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Daniel Negreanu Aims To Take Top Spot In All-Time Earnings List

Negreanu Needs Third Place Or Better To Pass Phil Ivey

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Daniel NegreanuYou can catch all the action at the PCA Super High Roller event by following along with the live updates.

UPDATE: Negreanu has made the top two and is guaranteed at least $1 million, overtaking Ivey at the top of the all-time money list.

With a third-place finish or better in today’s Super High Roller event at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, Daniel Negreanu will take over the top spot in the all-time earnings list. Negreanu currently needs $480,953 to overtake Phil Ivey, who sits with $13,476,861. Though he made it one of his new year’s resolutions, Negreanu downplayed the feat before the final table began.

“With Ivey, it’s a lifelong battle,” Negreanu said. “I don’t look at it as if this event has to be the one. My goal is to chip away and if I pass him, try to maintain that lead. For me, it’s more a case of winning. I’m not too concerned with locking up a second or third place finish, I’m going after the win.”

When asked about his chances, Negreanu went so far as to predict the final three. “It’s going to be tough. There are a lot of good players still remaining, including my good friends Eugene Katchalov and Nick Schulman. If I had to make a prediction, I would say that two two and myself would make up the final three, hopefully with me coming out on top.”

Though he has enjoyed playing in this $100,000 event, Negreanu was reluctant to recommend them for multiple tournament series throughout the year.

“Poker cannot sustain them long term, that’s why they are special. I love the idea of them, the concept is great. It’s a high level, sophisticated field with very few bad players, but it’s not something that should be run once a month. I think once a year, at the PCA is enough, simply because $100,000 is a big chunk of most bankrolls.”

But is it a big chunk to Negreanu’s bankroll? Many in the field of 38 players pieced themselves out to others in order to come up with the six-figure buy-in, but not Negreanu.

“I have 100 percent of myself. Sometimes I trade a couple percentages with some other players, just for fun, but this time I have the whole enchilada. I did, however, buy a couple pieces of other players, none of whom are still in by the way. In fact, I even managed to bust one of them.”

Some poker books advocate having at least 100 times the tournament buy-in in your bankroll before participating, but Negreanu wasn’t concerned with the numbers.

“Who cares about that stuff? That’s Sklansky stuff. I’ve never paid attention to bankroll management, which is probably why I’ve gone broke so many times. The important thing to remember here is that most people who put up $100,000, whether they have the money or not, are doing it to test themselves. It’s less about your edge and more about the thrill of playing for something so substantial.”