Daniel Negreanu is one of the greatest poker players of all time. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors: - Backbone: https://playbackbone.com/lex to get perks with order - Audible: https://audible.com/lex to get 30-day free trial - Shopify: https://shopify.com/lex to get 14-day free trial - InsideTracker: https://insidetracker.com/lex to get 20% off - Fundrise: https://fundrise.com/lex EPISODE LINKS: Daniel's Twitter: https://twitter.com/RealKidPoker Daniel's Instagram: https://instagram.com/dnegspoker Daniel's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/dnegreanu Daniel's MasterClass: https://masterclass.com/lex (MasterClass is a sponsor, use link to support podcast) Daniel's books: Power Hold'em Strategy: https://amzn.to/3ByYtJg Hold'em Wisdom for All Players: https://amzn.to/3LpgXQG Book mentioned: Modern Poker Theory: https://amzn.to/3dkJIBK PODCAST INFO: Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ YouTube Full Episodes: https://youtube.com/lexfridman YouTube Clips: https://youtube.com/lexclips SUPPORT & CONNECT: - Check out the sponsors above, it's the best way to support this podcast - Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman - Twitter: https://twitter.com/lexfridman - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman - Medium: https://medium.com/@lexfridman OUTLINE: Here's the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time. (00:00) - Introduction (06:43) - Poker hands (14:39) - Poker ranges (20:10) - Game theory optimal (36:25) - Winning (42:57) - Losing (48:58) - Mental game (53:17) - Day in the life (1:02:20) - History of poker (1:06:10) - Poker solvers (1:12:46) - Online poker (1:20:49) - Greatest poker player of all time (1:40:43) - Main Event of the WSOP (1:49:14) - Advice for beginners (1:54:44) - Cheating (2:04:43) - Movies (2:10:10) - Advice for young people (2:19:29) - Love (2:24:43) - The Gambler
Chapter 1: What is discussed at the start of this section?
The following is a conversation with Daniel Negrano, one of the greatest poker players of all time. And now a quick few second mention of each sponsor. Check them out in the description. It's the best way to support this podcast. We've got Backbone for gaming on the go, Audible for audiobooks, Shopify for e-commerce, Insight Tracker for bio monitoring, and Fundrise for real estate investing.
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Chapter 2: How do poker players convey information at the table?
And he was doing things outside the norm that, again, in a vacuum, you could look at that and you go, that's incorrect. That he should not do. That is a clear-cut mistake. Even, you know, the solvers or the computers or game theory would say, this is wrong, what he's doing. But it's not wrong if he's doing it in a way that he's exploiting other players' tendencies.
Yeah.
So for example, with him, say he's playing far too aggressively. Okay. That's not good unless your opponents are playing way too passively. So if your opponents are playing passively, the answer is to be more aggressive with them. And that's, I think one of the biggest advantages he had was he was willing to do that.
So bet big, big, big pots bluffing.
So in a spot where somebody would make it a thousand, he's, he's, he's making it 22,000. Like what? What is this? This makes no sense.
And then people kind of know he has nothing, but they're too afraid to call him on it.
Well, and then sometimes what happens is this is where the leveling comes in. You're like, man, this guy's crazy. He's bluffing like nuts. Then he bets the 22,000 and you say, ah, I'm taking my stand. I call. And then he shows you like, you know, four of a kind or something like that. So he gets people out of their comfort zone. And I really enjoy watching him play.
He's probably my favorite player to watch today.
watching a guy like that what aspect of his play have you been able to incorporate into your own like what do you learn from that because you're constantly learning you're constantly adjusting yeah well no and i love it and as i said so i think a lot of players sort of come to the same conclusions about this is how you play the spot but he doesn't and i love watching and thinking in terms of like why he's doing this and one specific thing for example is
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Chapter 3: What are the challenges of cutting losses in poker?
Well, when you think of the World Series of Poker, so as you said, I lost about 1 million, right? In one tournament, that was 500,000. So then, you know, like a few others here of high buying tournaments. So the sample or the amount was, you know, 40, 50 total tournaments with, you know, high variance.
And if you don't run well or do well in the highest buy-ins, you know, you're going to have a losing summer.
So you did a podcast on the mental game a few years ago. That's just something you really care about. So what aspects of the mental game in poker is most difficult to master?
I think the most difficult thing for people is self-awareness, right? And resilience. Self-awareness to know, okay, so, you know, again, is it, am I not doing as well as I could be because of luck? Or is there things that I can learn? And I always look to mistakes as opportunities. I really do. When I make a mistake in a poker hand, right? Call it a breakdown or whatever.
