InterPoker

Visit InterCasino

Negreanu discusses poker inspiration

2006-05-18 17:20:00

Poker star Daniel Negreanu has been discussing what has inspired him to become a champion, including an early interest in the card game as a teenager.

Negreanu claims that he played $10-$20 poker games regularly as a youngster, ensuring that he kept them fun for the losing players whilst earning cash for himself.

The 31-year-old player was born in Canada and raised in Toronto by his Romanian parents, Constantine and Ann. He told Poker News that he dreamed of playing at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas and finally achieved his goal in 1996, but lost almost $3,000.

As an adult he lost a series of poker tournaments, but decided to adjust his game and take it more seriously following his father's death and witnessed his luck change.

Having convinced his mother that he could turn professional, Negreanu won a preliminary event at the Heavenly Hold'em Tournament at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles, followed by the Best Overall Player award at the 1997 World Poker Finals at Foxwoods and the 2,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em tournament at the 1998 WSOP at the age of just 23.

Dubbed 'Kid Poker' in his twenties, the poker legend has won an array of titles, though he admits he has struggled with relationship problems, heavy drinking and poor financial management in the past.

Negreanu is now married to Lori Lin Weber and happily settled in Las Vegas, with his poker game continuing to go from strength to strength, and remains optimistic about the future. 2004 CardPlayer Magazine and World Poker Tour Player of the Year, he has his own weblog and contributes columns and poker tips to a number of websites and newspapers.

Poker Stuff