Poker Stories: Daniel Negreanu’s World Series of Poker, Part 7
After a disappointing month and a half in Las Vegas, it’s the final days of Daniel Negreanu's World Series of Poker (WSOP) journey.
On day 46, as he drives in for day 2 of the $3k H.O.R.S.E event, he carefully reflects on what went wrong the day before. As a poker pro who is used to the big swings of a professional gambler, he’s always trying to level up his game and make sure that he stays on his toes.
No amount of introspection, however, can compensate for bad luck. When he gets it all-in with aces to start in 7-card stud, his opponent sucks out on him, hitting two pairs on the last two cards.
“We were a pretty, pretty, pretty insanely pretty high, frickin’ insane favorite!” he laments.
Time to buy into the $1500 No Limit Hold ‘Em tournament called “The Closer”. When he busts out again in no time with a small straight against a bigger straight, he rebuys, saying that he's “having a blast!”
The chips flow his way for some time, but then things take a turn for the worse again. Ultimately, he busts out with 99 vs TT.
One last attempt for the day: the $10k 6max NLHE. When he gets it all in with AK versus A5, he’s glad to have a dominating hand, but when the 5 shows up the river, his opponent smiles and waves, laughing “bye bye Daniel!”
Photo: PokerNews
The next day begins with him reflecting on how “the number one factor that determines whether someone is going to have a successful Series is luck,” saying that it’s okay to feel frustrated when things don’t go your way as long as you can show up the next day, ready to play.
The $5k turbo goes well enough, but the real drama kicks in late in the night when complete chaos unfolds. Someone threw a rock through the casino window, creating a panic that there was an active shooter. Negreanu ended up getting trampled, his hand so bloody that you can see the bone.
“As for my stack, I couldn’t care less at this point,” he sighs. “I’m just glad we’re safe… at the moment, you think there’s a guy coming to kill you. It doesn’t matter if it’s real.”
They reset the tournament, and Negreanu starts stacking up some chips, getting it to about double the average stack size by the first break. When he gets it all-in on a 50-50 flip with JT vs 99, he hits the jack and wins a big pot. He then follows it up by winning an all-in with KK vs JJ.
When he eventually loses in 13th place, he wins $26k. His World Series is over, and he provides us with some final thoughts.
“It’s never easy to say goodbye, but this is gonna be the last hurrah. We’re gonna close things out… We did try our best, and we came back fighting every day… I’m gonna go home, sit on the couch, and play chess, maybe watch some TV. It’s good to end on a high note.”
Overall, Daniel Negreanu lost $1,104,028 during the 2022 World Series of Poker. The good news, he says, is that he can afford it.
