WORLD SERIES OF POKER: Negreanu raises his play

[clevfan]

Aug. 04, 2006
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

SPOTLIGHT: WORLD SERIES OF POKER: Negreanu raises his play

One of game's best using new aggressive style


By HOWARD STUTZ

GAMING WIRE

The Internet and televised poker events have made Daniel Negreanu one of the game's most recognized players, a status he has used to his advantage during the 2006 World Series of Poker.

Negreanu, a Toronto native now living in Las Vegas, said Thursday a newfound aggressive style has accounted for his surge into sixth place in the tournament's championship event after two rounds of preliminary play.

Players took Thursday off and when competition resumes today at the Rio, Negreanu will begin play with $331,000 in tournament chips, trailing leader Dmitri Nobles by $218,200.

"It's an endurance test now," said Negreanu, who played 18 holes of golf at the Tournament Players Club in Summerlin on Thursday to help get his head together for what could be his most profitable payday in poker. "It was nice to have a day off. The Rio was the last place I wanted to be today."

Negreanu has fared better than most well-known professionals in the $10,000 buy-in no-limit Texas hold-'em championship event that drew a record 8,773 players, who are competing for $82.5 million in prize money.

This year's world champion will take home $12 million.

Many of the top professionals busted out during preliminary rounds. Only a handful of previous champions remain in the field of 1,159, which will be cut to 600 players by late tonight or early Saturday morning. The event's nine-player final table is scheduled for Thursday.

Defending world champion Joseph Hachem is in the upper tier of players with $114,100, and 2001 champion Carlos Mortensen has $77,600. Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, the 2000 world champion, has $55,200 going into today's play.

Ted Forrest, who won the 2006 Heads-Up Poker championship, is in the hunt with $130,900.

Negreanu, who owns three World Series of Poker bracelets that signify his triumphs in individual competitions, has second-, seventh- and eighth-place finishes in this year's World Series events. In January, Negreanu won a World Series of Poker Circuit event at the Grand Casino in Tunica, Miss., taking home $755,528.

His success in 2006, coupled with a championship event field of amateur players and competitors winning seats through Internet poker tournaments, has given Negreanu a positive outlook.

"My key strategy was to be more aggressive," Negreanu said. "Every table has a lot of amateurs and online qualifiers and I've been able to bully them as much as possible. When I get to a table with some of my peers, I'll have to change my style a bit."

The plan has worked for the most part.

He's run into two types of amateurs during the World Series. Some have been easily bluffed because they're intimidated by his style. Others realize Negreanu's skills but won't back down.

"We're all after the same goal, that $12 million payday," Negreanu said.

His first round of the preliminaries July 28 took 15 hours to complete. Negreanu said his endurance helped him against the competition.

Negreanu has played in every World Series of Poker championship event since 1998. In 2001, he was the chip leader with 12 players remaining, but he lost several key hands and finished 11th.

He hopes history doesn't repeat itself.

"I've been playing well this year and my goal is to stay out of trouble, but not give up the aggressive play," Negreanu said.