Poker News Daily: How did you get started playing poker?
Negreanu: I started playing when I was around 17 with friends. I was playing pool and poker seemed like a fun way to be able to hang out with the guys. We started playing a home game. By the time I was 18 or 19, I knew that it could be more than a career.
PND: What separated you from other upcoming poker players?
Negreanu: What separated me was my ability to focus on my core strengths. I was very driven to win. I went from person to person that I played with and learned from them. There was one guy who would win all of the time. He played very few hands, but won a lot. There was another guy who bet big, but also bluffed a lot. What I did was took their strengths and then learn how to improve off that.
PND: What event do you look forward to every year?
Negreanu: The $50,000 HORSE event at the World Series of Poker. I’ve always prided myself on being an all-around payer. The $50,000 HORSE event was my idea. I talked with WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack. It brings back a bit of Old Vegas, where tournaments had 150 players instead of 8,000. Each year, there’s a very good chance that a well-known professional will win. The first year the $50,000 HORSE event was held, Chip Reese won it. That final table also had Phil Ivey and Doyle Brunson. The reason that amateurs can do so well in the Main Event is because it’s filled with the lowest quality of poker being played. In the $50,000 HORSE event, you’re going to get six or seven good players for every bad player. If you did that with No Limit by introducing a $100,000 buy-in event, you’d see much stronger play.
PND: What advice do you have for players just getting started in poker?
Negreanu: Educate yourself. Back in the day, you had to sit around and figure it out on your own. Now, there are a ton of poker books and websites. Once you learn the fundamentals, you’ll have a solid base to work on.
PND: Describe the differences between online and live poker players.
Negreanu: Online players are fundamentally a lot better than live players are. They play a lot of hands. What online players lack are the senses that are intrinsic to the game. They scoff at the idea of physical tells. When you play your entire life against people, you’re better at developing the physical tells. Online, that’s not present.
PND: If you weren’t playing poker, what would you most likely be doing?
Negeranu: I feel like I’m good at a lot of things. Something involving film would probably be my career. I acted when I was young. I’m also a good writer. It’s something I might go into now.
PND: Who did you surround yourself with when learning poker?
Negreanu: When I started, we didn’t have a bunch of young players. It was John Juanda, Phil Ivey, Allen Cunningham, and me. We essentially shared information and talked about hands. You see that commonly now. When I first started playing cash games, Jennifer Harman let me watch her play. It gave me an opportunity to get my feet wet.
PND: Describe what makes PokerStars so popular.
Negreanu: It’s the biggest and best online poker site available. When it comes to tournaments, they rock. They understand what players want. They have the giant Sunday tournament as well as the World Championship of Online Poker. Most importantly, they are the best quality poker site.
