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The long-awaited Daniel Negreanu documentary finally drops on Netflix but is it any good?

You might have seen a lot of Daniel Negreanu on the poker table, but what’s the story behind one of the game’s most engaging and successful poker players? KidPoker could be seen as a wildly extravagant and expensive marketing project by his sponsor PokerStars. And it certainly isn’t going to hurt them, although the branding is fairly unobtrusive.

There might also be precious little that you haven’t seen before – at least as far as the poker action goes. But through some fascinating early footage and interviews with the people who grew up with him, most notably his brother, Kid Poker the player becomes Negreanu the human. The son of Romanian immigrants, Negreanu’s childhood was ‘blessed’ but that didn’t stop him from spilling into the local billiards hall, where he eventually found poker and turned his back on a conventional life.

The verdict? If KidPoker was a player, it wouldn’t be Daniel Negreanu. It’s glossy, well made and entertaining, but while it’s required viewing for all poker players, it’s not got enough narrative or hook to interest anyone outside of the game.