black sheep of the family.
He learned to play pool, golf, poker and he bet on sports. There were plenty of illegal games in Toronto to keep him busy, and Negreanu managed to find most of them.
At 22, he moved to Las Vegas, NV. and secured a Green Card. While in Canada he had met and dated Evelyn Ng, a professional poker player. She was impressed with his knowledge of cards and his style and told Daniel to shoot for the moon.
He did.
In August, 2005, he got married. They separated two years later. No problem. Daniel found another wife and today is happily married.
Since moving to Las Vegas, he has accumulated over $32 million in tournament prize money, making him one of the top winning poker players of all time.
At 42, Negreanu has won six World Series of Poker gold bracelets and two World Poker Tour championships. In 2014, he was selected as the Best Poker Player of the Decade by his peers. And he was twice named the WSOP Player of the Year, the only player to make that achievement.
He also became the first player to make the final table in each of the three WSOP bracelet awarding locations -- Las Vegas, Europe and Asia-Pacific.
Negreanu is a big hockey fan and watches the Toronto Maple Leafs every chance he gets.
He is also a philanthropist and has appeared in a number of charity poker events, including 'Ante Up For Africa' and 'The Big Swing.'
Daniel is a high action junkie whether the game is poker or golf. He has an uncanny ability to read his opponents at poker and often astounds them by telling them what cards they are holding.
Negreanu has cashed in at 78 WSOP tournaments and has won events in pot limit Holdem, limit hold'em, no limit hold'em, Omaha and H.O.R.S.E.
He played seven seasons in 'High Stakes Poker,' a television show, and has acted in movies and television. Wynn Las Vegas hired him as the casino's 'Poker Ambassador.'
If you visit Las Vegas, you can often find him playing in the 'big game' at Bobby's Room in the Bellagio Casino.
The high school dropout even wrote a book on poker, 'Power Hold'Em Strategy,' and has made a number of videos telling how to win at Texas Hold'em.
His best advice to new players is to learn how to read your foes. Try to figure out what your opponent is thinking. Use body language and comments to discover this knowledge and to intimidate your opponents into laying down their hands.
Adapt and exploit. Not bad for a guy who never received a diploma.
Author: Geno Lawrenzi Jr.
(Geno Lawrenzi Jr. is an international journalist, magazine author and ghostwriter and poker player who lives in Phoenx, AZ. He has published 2,000 articles in 50 magazines and 125 newspapers. If you want to share a gambling story or book idea with him, send an email to glawrenzi@gmail.com ).
