Daniel Negreanu has won the 2019 World Series of Poker Player of the Year honors as his last remaining rival, Shaun Deeb, fell short of catching him on the final event of World Series of Poker Europe in Rozvadov. After becoming the first-ever player two win this competition twice, he has now further distanced himself by winning WSOP Player of the Year honors a third time.
Daniel Negreanu (/ n ɪ ˈ ɡ r ɑː n oʊ /; born July 26, 1974) is a Canadian professional poker player who has won six World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets and two World Poker Tour (WPT) championship titles. The independent poker ranking service Global Poker Index recognized Negreanu as the best poker player of the decade in 2014. Daniel Negreanu Net Worth: Poker Tournaments = $20 million The figure quoted above is a lot less than other figures quoted for Daniel Negreanu's net worth. They see his total tournament earnings, they add a few million for his other endeavors and they arrive at a figure that seems unrealistic. And now, the top ten best poker players of all time (so far) 10. Daniel Colman (US): $29 million. Dan iel Colman climbed to his spot on this list by besting Daniel Negreanu heads-up in the 2014 $1 million Big One for One Drop, pocketing the $15.3 million 1st prize—the second largest payout in poker history.
About completing this epic feat, Negreanu said, 'This was a personal goal of mine, winning it three times before anyone else got to two. The all-time money list isn't something that I can contend for anymore with my schedule, but WSOP POY is an achievement I can give myself a shot to win.'
Negreanu topped the leaderboard as the only player with more than 4,000 points edging out Robert Campbell and Shaun Deeb who had a chance until the very last event. In the last event, the €500 Colossus, Deeb came within a few eliminations of winning but he ultimately busted in 11th place. Deeb needed a fifth-place or better to win WSOP Player of the Year. Despite there being no cash reward for winning these honors, Negreanu was ecstatic with the win.
'I love it. I won the first one they ever had, have always been a stats nerd every since I was a little kid, and I thrive on best all-around leaderboard formats. I'm as aware as anyone that the system is flawed, but I knew a couple of years ago I had to choose: give up because my schedule made it near impossible to win, or adjust and play all the small events and rack up as many cashes as I can.'
In total Negreanu cashed in 24 different events, making five final tables in the process. Negreanu's best result was a second-place finish in the $100,000 High Roller in Las Vegas where he cashed for $1.1 million.
| Daniel Negreanu at the 2019 World Series of Poker | |||
| Event | Date | Place | Payout |
| Event #15: €550 Colossus No-Limit Hold'em | 10/28/19 | 195th | € 2,036 |
| Event #11: €2,200 Pot-Limit Omaha | 10/22/19 | 20th | € 4,127 |
| Event #10: €25,500 Mixed Games Championship | 10/21/19 | 6th | € 54,287 |
| Event #9: €1,650 Pot-Limit Omaha/No-Limit Hold'em Mix | 10/20/19 | 37th | € 2,392 |
| Event #8: €25,500 Platinum High Roller No-Limit Hold'em | 10/20/19 | 10th | € 48,929 |
| Event #6: €25,500 Short Deck High Roller No-Limit Hold'em | 10/18/19 | 16th | € 39,943 |
| Event #2: €550 Pot-Limit Omaha (8-Handed) | 10/14/19 | 59th | € 787 |
| $3,000 HORSE (Event #87) | 7/14/19 | 36th | $4,734 |
| $100,000 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller (Event #83) | 7/11/19 | 2nd | $1,725,838 |
| $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Bounty (Event #78) | 7/9/19 | 42nd | $3,553 |
| $3,200 WSOP.com ONLINE No-Limit Hold'em High Roller (Event #74) | 7/3/19 | 72nd | $6,310 |
| $1,000 WSOP.com ONLINE No-Limit Hold'em Championship (Event #68) | 6/30/19 | 36th | $4,734 |
| $1,500 Limit Hold'em (Event #66) | 6/29/19 | 20th | $4,360 |
| $10,000 Razz (Event #62) | 6/26/19 | 5th | $69,223 |
| $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi/Lo 8 or Better (Event #60) | 6/25/19 | 152nd | $2,330 |
| $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Super Turbo Bounty (Event #56) | 6/24/19 | 155th | $1,762 |
| $10,000 Seven Card Stud (Event #41) | 6/17/19 | 2nd | $151,700 |
| $600 WSOP.com ONLINE No-Limit Hold'em Knockout Bounty (Event #38) | 6/16/19 | 46th | $1,652 |
| $1,000 Double Stack No-Limit Hold'em (Event #34) | 6/14/19 | 523rd | $2,164 |
| $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed (Event #31) | 6/12/19 | 106th | $4,514 |
| $600 Pot-Limit Omaha Deepstack (Event #25) | 6/10/19 | 381st | $875 |
| $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw (Event #13) | 6/4/19 | 29th | $2,780 |
| $600 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack (Event #9) | 6/3/19 | 485th | $1,257 |
| $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty (Event #2) | 5/29/19 | 6th | $52,099 |
'It's special to me, the WSOP is special to me. People always bring up the cash prize, but the truth is, I never really played poker for the money. It was always a passion for me that superseded money. Family guy virtual world. This is probably why it took me a while to build a bankroll in my early years because I was reckless with money. Being broke has never scared me, similar to what you hear from a guy like Bryn Kenney who goes for it.'
