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Daniel Negreanu Email - Advice For Going Pro


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Lol, just came across this email DN sent me when I was 16 in reply to an email I sent him asking him about going pro. I couldn't help but face palm myself over some of the things I said so when you read this, please keep in mind that this happened over 6 years ago when I was 16 and at the time I was completely naive to many things, like "grown up" responsibilities or basic worldly concepts like rent. I hadnt even played real money poker at the time hahaha. I think DNs reply is some really good advice for someone wanting to go pro though and I find it so funny to know that I did not understand a lot of things he was trying to explain to me at the time. I also added my 2nd email that I sent him for comic value because he didnt reply anymore and I havent had any kind of interaction with him since, mostly because I come of like some random naive douche bag fan boy with an attitude problem and serious delusional ideas about the world. I think its hysterical personally. Hope you find this as entertaining as I did! :

 

 

This is the first email i sent:

 

 

Daniel.

 

My names Michael Gerasimov. I am a 16 year old kid originally from South Africa, currently living in New Zealand. Ive been playing poker for five years.

 

Remember my name. Store it away in your mental roladex. Michael Gerasimov...

One day, that will be the name of a world champion.

 

I'll be going to Vegas soon. As soon as Im old enough to play for real money I'll get my bankroll going and I'll be at the WSOP as soon as I win enough cash to enter an event. I have practically no money to start with, but Im gonna do it...I dont know why but I just know that Im gonna do it. I practice every day as much as I physically can online at "party poker" under the name "Mr_Geezy" but everyone around here calls me Sickboy. I also play against my friends sometimes but they just dont take the game as seriously as I do. Im also saving my money from work at the supermarket so that I have something to start building my bankroll with.

 

If I get a reply from you man, if by some miracle I get a reply from you, "Kid Poker", I will never quit.

 

I've gotta go play another play money torney on party poker.com. The game tonight is Pot-Limit Hold 'Em. (I also play Omaha Hi, Seven Card Stud, and of course No-Limit Hold 'Em).

 

Daniel, please hit me back with a messege. I really need some encouragement, everyone I know say that Im an idiot for playing poker and wanting to be a pro. But Im so hungry for it. I want it so badly it hurts.

 

Thanks for reading my e-mail (if you have). You, Alan Cunningham and Phil Hellmuth are all my heroes. I love watching you guys play and I sneak out of my room alot when its dark so I can see you play on ESPN. If my mom knew that I played online poker and watched it on tv, she'd take my pc away and I'd be grounded for life.

 

Anyways...hope you get this messege.

 

Michael "Sickboy" Gerasimov

 

p.s. Tough luck at the main event this year. I also would've called on those 8s.

 

 

 

Daniels Reply:

 

 

 

 

Hi Michael,

 

My decision to turn "pro" was never really a conscious one. It just kind of

happened. One day I woke up and realized, "OK, I guess this is what I'm

going to do for a living." There was no formal application I had to sign or

interview to attend. It was in January of '99 when I finally decided that

I'd likely be a professional poker player for the rest of my life.

 

Before making that decision, I traveled the tournament trail sparingly in

'96 and '97. In '98, though, I began traveling often. Las Vegas was a stop

that I enjoyed the most, and I finally decided to make it my home.

 

Playing poker for a living seemed right for me, but I'm not sure that the

daily grind would be appealing to you if you knew what it entailed.

 

As a poker player, you get to choose your own hours, but that freedom

doesn't come without some possible drawbacks. Have you ever felt like

calling in sick - for a month! Well, as a poker player, nobody is going to

fire you if you don't show up. You can take a week off whenever you want -

that is, until the bills start piling up and you realize you haven't worked

hard enough during the month to cover your nut. Poker freedom can easily

turn into flat out laziness!

 

Poker is great, in that you don't have to answer to a boss, but at the same

time, nobody is signing a paycheck for you. It's hardly a stable profession.

If you slack off, your bankroll will suffer. Sometimes, even when you do

work hard, the cards just don't cooperate. So, you never really know how

much you'll make each month, which can be extremely stressful when your rent

is due in a couple of days.

 

It's difficult for me to gauge whether or not someone is capable of playing

poker professionally without seeing him play. It's hard to tell how well

someone plays by simply receiving an E-mail that states "I'm a good $15-$30

hold'em player . " So, I generally advise people to keep their day jobs.

That's not to say they should give up on their poker dreams, it's just a

safer way of going about it.

 

By having a day job, it'll be easier for you to "take a loss." You won't

have to worry about poker paying your rent, as your job will be doing that.

Anything you can do to relieve the stresses that come with playing for a

living is a good thing. So, "supplement" your income by playing poker,

rather than depend upon the turn of a card to eat!

 

It may sound a little like I'm discouraging you from turning pro, but I'm

just being realistic more than anything. Despite the growth of poker, there

is still just a small number of players who actually lead a healthy,

successful lifestyle through poker.

