ShareDaniel Negreanu has told his fans that unless he pulls off a major result in December, then 2023 could well be the worst year of his poker career.
The former all-time money leader for live tournaments wrote that age might be finally starting to take its toll on his mental acuity.
The underlying reasons for a bad year have been luck and playing too much, according to Negreanu.
The playing too much part meaning that he cannot grind like he used to be able to.
This will surprise quite a few observers. The 49-year-old is dedicated to a healthy lifestyle and if he’s struggling, how will the majority get on when it’s their turn to experience the reality of ageing?
However, it’s not clear if the situation Negreanu describes is as bad as it looks. He says that he cannot “make decisions as clearly in the moment when tired “. But he doesn’t say how he feels when he’s at peak performance.
Maybe all is well when he takes care of himself and gets sufficient rest.
Another reason for poor performance during 2023 is playing too many events, significantly reducing the importance of them all. Simply put, it’s difficult to care as much when playing all of the time.
We imagine that having made as much money as the Canadian has in the last 30 years, it probably does become tough to care as much about the result.
That said, these guys at the top of the game generally do care more about winning titles than they do about the money. Or so they say…
November Off
To address these issues, Negreanu has decided to take the entire month of November off to focus on preparing for the WSOP Paradise in December.
Despite his struggles this year, Negreanu has only experienced one other year in his career where he did not win over the calendar year. That’s some going, and another losing year is to be expected, to be honest.
And then there’s the WSOP. In recent years, it has not been kind to Negreanu.
In 2022, he reported a $1.1 million loss, and this year, he has lost another $742,807. However, Negreanu remains optimistic and says he looks forward to grinding hard at the WSOP, as he believes it is not an issue for him.
We look forward to seeing a revitalised Daniel Negreanu charging out of the blocks in December.
