Daniel Negreanu Has High Expectations For 2018 World Series of Poker

Daniel Negreanu’s campaign for more World Series of Poker bracelets starts in a few weeks in Las Vegas, Nevada. The six-time bracelet winner has come close in recent years to adding more jewelry to his collection. Negreanu sets high expectations for himself on an annual basis and 2018 is no different. This week on his Full Contact Poker blog, Negreanu outlined his prospective schedule and his overall goals for a season of buy-ins worth close to $1.5 million.

Volume, volume, volume

Of the 78 events listed on the WSOP schedule, Negreanu is set up to play a maximum of 39. His calendar starts on June 1 with the $100,000 No Limit Hold’em High Roller and wraps up with the $1 million Big One For One Drop.

Negreanu’s summer plans start even before the World Series opens. The $300,000 Super High Roller Bowl opens on May 27 and Negreanu is among the 30 lottery selections for the event. The $25,000 and $100,000 High Rollers at ARIA and Bellagio that parallel Super High Roller Bowl are also on his list.

Over the course of the six-week Rio grind, Negreanu only has four scheduled days off for himself with two aligned back-to-back before the start of the $10,000 Main Event.

Mixed Games galore

Negreanu’s chase for more bracelets is more intensive on mixed game events over no-limit hold’em. In recent years, Negreanu swore off playing the novelty four-figure Hold’em events like Millionaire Maker and Monster Stack citing that he didn’t enjoy them.

There are 11 no-limit events on Negreanu’s schedule and the lowest buy-in among them is the $1,500 No Limit Shootout event. For standard no-limit hold’em, the smallest entry is $3,000.

Every mixed game in the book is on Negreanu’s list with a wide range of $10,000 Championship events listed. Last summer, Negreanu lost heads up for bracelet number seven to Abe Mosseri in the $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo event.

The tournament is one of the first for Negreanu this summer. It is joined in the $10,000 category by the Dealers Choice tournament, HORSE, Seven Card Stud, and Pot Limit Omaha. In total, Negreanu plans to participate in 13 $10,000 buy-ins.

Time to close

The hunt for a seventh bracelet has been treacherous for Negreanu. His drought dates back to October 2013 when he won the WSOP Europe €25,600 High Roller in Cannes, France. In the time between then and the end of 2017, Negreanu collected three silver medals across nine final tables.

Last year alone, Negreanu made the final table of four events, including the sought-after $50,000 Poker Players Championship. Negreanu’s 11 cashes resulted in an 11th place finish under the controversial WSOP Player of the Year points system.

On United States soil, Negreanu is in a drought that rivals the Las Vegas desert. Negreanu has not won a bracelet in the U.S. since 2008 when he won the $2,000 Limit Hold’em event. That tournament no longer exists. Negreanu won bracelet number five in Australia in April 2013 when he won the World Series of Poker Asia Pacific A$10,000 Main Event.

Negreanu habit of losing to tough competition dogs him with Paul Volpe, Dan Colman, and Eli Elezra among the players who have beat topped ‘Kid Poker’.

Following up on his goals

Negreanu’s blog at the start of 2018 featured his list of goals for the year. At top of the list is for him to win a bracelet this year. The goal in 2017 was to win three and Negreanu stated that winning a bracelet is “not as easy as it looks.”

The best chance at a bracelet for Negreanu might be in the Big One for One Drop. A field of at most 50 players is expected and Negreanu took second the last time around in 2014. Negreanu would knock a goal off his list by final tabling One Drop or Super High Roller Bowl.

Hitting 115 cashes is also on there and would require Negreanu to finish in the money 10 times.

Gone are the days of massive bracelet bets but Negreanu is still plenty motivated to add to his World Series of Poker legacy.

Photo credit: Joe Giron/PokerStars

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