 

If you decide that you can handle all of the ups and downs and want to take

on poker full time, there are some serious decisions you'll have to make.

You'll have to decide how hard you want to work, when you want to work, and

how much you want to risk going broke (what limits to play). I covered much

of this in a previous column entitled "Play Hours Not Results" (March 16,

2001).

 

One more important thing that goes right along with having a day job is

this: "Always leave yourself an out." These are the famous words of Knish in

the movie Rounders. Have a backup plan just in case the whole poker thing

doesn't work out for you. If it doesn't, don't be too discouraged. It is my

opinion, and the opinion of many of the high-limit players I've asked, that

only one in a thousand players who attempt to play poker for a living become

truly successful. Of course, their idea of success may not be as modest as

yours, but you get the picture.

 

Keep in mind that if you want to be that one in a thousand, you'll have to

be dedicated. You'll have to take the game seriously at all times, maintain

your focus, and always continue to learn.

 

Hope that helps,

Daniel Negreanu

 

 

 

 

 

 

My response:

 

Did i really just read an e-mail from DANIEL NEGREANU!!? Wow! I can't believe you wrote so much! I was just expecting something like. "Oh yeah, poker's great, thanks for the support. Buy my game." but instead I get a two page message of real advice! And you even used my name! (Obviously I'm a huge fan of the way you play,)

 

I know about how stressful it was for you, (and most of the pros like you) in the early years of your poker career. I'm used to that feeling off wandering where you're going to get the money for the up coming rent. Let's just say my family was never in a very good financial position and most off my life I've been pretty...well... poor. But that's OK, things have gotten really good for us ever since we moved to New Zealand and everything seems to be more or less stable. The point is, I can handle any financial stress.

 

I completely understand 100% what you're saying when you talk about how as a professional poker player you can take a break from work as long as you want but you could be in serious trouble later when the bills arrive and you haven't worked hard enough to pay 4 them. Basically, don't be a lazy schmuck, right?lol. Well trust me, I have no intention what so ever of slacking off. The only time I'll ever take a break is when I'm not feeling good or playing badly. I'm not some naive kid who thinks poker is an easy way to make quick cash. I am aware that it is extremely hard to make it as a pro but I'm really willing to do whatever it takes, (and I'm not just saying that.). And I never intended on quiting my "day job" as you put it,lol that would be just stupid. Not until I've got an above decent bankroll going.

 

My message did sound kind of ambitious. "I will be the best poker player in the world..". Well, I may never be the best, but I'm sure as hell gonna give it all Ive got.

 

You say you can't tell if someone could play professional poker unless you've seen them play. Well I wish I had the opportunity to prove to you that I can play professionally but I'm sure that that's not possible.(which really sucks!lol, I think you'd be impressed how well a sixteen year old can play.)

 

You have not discouraged me at all Daniel. I was already in a very realistic state off mind about poker. Probably even more realistic than you've described. If anything, the fact that Daniel Negreanu knows my freaking name has only made me even more excited about it. Even though I'm ready for it now I'm gonna have to wait like 4 more years before I'm "legally" old enough to play for actually cash in New Zealand. I can play online in two years though... I just hope that I do well when I'm playing for money. I've played some home games for money before but I think the atmosphere at a real poker table in a real casino would be slightly different to the one in my living room!

 

 

By the way, just to make it clear, I started wanting to be a pro poker player BEFORE Chris Moneymaker won in 2003.lol, So please don't think that I am yet another direct result of the poker boom.

 

You asked me how hard I'm willing to work. Well I'm not gonna make a bold statement like "I'm going to be the best in the world" unless I'm actually going to work my a$$ off am I? I take my poker extremely seriously and I'm 100% prepaired for anything the poker world has to throw at me.

 

What limits do I want to play? Well...I was thinking maybe I should do the graduation system, where I play lower stakes and "work my way up the ladder", so to speak, to higher and higher stakes. You think that makes sense?

 

"Always leave yourself an out". Well basically if the poker thing doesn't work out for me,(I'm sure it will though cause I'll never give up), but if it doesn't, I guess I'll just be another guy working a job I hate.

 

I do want to be that one in a thousand more than anything and I really think Ive got what it takes. Unfortunately its not gonna happen for a long time. Four more years until I can even walk into a casino..age restriction is 20. Everytime i think about it i get this sick feeling in my stomach. Like the kind you get when you lose a hand.

 

Thanks so much for the e-mail. You have no idea what it means to me,

"Kid Poker" emailed me!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO

 

Michael "Sickboy" Gerasimov

 

 

 

I found the part where I listed Hellmuth as one of my heroes particularly amusing...

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That was a really nice email from Daniel.

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That was a really nice email from Daniel.

 

Yeah I would be very curious to hear about his thought process for when he decided to write such a long email. I would imagine that he wouldn't do it very often right? I'd bet like $50 that it was less then 10% of the time he'll type that many words in response to fan mail? That would be a good lodden thinks number, what someone thinks the percentage of time is that Daniel responds to fan mail by typing that many words.