And that's where breakthroughs happen. I'm like, oh, you know what I could have done here? I could have done this and that would have been really good. And I'm going to do that going forward. So I think like with anything, you know, when you start out playing golf, like your goal is to just hit the ball, right? Then you try to hit it in the air. Then you're trying to hit it straight.
Then you're trying to hit it on the green. Then you're trying to hit it closer to the green to the point where the pros get where, you know, they're so finite. They're trying to hit it 63 yards and spin it back three yards. It's imperfect. Like they don't hit the perfect shot because the perfect shot for them is it goes in, but they try and make the mistakes smaller and smaller and smaller.
Poker is the same. We all make mistakes consistently. The goal is to minimize, especially the big ones.
What was the lowest point for you psychologically? In poker in general, actually. Maybe it was this year, maybe it was in general. Do you remember there was times in your life, speaking of resilience, that were extremely difficult to you mentally?
Yeah. So early on, you know, as basically as, you know, as a teenager, I was playing Toronto and then in my early twenties, I'm like, I'm going to Vegas. Right. And I thought I was the best.
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Chapter 4: How has poker changed with the introduction of solvers?
It feels like the purity of the game is gone.
Chapter 5: What insights does Daniel Negreanu share about the mental game in poker?
Yeah.
It's much more robotic, right? So if you're playing 20 tables, you're just making decisions based on like what you, you know, you're not thinking about the depth of the situation and what just happened 15 minutes ago. You don't even know what happened because you can't pay attention to all that at once.
And some of the magic of poker is the low sample. I agree. Like for example, and sorry to be bringing up Magnus so much, but there's so much parallel between the two of you and the poker and the chess world. He hates Olympics and world championships and all that kind of stuff because it's so low sample. But to me, that's part of the magic of it. There's the World Series of Poker, the main event.
Chapter 6: How does Daniel Negreanu describe the importance of self-awareness in poker?
There's a magic to it.
I agree, yeah.
And I don't know what that is exactly because so much of the stake is so rare. so much drama and heartbreak leading up to it that all somehow, yeah, it accumulates to that magical moment when somebody wins.
especially that event the world series poker main event historically like that's it you know that's the pinnacle that's where like mainstream watches that's where people are tuning in and the gravity of the moment you know it's so much bigger than people like everyone gets the opportunity to play armchair quarterback too right oh he should do this you're not there you're not under the lights you're not under the pressure you know it might seem easy for you at home to be like well they have because you can see the whole cards you know they can't certainly the idea of
The small sample with tournaments. I like the idea that you don't have to worry about, oh, well, if I do this now, then in the future, you know, I won't be balanced. I have to be balanced here or anything like that. That's like really boring and lame, right? Again, that is kind of the way the younger generation learns how to play the game, being balanced in every spot.
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Chapter 7: What advice does Daniel Negreanu offer for beginners in poker?
Um, and then randomizing, you know, like, oh, I'm supposed to do this 50% of the time. Okay. So if my left card is red, I'll do it. And if it's black, I don't. So you're not even making, you're no longer making actual decisions for yourself. You're just randomizing. And that's way less fun for me than tailoring it to the situation.
And the final table at the main event, there's none of that. You have to, I mean, it's all or nothing.
Well, you shouldn't be, but there are.
Chapter 8: How does love influence Daniel Negreanu's life and poker career?
Like, again, I think a lot of the young guys, they are thinking in that regard.
Like, oh, randomization. Maybe at that table, the final table at the main event. What's a hand that stands out to you that was especially gutsy and powerful or memorable for that you've seen in the history of poker?
Well, for me, the one that stands out and probably because I was so young and it was my first year, like when I won a bracelet that year was I was friends with Scotty Wynn, the Prince of Poker. And he was heads up against the guy named Kevin McBride. And I was on the rail, you know, I'm like, wow, he's going to, you know, he's heads up. And he was so cool. Like he had a mullet, but it's perfect.
Right. He had the white shirt, the black thing. He's drinking a Michelob, smoking a cigarette, whatever, you know, all chill.
Yeah.
He bets it all on the river and the guy's thinking, and he psychologically owned him. And he said, he goes with his beard, he goes, you call going to be all over baby. That's right. Okay. So this guy who was an amateur heard that and was like, there's so much pressure in this moment right now. I can't handle this pressure. But Scotty just told me if I call here, it's the pressure's gone.
I don't have to be under it anymore. So he sort of hypnotized them into making the call, you know, and Scotty had it. Scotty had, you know, the full house and it was over for the guy. You call going to be all over, baby. It was, I just, I love that aspect, sort of the table talk dynamic, which isn't as prevalent today as it was back then.
Um, but that one sticks out and it probably, because it was one of my first.
So, um, the few words you say at the table can completely affect a hand like that. That's scary.
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