– Any updates on Game of Gold season two?
– Unfortunately, I don't see it happening, but who knows, that could change. I thought it was great stuff.
– Daniel, Do you think the “Big Beautiful Bill act” is going to ruin live tournaments (in America)with the 90% cap on loss deductions?
– I think that part will get repealed. If I had to guess, I'd say it's like 72% to get done since both sides of the aisle agree it's really stupid and unfair, and I know for a fact the guy at the top thinks its stupid and unfair.
– I just stayed next to the Daniel Negreanu suite in the Kings casino in Rosvadov, Czech Republic. Do you really stay in that suite when you are there? – I'm sorry but I touched the doornob for good luck. Forgot it the last day and lost 3/4 of my stack with AA vs. AK where 2 kings were flopped..
– Ha! I did stay in it for a night but we moved to another room cause Amanda hates the smell of cigarette smoke and someone next door must have been a chain smoker haha.
– What happened to the ChoiceCenter cult?
Ed. – About 10 years ago, Daniel actively advertised this organization. From his own website, Daniel wrote:
– "My experience at ChoiceCenter was awesome and the results I’ve been able to create in my life as a result have been a fulfillment of things I could only dream of. Not just talking about the Player of the Year Awards in poker either. I’m physically the strongest I’ve ever been, easily in the best shape of my life. My relationships with friends and family are stronger and deeper than they ever have been. I have a clear vision for my life and the world. I get that I can make a difference for people, and I also see it as a life worth living. Making a difference. We all can in our own way."
– LOL, it's not a cult. It is an excellent course on Emotional Intelligence using experiential learning. If you look up the definition of a cult, Choice is the opposite of all the key markers. I know hundreds of people who went through it, and less than a handful who didn't think it was a life changing experience for them.
– This is the cultiest response ever. It’s very culty sorry they got you.
– What are your thoughts on learning poker as a beginner in the current age? Would you still lean towards recommending more classic methods or would you recommend a more modern approach?
– I think a combination of learning and studying theory and once you have a decent handle on that, using some more old school methods, like feel and instinct. The best players in the world, while they understand theory, they aren't slaves to it.
– What does this even mean? What are classic methods?
– You just look at a man and feel that he doesn't have it and call with K high.
– How do you think online poker will be doing in 5/10 years?
– I think it will constantly have to evolve and grow in different ways. Lots of sharp cookies out there always looking for an edge, so you need to get creative on ways to keep the ecosystem healthy.
– How much have you made by shifting to right wing talking points?
– Huh? You think I get paid for my posts? LOL. Really silly. Truthfully, there isn't a single core issue where my views changed. The extremes got more extreme, which left me politically homeless. I don't align with either party, I agree with some positions on both sides and I don't do "talking points"
– Did you really switch from a bleeding heart liberal to a MAGA? Please give us your hot political take and what made you support the current administration.
– No. I consider myself politically homeless and don't align with either party in their current state.
– you cracked my QQ with 53d at Foxwoods back in 1998, a $530 tourney, near the money. I won't ever forgive you for that. 😂
– Sorry, not sorry. :-)
– This smiley reminds me of 1998.
– What do you think needs an immediate change in next years WSOP in Vegas?
– Ideally in the future we get to chess clocks, but until we do, every tourney with a buy in $5k or greater needs to go with shot clocks. Too many angle shooters sucking money out of the ecosystem by stalling with impunity. At least with a clock, if they take too long they have to pay a price by using one of their time banks.
– How much money have you earned throughout your career?
– I'm truly terrible with money and have no idea. Money is never what drove me, and I always had an abundant mindset every since I was young. ( Ed. – Perception of life as a space of opportunities, where there are enough resources and success for everyone ).
– Will AI make online Poker obsolete? Or is the constant progression in AI Solutions a threat to online poker and its integrity in general?
– It's a cat and mouse game. AI will be a weapon players use to try and get an edge, but operators will also have access to these tools and be able to spot it- hopefully!
– Who is the person you enjoy most playing against and why?
– Gotta be Phil Hellmuth because it's funny to watch him mumble when he loses a pot lol.
– Do you feel that there is still significant money to be made playing poker today? From my perspective, the edge seems very slim now, and it’s understandable that many pros are moving into coaching, social media, and partnerships. We also hear a lot about talented players going broke. What’s your take on the current opportunities and risks for professional poker players?