About the grind and the road traveled to lock up the 2019 World Series of Poker Player of the Year Negreanu was very grateful for his reception in Rozvadov at King's Casino.
'It was a real grind, I'd never been to Rozvadov before and had no idea what to expect and in all honesty, I've never experienced red carpet first-class hospitality like that before, and I've been to a lot of places. King's Casino staff were really great to me and put up with me when I was stressed out and maybe not acting like I should.'
I'm very proud of the year I had and super grateful I get to play a game for a living.
In total Negreanu cashed in 24 different events, making five final tables in the process. Negreanu's best result was a second-place finish in the $100,000 High Roller in Las Vegas where he cashed for $1.1 million.
| Daniel Negreanu at the 2019 World Series of Poker | |||
| Event | Date | Place | Payout |
| Event #15: €550 Colossus No-Limit Hold'em | 10/28/19 | 195th | € 2,036 |
| Event #11: €2,200 Pot-Limit Omaha | 10/22/19 | 20th | € 4,127 |
| Event #10: €25,500 Mixed Games Championship | 10/21/19 | 6th | € 54,287 |
| Event #9: €1,650 Pot-Limit Omaha/No-Limit Hold'em Mix | 10/20/19 | 37th | € 2,392 |
| Event #8: €25,500 Platinum High Roller No-Limit Hold'em | 10/20/19 | 10th | € 48,929 |
| Event #6: €25,500 Short Deck High Roller No-Limit Hold'em | 10/18/19 | 16th | € 39,943 |
| Event #2: €550 Pot-Limit Omaha (8-Handed) | 10/14/19 | 59th | € 787 |
| $3,000 HORSE (Event #87) | 7/14/19 | 36th | $4,734 |
| $100,000 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller (Event #83) | 7/11/19 | 2nd | $1,725,838 |
| $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Bounty (Event #78) | 7/9/19 | 42nd | $3,553 |
| $3,200 WSOP.com ONLINE No-Limit Hold'em High Roller (Event #74) | 7/3/19 | 72nd | $6,310 |
| $1,000 WSOP.com ONLINE No-Limit Hold'em Championship (Event #68) | 6/30/19 | 36th | $4,734 |
| $1,500 Limit Hold'em (Event #66) | 6/29/19 | 20th | $4,360 |
| $10,000 Razz (Event #62) | 6/26/19 | 5th | $69,223 |
| $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi/Lo 8 or Better (Event #60) | 6/25/19 | 152nd | $2,330 |
| $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Super Turbo Bounty (Event #56) | 6/24/19 | 155th | $1,762 |
| $10,000 Seven Card Stud (Event #41) | 6/17/19 | 2nd | $151,700 |
| $600 WSOP.com ONLINE No-Limit Hold'em Knockout Bounty (Event #38) | 6/16/19 | 46th | $1,652 |
| $1,000 Double Stack No-Limit Hold'em (Event #34) | 6/14/19 | 523rd | $2,164 |
| $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed (Event #31) | 6/12/19 | 106th | $4,514 |
| $600 Pot-Limit Omaha Deepstack (Event #25) | 6/10/19 | 381st | $875 |
| $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw (Event #13) | 6/4/19 | 29th | $2,780 |
| $600 No-Limit Hold'em Deepstack (Event #9) | 6/3/19 | 485th | $1,257 |
| $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty (Event #2) | 5/29/19 | 6th | $52,099 |
'It's special to me, the WSOP is special to me. People always bring up the cash prize, but the truth is, I never really played poker for the money. It was always a passion for me that superseded money. Family guy virtual world. This is probably why it took me a while to build a bankroll in my early years because I was reckless with money. Being broke has never scared me, similar to what you hear from a guy like Bryn Kenney who goes for it.'
