Where Does Daniel Negreanu Play Poker Online
The Bonus Cut: Daniel Negreanu explains. Daniel Negreanu recently won the WSOP Player of the Year title in style after winning the WSOPE Main Event for €725,000. That win brought his live poker tournament winnings to an incredible $19,549,210. The guy knows how to play poker and if you want to understand how to think about the game better. The six-time World Series of Poker champion teaches you strategies to advance your cash, tournament, and online play. To submit requests for assistance, or provide feedback regarding accessibility, please contact support@masterclass.com. 23 hours ago Daniel Negreanu has ripped into Phil Hellmuths tournament record ahead of their upcoming highstakes duel, claiming that the 15-times WSOP bracelet winner is far from the tournament beast he claims. Sean Chaffin February 26, 2021. Playing heads-up cash games online for hundreds of thousands of dollars isn’t something most poker players will ever experience. However, poker fans recently got a taste of this action with Daniel Negreanu squaring off against Doug Polk at WSOP.com. Beyond the play on the felt and results, there was plenty of action behind the scenes as well.
Online poker has seen a meteoritic few months with so many poker players staying home during the pandemic. With the annual World Series of Poker postponed until fall, organizers announced a new agreement for 85 gold bracelet events.
The events will allow WSOP.com players the opportunity to win a bracelet beginning July 1. GGPoker will also allow international players the chance to win a bracelet beginning July 19.
Daniel Negreanu is one of the biggest names in poker and now serves as a GG brand ambassador. With so much on the line when bracelet events get underway, Negreanu spoke to PlayUSA about how players can improve their poker games and his own plans to add to his own bracelet collection this summer.
Playing for WSOP bracelets online
Negreanu may be as synonymous with poker as anyone including the WSOP. His poker resumé boasts $42 million in live tournament winnings, six WSOP bracelets, and two World Poker Tour titles.
The new online WSOP series has stoked plenty of debate among poker players. Opinions range from pleased to see online poker’s expansion to lamenting so many online events awarding gold.
Negreanu prefers a pragmatic outlook on the subject.
“I believe an online WSOP is better than no WSOP,” he says. “I’m obviously a mixed game aficionado so not seeing that on the schedule is unfortunate, but as I said, I’m just happy to be able to play something.”
The series includes 31 events beginning at WSOP.com. GGPoker will also begin offering a slate of 54 bracelet events as well as other tournaments beginning July 17.
WSOP.com has seen massive fields since the pandemic began with many big name pros jumping in the action. This has been a boon for the US and international online poker industry.
The two platforms already teamed up in May for the WSOP Super OnlineCircuit Series. That series smashed the $100 million guarantee and paid out $134 milion.
The WSOP Online series offers the first time players outside the US have a chance to win a bracelet online. Many are already working on travel plans for both series — including Negreanu.
“My plan is to grind both fully,” he says. “All of July at home on the WSOP.com platform and then immediately flying to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, where I’ve rented a house to play all the GGPoker.com portion.”
Online poker advice from Daniel Negreanu
Originally from Toronto, Canada, and now living in Las Vegas, Negreanu is no stranger to online poker. He represented PokerStars for years and then jumped on board at GG in November.
Negreanu has been a big fan of the site and believes it has the best software in the industry. The bracelet events should attract monster fields and he offered some advice on transitioning from live poker to online.
“Online poker is a better way to improve your skills than live poker by a wide margin,” he says. “Online is all about focusing on the fundamentals and it’s easier to analyze hands you may have played using the hand history feature.”
Those new to playing online should start small, he says. This gives a player some time to adjust to a faster pace and the actual online gameplay.
“Get accustomed to the software and all the bells and whistles available before you jump in for big money,” Negreanu notes.
And while obviously players can’t see opponents online, Negreanu says observation is still important. Player tells can even be picked up on at the virtual poker tables.
“There are lots of tells available in terms of timing, but mainly you are going to focus on betting patterns and tendencies that you should log using the notes feature,” he says. “Anytime your opponent does something outside the norm, it would be a good idea to log that so next time you face them you have some insight into what they are capable of.”
Document those online poker sessions and opponents
Negreanu stresses taking notes and tracking opponents. GGPoker and other sites offer this as well as using the color-coded labeling feature.
“These will help you make better reads during crunch time,” he says.
There’s one aspect of the game he won’t offer much advice on — bankroll management and what percentage of it to risk.
“That’s a personal choice depending on the person and how comfortable you are with risk,” Negreanu says. “Whether live or online, how much gamble a person has is individual to their situation.”
WSOP Online offers the opportunity to win a bracelet with buy-ins starting only at $400. No doubt seasoned pros and recreational players alike will be looking for a shot at online glory.
Looking ahead at WSOP
Negreanu has won on every major poker stage imaginable. In 2015, he even came within a whisker of making the final table of the WSOP Main Event. He finished 11th for $526,778 – all playing out live on ESPN.
Negreanu now has an opportunity to add something new to his poker record — an online bracelet. He thinks those who head outside the country to play will enjoy the GG product and experience.
“The bells and whistles on GGPoker are designed to be the most fun playing experience you will find playing online,” he says. “It is far and away the best software on the market, specifically when it comes to playing on a mobile device.”
A self-confessed poker superfan, Negreanu will be a tough customer at the online tables when bracelet events crank up. He’s hungry for a bracelet – whether online or live at the WSOP’s longtime home — the Rio hotel in Las Vegas.
