If Daniel Negreanu Feels Like He Made the Right Play, He's Right

Daniel Negreanu was knocked out in 11th in a hand worth discussing.

Daniel agrees.

The hands you get knocked out with are often worth studying. Since you busted, perhaps you made a mistake?

Perhaps you could have played it differently? Perhaps you can improve your game by studying it?

The Deeper You Dig

Bustouts are for learning.

When I get knocked out I’m often quite upset to the extent that it's apparent to others. What they fail to realize is that I'm almost always upset with myself -- not my tournament slayer.

I want to improve and get better and the best - and easiest – way is to focus on the weak parts of the game and try to plug the leaks that cost you the most.

Sometimes I conclude that I played well but a lot of times I see that I made a mistake. The deeper you dig, the closer you get to the truth.

Many times I'm pleased with how I played the hand in a vacuum.

But then I realize that I made a mistake because I didn’t take into account the opponent's state of mind, our common history, how he perceived me or something else that makes poker the most beautiful game on the planet.

Why Rock the Boat?

With 11 players left the big chipleader, Joe McKeehen, was in gobbler heaven. He was doing a perfect impression of the cookie monster against the four shortest stacks remaining, all on his table.

Joe McKeehen, aka Cookie Monster.

The six bigger stacks on the other table played only a little more than half the hands the cookie monster and the short stacks did. There was one player stalling a lot and I would like to see that addressed in the rulebook in the future.

Let's not spoil the fun. I expect a big discussion about it when the WSOP airs this fall.

Negreanu and the other short stacks showed a lot of class by not stalling themselves. The cookie monster Joe McKeehen was raising almost every hand five-handed and made it 800K with blinds 200-400 with 50 ante on the button.

Negreanu had A4 and 6.425m left after posting the bb. Against a button-raise range of close to 100% the all-in with any ace is the right move according to most players and all poker theory.

I would have gone all-in myself without much thought. The main reason is that I don’t think the chipleader would call me light because he's enjoying the set up too much.

He picks up 850K with his 800K in most other hands. Why rock the boat?

You Can Do a Lot With 15 BBs Five-Handed

But there are always exceptions to poker rules. Daniel Negreanu is one of the most successful poker tournament players of all time.

If he feels that he made the right play by just calling pre-flop, he's right.

Perhaps he knew that McKeehen would call light to try to knock out the best player left? If so, A4 does not play well against the chipleader's range.

Negreanu is a great reader of tells. Perhaps he had a good read on his opponent or someone else at the table?

Not in this case.

The expected value can greatly increase by seeing flops if so, but that's a concept the online generation don’t understand because they are blind to tells.

You can do a lot with 15 BBs five-handed when the pressure is on and you have a good feel where everybody is at after many hours of playing together.

'Not for Me, and Not in That Situation'

A weak ace plays easy post flop. When Daniel hits he is never folding and he can get value from smaller pairs.

The chipleader will always c-bet with an ace on the flop. Negreanu will get extra value and will blast away most draws with his remaining chip stack.

Shutting out draws and getting paid by lesser holdings is a lot of equity.

On a lot of flops he can put pressure on the opponent and force a fold and pick up some extra chips, or even make him fold a better hand.

On other flops he can just fold having risked only one BB to win 4.25 BB plus a probable c-bet. Risking 6.22% of your stack is nothing compared to the positive possibilities when taking a flop.

Negreanu sums it up very clearly:

Some will argue that against a player who opens 100% of buttons in that spot, that moving all in preflop is a better play. I think for most people that is absolutely true, but not for me, and not in that situation.

Poker is So Much More

Studied a few tells in his day.

Imagine anyone else not moving all-in pre-flop with A4? That person would be absolutely blasted in the forums and labeled a complete fish by all online-grinding players.

I've taken criticism for playing differently than the current poker fashion dictates.

But that is from players who have not played as long as Daniel Negreanu and I have, and have not studied tells for even an hour.

Poker is so much more. Try new things - all the time - and perhaps one day you will see things in a different light when the light bulb switches on.

About Ken Lennaárd:

Sweden's most controversial poker blogger Ken Lennaárd has been around the professional poker circuit for almost 20 years. Among his numerous accomplishments are Swedish Championships both live and online, three WSOP final tables and over $1.5m in live earnings. He's now bringing his singular poker voice to the English world via PokerListings.com. Look for new posts every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Note: Opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not represent the views of PokerListings.com.