– I think what people miss here is that if you are really good, you can still make loads of money. Maybe what changed over the last 20 years is that it used to be, you could just be OK and still win because the bad players were so bad, while today, the casual players are much better than they used to be, and the best players are even better than they used to be. So if you are a middle of the road kinda guy, you may not be able to cut it anymore.
– Do you feel that your role as an ambassador for the poker scene interferes with your ability to be a profitable professional player?
– I don't really, but its a fair question. It's never been something I even questioned as far as my place in the community, balancing both playing, and promoting the game in whatever ways I can. I feel like I've done a good job balancing it to the point where the outside stuff doesn't take too much away from my ability to play well.
As for the tech question, its a cat and mouse game, players will look to find an edge, but operators need to be one step ahead of them and find ways to police the game.
– As a big fan of mixed games and as their site ambassador, do you think GGPoker will ever roll out Omaha Hi Lo into their game selection?
– Man I hope so! I would love to see mixed games introduced on the site. I think it will happen.
– What hand lives rent free in your head?
– Year 2000 Carlos Mortensen won the main event, I was chip leader with 12 left and finished 11th after playing vs in a massive pot. Flop was and I whiffed the turn and the river.
– What advice do you have for a person starting to become a pro? How do you manage your bankroll?
– Don't do what I did lol. In all seriousness, poker is easier now in regards to bankroll management because there are so many options to drop down in stakes if your bankroll takes a hit. When I started, it was just one game and there was no real option to play smaller... so I went broke many, many times!
– How did marriage affect your playing?
– Really nice to have a support system where no matter how good/bad my day was, I come home and won the lottery because she is there waiting for me.
– One of my favorite poker video clips out there is you telling Phil Hellmuth that he isn't better than Phil Ivey at anything. Do you still stand by that statement? Just how much credit is fair to give to Phil Hellmuth for his poker expertise?
– I can't think of anything. Literally not one thing that Hellmuth is better at, and that covers basketball, poker, or any other game you can think of! There isn't any game I would bet on Hellmuth over Ivey... would you?
– If they both had to write a children's book in a few hours, Hellmuth probably wins. Otherwise...no.
– What's your favorite sandwich?
– Vegan version of a Reuben with sauerkraut, thousand island, faux corned beef, provolone, on Jewish Rye.
– When you had a 40k bankroll and gave Phil Ivey 20k of it, how long did it take him to turn that 20k into 7 figures? To expand, was this example common for pros back in the day? Nothing to 7 figures to nothing?
– Well, he never had 7 figures to nothing lol. But he worked hard and payed it back in about a month as he won probably $200k at the Commerce playing Stud every day.
– Since you licked your chops in this manner early on, do you think it’s fair to assume you’d still be in and out of being broke in 2025 if it wasn’t for poker becoming very popular and marketable which led to you getting/still getting some very lucrative endorsement deals?
– As for being broke, definitely not. In 2002 I was already playing super high stakes, $4000-$8000 limit and had several million as a bankroll.
– I see lots of players with Hendon Mob numbers for live winnings in the millions. Of course these numbers don’t include buyins. What fraction do you guess are actually profitable in tournaments and what percentage of their winnings is actually profitable typically for the winning players?
– Depends on the buy in level, I imagine it's much easier to be profitable at lower stakes, but also lower stakes attract far more losing players than high stakes.
In high stakes, lets say a $25k buy in with 100 players, you probably have about 65 players who lose long term, and 35 winners. That's probably even too high though, as some pros who would be winners otherwise in smaller events are losers in the higher buy in events.
I dunno, it might be closer to 50/50, or even less.
– What is your opinion about mystery bounty tournies? If you play them, any tips you can share?
– They are super popular and it kind of gives everyone a chance at a big score, even players that aren't so good. I think the correct strategy for those is to really go for it, try and build a big stack and go for as many bounties as you can, even with some really bad hands.
– Who, in your opinion, is the strongest tournament player?
– I was sure I would see this question, but it is impossible to answer. Even if I could name one, I would not, because that player will have a psychological advantage when we are at the same table.
– Why don’t you give Amanda $10-20k and send her to stream Hustler, just for fun?
– Haha, believe me, she will not agree.
– Is age an advantage or a disadvantage in poker?
– Good question!
Pros: Wisdom and usually more financially secure
Cons: Young guys on the come up are hungry, they want to learn and soak up everything like a sponge. Many of the older guard are too stubborn to learn the new trends, and become complacent.
