Daniel Negreanua (aka “Kid Poker”) is a professional poker player who has won six World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets and two World Poker Tour (WPT) championship titles. The independent poker ranking service Global Poker Index (GPI) recognized Negreanu as the best poker player of the decade in 2014.  As of 2018, he is the 2nd biggest live tournament poker winner of all time, having accumulated over $39,500,000 in prize money. He is the only player in history to win WSOP Player of the Year twice.

 

Some interesting insights from this episode: 

• He was making more money than his teachers playing poker so he quit high school to pursue his passion full time. 

• He would keep a journal during his games where he would track his mood and observe how it affected his game play. This allowed him to better control his emotional states and be more steady and focused. 

• His advantage and edge is mental preparation and the ability to deal with adversity when it comes. 

• It’s important to get clear on what your intention is going into something. It’s about knowing what the steps are to accomplish whatever intention that you set. 

• “Whenever you think that you’ve mastered something in life, that’s the exact moment when someone’s about to surpass you.” 

• There’s a difference between being a victim to circumstance and standing completely responsible for your results. 

• Excellence is the pursuit of ultimate integrity which means doing exactly what you said you were going to do.