“A bracelet is a bracelet as far as I’m concerned, and winning an online bracelet is tough due to field size and strength of opponents,” he says. “I’d be proud of any bracelet I won.”
PokerStars returned to TV screens last night with the start of its coverage from the PokerStars Championship in Monaco earlier this year (viewers outside the UK and Ireland can watch this on PokerStars.tv).
It's a long-awaited return to the TV screens for PokerStars, with episodes focusing on the action from the Salle des Etoiles in the familiar format, following play down at each stage of the event until finding a winner.
But poker on TV has traditionally come in many formats, with countless shows demonstrating the different aspects of the game over the years, featuring many of the game's best, and often unknown players.
One man who has been part of that experience is Team Pro Daniel Negreanu - hardly surprising then that he is arguably the most recognisable poker player in the world.
We spoke to Negreanu (who also happens to feature in the first episode from Monaco) about his experiences in televised poker over the years, his memories of some of those shows and the role televised poker has in promoting the game.
TV poker generally falls into two strands - filming MTTs that are already taking place, and made-for-poker SNGs/cash games. How important do you think the made for TV shows were in building the popularity of poker?
That was extremely important. When poker first started airing on television there was a core group of professionals playing in relatively small fields so it was easy to focus on and follow the top players. The more popular the game became, the bigger the fields became and final tables no longer had as much of a consistent appeal to them. It was a bit of a crapshoot on the WPT, hoping that you would get 6 interesting names at the TV table.
What the made for TV shows did is it allowed fans of the game to get to know the stars in an intimate and consistent way. On a show like PokerStars Big Game, for example, you had the same 6 players on your television set all week. Lots of drama can be built around that and as a TV producer you can ensure that the product you are airing will have entertaining characters. Poker's popularity is driven by those characters.
Compared to an open event like the PokerStars Championship or PCA, how much respect and credibility do/did made for TV events have?
From the pros perspective, far less. I don't think the same held true for the public, but I think most pros understood that the made for TV events were about entertainment. We didn't want a table full of people wearing sunglasses and hoodies, tanking endlessly, and not engaging in table talk. They were designed to show poker as being the fun game that it can be.
How much skill goes into playing and winning a show such as Shark Cage or Poker After Dark? Do you think they are unfairly criticised as being more luck than skill?
There is certainly more luck involved in a sit n' go style made for TV event by design. Still, the best players are going to consistently do better than the others in the long run. The made for TV events are designed to be fun and entertaining. Who cares if they are less skill based? The goal is to attract new players to the game, and these events accomplish that goal. They complement the competitiveness of the EPT tour and offered something a major competition couldn't.
When you're on these shows do you feel pressure to 'entertain' and be more talkative than you would usually be? Do you think that's a fair expectation of playing in these shows?
I honestly do that no matter what game I'm in! Having said, that, yes, absolutely players who get invited to these made for TV shows should see this as an opportunity and understand that if they want to continue to be invited back, they better be interesting in some way. Jennifer Tilly, for example, has the advantage of being a movie star, but watch her interactions on those made for TV shows. She is a blast to play with, always engaging and making the whole experience more entertaining. If you aren't willing to be entertaining, then you shouldn't expect to be invited to these shows.
Is there still a place in today's TV poker world for made for TV shows? Or has the poker audience matured to an extent that they only want to watch production of major tournaments?
Frankly, I think the made for TV shows are a better marketing tool than the major events. I'm glad they have both, the majors for the diehard poker fans, and the made for TV events for the casual fan who wants to be entertained by table banter rather than a 5-bet all in shove.
Poker Player Daniel Negreanu
Made for TV shows allow producers to pick entertaining and exciting characters to play poker, whereas you cannot manufacture the players in a live tournament. Do you think personality and fun is one of the most important aspects to producing good poker TV? Or is high quality poker enough, even if you don't know the players involved?
High quality poker excites the base. That is what they want and it's important to give them that. If you want to expand the game and get the mainstream interested, it's imperative that the focus is on the characters rather than the highly technical aspects of the game. High level analysis completely alienates the mainstream.
Do you have any particular highlights from playing in TV poker shows that you can share?
Daniel Negreanu Playing Poker
On the PokerStars Big Game I talked Jennifer Tilly out of folding a straight! Had I known she was that strong I never would have tried this bluff as I would expect her to call, but ultimately she folded and I was able to steal a big pot!
Do you think the made for TV shows still have a place in today's poker world?
They certainly should if the goal is to bring new players to the game. The model of filming a bunch of players no one in the mainstream has heard of and expecting them to enter the poker arena will not work. Celebrities, sports stars, fun gimmicky type events that have crossover appeal is a recipe that works to bring in new audiences.
Was it a cool moment to play Phil Ivey heads-up in Shark Cage?
If you watched that heads up I think the world got to see a Phil Ivey they rarely ever get a glimpse at. Since we are long-time friends he was very comfortable and hilariously funny. It was epic and I imagine the viewers got a kick out of seeing us play heads up, but more importantly listening to the back and forth banter.
Daniel Negreanu Poker Site
Do you wish it had happened at something like a Championship Main Event or did it not really matter to you?
I don't really care where it happened, I'm just glad they got it all on film! Something we may look back on 20 years from now and remember fondly.