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I'm surprised that it was around 2008.

 

Daniel has always been great to his fans in my experience though. Got a quick picture with him in Vegas my first year out there and have been fortunate to sweat him a couple of times.

 

Wish he still came around here a bit more often.

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How often does he come around here? I think the forum would be more active if he posted more content.

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How many active members does FCP actually have right now? Werent there like a couple hundred people on here per day 3 or 4 years ago??

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So is this thread that we post personal conversations with pseudo celebrities and violate their privacy?

 

Pretty silly thing to say really. I'm sure he's not really going to care about this, particularly since the email he sent me doesnt do anything to hurt his reputation in anyway. In fact, it does the complete opposite. He's probably not even going to read or hear about this since he's hardly ever on this site anyway. I'm also pretty confident that I'm well within my rights to post this conversation online, although I'm not sure about the moral or legal implications surrounding that. But thanks for contributing to the thread, your opinion is appreciated.

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So don't post private conversations if they are bad, but if they are good it's ok. Got it.

 

Also, somehow the possibility of someone seeing it factors into it as well.

 

I'm aware of your attempt at sarcasm, but I fail to see how the sarcasm works since you're basically just repeating what my opinion is without adding any element of humor.

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I'm aware of your attempt at sarcasm, but I fail to see how the sarcasm works since you're basically just repeating what my opinion is without adding any element of humor.

 

You probably fail at a lot of things, buddy.

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Pretty silly thing to say really. I'm sure he's not really going to care about this, particularly since the email he sent me doesnt do anything to hurt his reputation in anyway.

 

When you read this, I feel like what you see is sensible advice from a nice guy. What I see is a petty man trying to hold onto whatever money is left to be made by giving false advice and driving away charismatic, young, potential super stars. You don't earn a nickname like "the weasel" by helping the next generation to what's yours, right?

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I'd like to apologize to you, Sick Boy, on behalf of what remains of the FCP community. The last time you were probably here, you remember this as a bustling forum. Pre-Black Friday, it was filled with young internet go getter playing poker between classes in college, 30-something house wives with crushes on DN, and regular old fans of poker. Not everyone were sharks, but everyone were fans of two things, Poker and Daniel Negraneu. Well, most everyone.

 

Flash forward to today. Black Friday has killed internet poker in the US. Those young internet go getters have started their own forum, to mostly complain about life after Black Friday, and there is almost zero poker strategy here anymore. Those 30 something house wives are now 40 something single moms, and are trying to land men to raise their now bastard children. Things have changed, people are bitter, and FCP is basically the land of trolls, miscreants, and Hockey fans. This letter would have been sweet, in 2008, and almost universally praised by the community, noting how nice DN was to personally respond to you.

 

These days, no one gives two shits. Sincere DN fandom is SOOOOOO 2000 and late. Sorry to be the one to tell you, but you're likely only going to get trolling in these threads. And possibly rose murdering you out of jealousy.

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Speaking of 40 something women with better things to do, what happened to Theresa the mod, anyway? I remember when she almost banned me for Rick Rolling her when she was desperate for a Vinny Vinh update, of all things.

 

Actually, **** Theresa, what happened to V. Vinh? Jail? Death? Rehab? Haven't heard a peep about him in years

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I'd like to apologize to you, Sick Boy, on behalf of what remains of the FCP community. The last time you were probably here, you remember this as a bustling forum. Pre-Black Friday, it was filled with young internet go getter playing poker between classes in college, 30-something house wives with crushes on DN, and regular old fans of poker. Not everyone were sharks, but everyone were fans of two things, Poker and Daniel Negraneu. Well, most everyone.

 

Flash forward to today. Black Friday has killed internet poker in the US. Those young internet go getters have started their own forum, to mostly complain about life after Black Friday, and there is almost zero poker strategy here anymore. Those 30 something house wives are now 40 something single moms, and are trying to land men to raise their now bastard children. Things have changed, people are bitter, and FCP is basically the land of trolls, miscreants, and Hockey fans. This letter would have been sweet, in 2008, and almost universally praised by the community, noting how nice DN was to personally respond to you.

 

These days, no one gives two shits. Sincere DN fandom is SOOOOOO 2000 and late. Sorry to be the one to tell you, but you're likely only going to get trolling in these threads. And possibly rose murdering you out of jealousy.

 

lol, are you being for real? I'm not above a good trolling, but you are out of line on this one. DN has a storied history as a hater, particularly when it comes to jealousy toward young players. See also: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/29/news-views-gossip/negreanu-says-dwan-overrated-1355616/

 

Suck all the DN dick you want. And I have no problem with OP posting this convo, I think more people should be aware. But I think it's wrong to say there was nothing in that email that makes him look bad. It shows his true colors, IMO: white.

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I don't know what your argument has to do with mine. You're making the statement that DN is a scumbag. I'm making the argument, that the remaining posters on this forum are scumbags. Apples and oranges.

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