About the grind and the road traveled to lock up the 2019 World Series of Poker Player of the Year Negreanu was very grateful for his reception in Rozvadov at King's Casino.
'It was a real grind, I'd never been to Rozvadov before and had no idea what to expect and in all honesty, I've never experienced red carpet first-class hospitality like that before, and I've been to a lot of places. King's Casino staff were really great to me and put up with me when I was stressed out and maybe not acting like I should.'
I'm very proud of the year I had and super grateful I get to play a game for a living.
Wow, what an emotional roller coaster this was!
I did say I like dramatic finishes and this one certainly fits the bill!
— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) November 4, 2019
While Negreanu now has three WSOP Player of the Year honors, he's still stuck on six total WSOP gold bracelets with his last win coming in 2014 and his last Las Vegas victory all the way back in 2008. But all things considered, Negreanu values his Player of the Year titles a bit more as he thinks the bracelets will start coming again eventually.
'This is such a unique achievement, to be able to win this three times and put me in a place all my own. I know bracelets will come, I just need to keep plugging away. The way the POY points system works it's actually really hard to win POY without a bracelet. You get double points from 1st to 2nd. So even with two 2nds that basically ties a win in terms of points.'
Going forward, Negreanu will take some time to reset and unwind after a few very hectic months but we're hoping to see him compete inside the PokerGO Studio for the Poker Masters that kicked off today. Relive Negreanu's chase for World Series of Poker Player of the Year through his vlogs. Watch and follow the Poker Masters on Poker Central Live Reporting and PokerGO.
Polk won more hands than Negreanu, but not by much
Two and a half weeks after his demolition of Daniel Negreanu in the 'Grudge Match' heads-up challenge, Doug Polk is still talking about it. It's no surprise, as he is certainly not shy about letting himself be heard and you know what? It's cool because it's pretty damn interesting that he pounded a Poker Hall of Famer into the ground so convincingly. So yeah, let's hear more about it.
Late last week, Polk tweeted out some statistics from his 25,000-hand competition against Negreanu, one in which he came out ahead by an insane $1.2 million. One of the more interesting stats was the very first he listed, that he won barely more than half the hands: 52.4%.
By my count, Negreanu won nearly half the sessions, but as is evident by this plus this above stat, Polk's hand and session wins were much greater than were Negreanu's.
And since it was a heads-up contest, the players were always either in the small blind or big blind. Polk was above a 50% winning percentage in each position, slightly better in the small blind.
A pair of key stats, which we will touch on more in a moment, are Polk's winning percentages when seeing the flop and when going to showdown. From the big blind, he only won 47.3% of the time from the big blind if he saw the flop, yet won nearly 60% of the time from that same position if the hand went all the way to showdown.
To that, high stakes poker pro Mike McDonald tweeted, 'Very lucky with showdowns in the big blind. As expected.'
His small blind stats were flipped, winning after seeing the flop over 60% of the time, while winning at showdown just 45.5% of the time.
Win rates were wild
Polk's win rates were all over the map. He won 62.9 big blinds per 100 (bb/100) when in position in a single-raised pot and lost 33.9 bb/100 out of position. In a three-bet pot, he was down 15 bb/100 in position, yet up a monstrous 228 bb/100 out of position. In four-bet pot, his win rate was an astronomical 840 bb/100 in position, but a deathly -1,620 bb/100 out of position.
Perhaps the most interesting statistic for the challenge was shown via a graph Polk posted. The graph obviously shows that he won over $1.2 million, but what it also displays was that he actually lost money overall – almost $200,000 – if the hand went to showdown. That means, of course, that he won that much more than his final tally if either he or Negreanu folded at some point.
Non-expert on high stakes, high level poker here, but to me, this seems to show that Polk was masterful at picking the right times to be aggressive to take down pots uncontested, while at the same time knowing when to get out. Though he lost money at showdown, it paled in comparison to what he made before the showdown, which may indicate that he was able to minimize pots if he wasn't confident that he could win. Again, I'm just thinking out loud, so if I'm wrong let me know.
What Is The Net Worth Of Daniel Negreanu
Polk added that he did not get particularly lucky, either. He ran below expectations on things making sets, flushes, and straights, only running slightly above expectations in turning gutshot straights and rivering sets.
