Daniel Negreanu is the only high-stakes player who shares his yearly win/loss record publicly, and the headline for this year's annual review is an eye-opener: "HOW I LOST OVER 2 MILLION DOLLARS in a YEAR!"
A “whopping big old number” is how Negreanu describes his record-breaking 2023 loss of $2,228,174 across 145 events. That's going to hurt anyone, but Negreanu's 30 years as a pro have immunized him to pain, to some extent—enough at least to enable him to look at things critically.
Four reasons for failure
Negreanu breaks down the reasons for his big loss in 2023 into four parts, starting with ending 2022 so well. He registered a $1,625,545 profit that year after winning the Super High Roller Bowl for $3,312,000 in October. He followed that up with three six-figure cashes, including a super-deep finish (17th) in the WPT World Championship.
“Winner’s tilt,” as Negreanu describes it, saw him enter 2023 “a little too high in my britches. Sometimes, when you’re winning too much, you start to get sloppy and play poorly as a result.”
On top of that, Negreanu claims he played too many tournaments and suffered some really bad luck at critical moments, especially in high-roller events, where edges are naturally smaller.
New year, new poker plan
So, how does he plan to bounce back from such a brutal reverse?
“First of all, I’m going to run better! That’s already decided,” Negreanu declares, half-joking and half-praying to the poker gods, before setting out a four-step plan that would serve every poker player well.
- Play only when ready
“You never say, ‘I don’t feel like playing’ and then do well.” Basically, it’s tough to grind out the tough games when you’re not committed to them. - Less gamble
The “shrug, gamble, and rebuy” approach won’t be part of the 2024 Negreanu plan. - Stay humble and work hard
Negreanu has consistently worked to keep his game at the top, and 2024 will see him studying some more. In modern terms, “If you’re going to deviate from the norm or from a GTO line, first and foremost you have to know what the damned line was!” - WSOP Player of the Year 2024
While describing it as “incredibly important to me,” Daniel has decided not to set his sights on a title he has won twice already, claiming that “the system is broken.” Multi-tabling, mixing live with online, and trying to fire bullets in everything to chase points is not going to happen this year. “Dividing my focus like that does not bode well. We are going to focus on quality over quantity.”
You can watch the full 2023 review from Negreanu below.
