Here are Daniel Negreanu’s rules that every new poker player should follow if he hopes to make a career in the sport.
If you had the chance to win a big live poker tournament, with the chance to ask Daniel Negreanu for help, what questions would you ask him?
Shortly before taking part in the PokerStars Championship in Monte Carlo, the Canadian PokerStars Pro found himself almost by chance at a table full of casual players.
A real unscheduled, lots of laughter kissed by the sun that has leaked through the open roof of the Salles des Etoiles of the Monte Carlo Casino, as a golden opportunity to deepen the best poker strategies for beginners.
We sat down with them and listened to their questions and Daniel’s answers. We will not go into everything, but we have tried to summarize the most important answers on which the pro has focused, extrapolating in particular those that we can consider the rules of Daniel Negreanu par excellence in matters of poker.
1. Do not show your hand if it is not necessary
“Prohibited to show and overplay hands”
PT: Among the fundamental rules of Daniel Negreanu is that of never showing your hand.
DN: There is no reason to show your hand, regardless of whether you are bluffing or not. If you do, people will dwell on some of your moves and take countermeasures.
You have to have some experience to do it, sometimes I also show my cards, but before I do it I know why I do it and when it is right to do it. It’s part of the way I play.
I want the players at my table to know what they are capable of. But it is better not to extend this style to the whole field possible. It always depends on who you are dealing with.
Also, it’s best not to overplay your hand. A-Q, for example, is a strange hand. It should not be 4-bet because if you get an all-in you are practically dead. What do you think your opponent will beat?
2. Reading is based on Small Things
PT: More than Daniel Negreanu’s rules, here we should talk about “talents”, as reading the tell is a gift to cultivate.
DN: It is a matter of noticing some things and of treasuring them, but it cannot be valid for everyone. It is not easy and it takes time to refine everything.
Be careful not to be fooled. For example, I am used to giving many reverse tell. Once in a tournament I was bluffing and I put a hand in my face.
I received the call and everyone saw my bluff, it was a TV table. Since then, for about a year I have repeated the same move when I had a big point, and people have fallen for it.
3. Don’t Bluff
PT: Bluffing is always a thorny subject and it is not surprising that Daniel Negreanu’s rules include limiting this practice to the maximum.
DN: I never bluff, or at least very rarely bluff. I happened to do it, for example, once against Isaac Haxton, but it is a rare situation that should not be repeated.
4. Don’t ‘melt’ too early
PT: Many experts will suggest you to play immediately in a loose way but among the rules of Daniel Negreanu there is the exact opposite …
DN: If you think it’s fair to see a lot of flops when the blinds are low, you’re wrong. It is a bad way to play poker.
Don’t keep limping in the early levels. For example, on the 25/50 blinds the pot is made up of 75 chips, that is, nothing.
Later, especially when the ante time comes, there are many more chips to win, both before and after the flop. That’s when you need to start playing a little more loose.
5. Be Credible when playing Tight
PT: A vital piece of advice regarding tight play style in live poker tournaments.
DN: If you haven’t played a hand for a while, make sure people notice it, because it’s the best way to be credible when you finally get back into action.
If the other players don’t realize that you’re playing tight, you won’t get any long-term benefit.
6. You must always have a motivation
“It is not enough to want something, you have to have a good motivation to want it”
PT: is included among Daniel Negreanu’s rules for poker but can be extended to any type of game or sport.
DN: I don’t think it is enough simply to know what you want and where you want to go. It is also important for me to understand the way and motivation to achieve a goal.
Take for example a poker tournament. Why do you want to win it? For money? OK, but why? What will you do with the money you win in that tournament?
Or do you just want to feel fulfilled? Well, but why is it so important to you? If you don’t have a strong motivation behind everything, it will be very difficult to reach a goal.
In life I have heard of billionaire people who thought of making even more money. People who have never had problems complain that a coffee cost 5 dollars. Why should they worry about certain things?
These people believe that ‘the more you have, the better you are’, which is a big lie. He believes that having more money makes you happier, but it doesn’t work that way.
7. Failing is also Positive
PT: perhaps this is the only one of Daniel Negreanu’s rules that you will have difficulty digesting, yet it is a sacred truth.
DN: Failure can be important: everyone fails, it happened to me too.
More than once I have won a lot of money, I thought I was in full control, but after 24 hours I found myself having lost everything and returning sadly to the hotel.
The return journeys from the casino back home were very important to me. I benefited from it because they allowed me to learn something every time.
Daniel Negreanu’s Rules: Conclusions
If you want to know our opinion on what has been said so far by the greatest player of all time, then here it is for you without hair on the tongue: read Daniel Negreanu’s rules well, but cut them out on yourself.
Each player has different skills and motivations, and it is these that can lead you to success, together with that component that can never be missing even for a professional like Daniel: luck.
The best advice therefore is to draw inspiration from the great players and try as much as possible to apply the rules of Daniel Negreanu to your playing style as well as those of other poker champions. Remember, however, that “your” personal play style requires practice and flexibility to come out.
