Daniel Kid Poker Negreanu

Name: Daniel Negreanu

DOB: July 26th 1974

Nationality: Canadian

Tournament winnings: $13.1m

Nickname: Kid Poker

Greatest moment: Back-to-back WPT wins in 2004

The son of Romanian immigrants, Daniel grew up hustling pool in Toronto which in turn led to playing cards. Like so many players before him he dropped out of school and spent his time studying the game and building a bankroll. He was in for a rude awakening upon his first visits to Vegas though – he simply wasn’t good enough.

This led to regular trips back to Toronto to rebuild his roll before eventually becoming a winning player. He won his first WSOP bracelet in 1998 and earned his ‘Kid Poker’ nickname by becoming the youngest bracelet winner in history, a record that would stand until 2004. He had a good 1999 then went off the rails a little in 2000. By his own admission he was drinking too much and not taking the game seriously.

This was a wake-up call and in 2001 he turned it around and started destroying the game. Another (much awaited) bracelet came in 2003 which sent his confidence soaring and set up an incredible 2004 which included 2 WPT titles, 1 WSOP bracelet, 4 more WSOP final tables, and countless player of the year awards!

2010 wasn’t a vintage year by Negreanu’s standards (he was knocked out of day 3 of the main event by an unknown) but he still raked in $205k from 5 side events, bringing his live tournament earnings to just over $760k for the year. He is now second on the all-time winnings list, just behind Phil Ivey. 

Negreanu’s known for his friendly and chatty nature with time for anyone but beware, whilst you’re making you’re making friends with a poker legend, he’s reading your soul.