– How much money do you have?
– No idea.
– Did your choice of profession somehow affect your relationships with family and friends?
– Once I dove in, my social life became mostly other poker players, so I didn't live a normal life, going to college, etc. My mother was skeptical, but eventually came around when I started to succeed and prove to her I could make this work. My Dad, he always knew I was gonna be just fine.
– What poker skill would you instill in the brains of all people who are not involved in the game?
– Readiness to always take responsibility for the result. It is impossible to influence luck or fortune, but you can focus on the process and how to react to the events that happen in our lives.
How you react to something bad determines your chances of success.
– Detention (2008) was a cool enjoyable movie that you had a cameo in. I then saw in the closing credits that you were also credited as a producer on this movie. What made you get involved?, did you know any of them personally before the project?
– I do a cameo in all of Joseph Kahn's movies actually! The most recent one in a new film called "Ick"
He is a famous music video director and I met him when shooting a poker campaign with him and we became friendly and so I've invested in his movies. I was also in "Bodied" which is a movie about battle rapping.
He also put me in Katy Perry's music video "Waking Up in Vegas" if you watch it... you will see she is playing poker against me ha.
– Have you always been this cringey?
– Yup, ever since I was little. Your mom seemed to like me though.
– How can someone like Men the Master be caught on video pulling his chips back after losing an all-in and still be allowed to play in the WSOP?
– You would have to prove intent.
– In your opinion, do bracelets online and offline have different values?
– Formally, they are the same, but players naturally consider some bracelets more significant. One of the most prestigious is for the players' championship, which I won a year ago.
– Do you think an online bracelet is worth less than a live bracelet?
– They are officially worth the same, but certainly some bracelets have more prestige attached to them than others, and I won one of those last year in the PPC :-)
– What do you think poker will be in 50 years ?
Dead ? Only live ?
– I think poker lives forever.
– Dnegs why don't you play cash games anymore?
– Because they don't give away trophies, only money, and I already have money.
– What are your best book recommendations? For fundamentals/GTO base knowledge, exploitative play, mental game, and entertainment?
– I think Modern Poker Theory is a good book explaining how GTO actually works.
– If you they stripped your image and millions, could you start from zero again in this day and age poker?
– Yes, absolutely. I sometimes think how fun that would be and nostalgic, but then I remember I have built up a great life and don't want to live in a motel anymore lol.
– What would you like you're legacy to be? What do you want people to say about you Daniel?
– I used to care a lot more in my 20's but can honestly say that in my 50's, with a dream wife, and dream life, I don't really care much anymore.
The word that comes to mind, is authentic. I'm me, always, take it or leave it. Some don't like me, and chances are they aren't exactly the kind of people I would enjoy either.
There isn't a person on this Earth, that I know of, that doesn't like me and I think, "Dang, I really like that guy and wish we could be friends."
– Is there a moment in your career when you knew you were completely outmatched at the table, and how did you handle it?
– Many times when I was younger, most notably the 1999 US Poker Championship, my first time on ESPN as a young whipper snapper playing John Bonetti heads up.
I check raised the flop with an overcard and a flush draw, and he moved in. It's a close spot, if I felt like I was much better than him, A) I wouldn't have check raised, and B), if I did, I would fold to the jam.
Because I felt like he was getting the better of me, I took this shot to win the tourney. He had AT on T62 two spades, I had Q9 of spades.
Turn Ace.
River Spade!!! Maybe it's true what they say about catching more cards when you are younger :-)
– If you could play a private heads-up match against any historical figure (poker player or not), who would it be, why and what would your strategy be against them?
– Bob Marley for sure! I would probably get a contact high and laugh a lot, and wouldn't care if I won or not, would just enjoy the company.
– What’s the single biggest mindset difference between a good player and a truly elite one?
– Adaptability. Knowing how to adjust, and change gears depending on your opponents strengths and weaknesses.
"GTO" focuses on not being exploitable, the elite are looking to exploit their opponents, not by playing GTO, but by deviating and taking advantage of your weaknesses.
– I am a recreational player who plays low stakes with friends over a few beers.
What one thing should I concentrate on / learn to improve my game?
– Try to figure out who your opponents are. Create a player profile for each player. Example:
Bob never bluffs, so when he bets big he has it.
Mary pretends like she is timid, but she is really aggressive and bluffs a lot
When John bets the full pot it's always a strong hand, but when he bluffs, he usually bets half pot
