Over the past 12 months, poker has filled the headlines of 2023 with inspirational stories of triumph, tragic tales of legends passing and controversial card sharps trying every trick in the book to win. From drama at the felt to showdowns off it, 2023 has had it all in poker terms – a full house of excitement from start to finish.
As we look forward to a whole new raft of exciting events, crushing cash games and thrilling poker moments in 2024, we’re looking back at the best of the action from 2023. We’ve already brought you our 20th-11th place finishers, as well as running down 10th to 6th place and 5th to 2nd on our list. Now it’s time to find out who takes the title.
Poker is all about preparing the game for the next generation and in one act of kindness, a certain Canadian poker legend did just that back in the summer. We caught up with ‘Kid Poker’ to get the lowdown on the poker moment of 2023.
Setting Up the ‘Summer Game’
When you’re out walking your dog, bumping into Daniel Negreanu isn’t something you’re likely to do. But for some college kids who were about to leave high school and head off to college to change the world, it most definitely was. In fact, one of their number had organised a home game and struck by inspiration, approached Negreanu, a.k.a. ‘Kid Poker’ and asked him if he wouldn’t mind stopping by to sign a few autographs when the game began.
Negreanu – as many will know in the game – is no shrinking violet, but what he did next shocked everybody. Not only would he drop by to pen some autographs for the next generation of industry leaders in the making. After a quick Twitter vote – it was still called Twitter back then – confirmed it, he’d take part in the home game itself.
Walking the dogs a kid in a suit comes up to me and says, “My friends are coming over in an hour playing our last poker game before going off to college. I know it’s a lot to ask, but will you stop by and say hello to them?”
If you were me, would you go or no?
— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) August 7, 2023
An impassioned plea from the ‘kids’ in question (see headline pic) and Negreanu arrived Once there, Kid Poker was in the company of some super-smart kids. He explained exactly how it went down in a video after the event on Poker.Org.
Negreanu Looks Back on Night of Nostalgia
“These kids will be much better off changing the world.” ~ Poker Hall of Famer Daniel Negreanu
It was a huge moment for all the young players at the home game table, but it also was for Kid Poker, who was struck by both the hustle and humility of his new tablemates when he got there.
“[I was] just incredibly impressed by this collection of kids overall,” he tells us. “The schools they are off to and what they are majoring it, it’s a world I never experienced so I was in awe to a certain degree. This is a group of kids that can make an impact.”
In-game, if Negreanu had to pick one kid who was there on the night who might play poker himself one day, could he? Well… no. It turns out that was not how the class of ’23 came across at all.
“No, I think all these kids will be much better off changing the world than they would going down the path I chose,” says Negreanu. “These kids are so laser focused they don’t even watch TV!”
Poker is always about the future and 25 years ago, the target demographic was the ‘Average Joe’ who could potentially emulate the 2003 world champion and Chris Moneymaker. Today, the ‘unknown aspirational player’ towards whom so many marketing millions are directed is now far more likely to come from a background in further education.
“I’d say that’s probably accurate since playing at the highest levels today requires some study so people that come from that background are more likely to have the right tools to excel.”
It’s been a huge year for poker, and Negreanu, who is a Global Ambassador for GGPoker, couldn’t be happier with his decision to join the brand with a little distance from joining the team.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” he smiles. “I was basically done promoting any site and wasn’t looking but when they approached me I felt it was a fun challenge to see where we could take this ‘little’ company with incredible software. I still can’t believe how quickly they became the top dog.”
The next 12 months are sure to be huge for the game of poker. After a massive few years for Negreanu, having married his sweetheart Amanda, joining GG and playing his part in helping the next generation along, what’s next in 2024 if everything goes to plan?
“2023 will end up being my worst year on paper so there will be changes in 2024 that I’ll announce in a video soon, but what I can tell you is that I will not put nearly as much volume in as I did in 2023. The focus will be quality over quantity.”
A Memory of a Lifetime
“He was a very genuine person and awesome to talk to.”
Looking back on the day from a different perspective is that blend of humility and hubris, Ryan, the student who walked up to Negreanu on that day and chanced his arm. He revealed to us that the plan started a couple fo days earlier.
“We saw him walking his dog on the street a couple days before we actually asked him. It wasn’t our last game yet, but we decided to go ask – not expecting him to actually accept!”
Upon Kid Poker agreeing to not only attend but to sit down and play with this group of super-keen poker fans, Ryan says the whole group were beyond thrilled.
“We all just started freaking out and got super excited!” he laughs. “It was unreal knowing one of the greatest poker players of all time would even dedicate time towards us.”
The game played out and as well as those poker hoodies, Ryan and his friends were left with something far more important – the memory of a lifetime and the perfect platform to transition from high school to college.
“After he left, we were pretty much in a state of shock,” says Ryan. “He stayed for a little bit and chatted with us about what we do and what we like to do. He was a very genuine person and awesome to talk to.”
A few weeks ago, Ryan met up with all his friends again for the first home game since Daniel Negreanu sat down with them in their summer house in Vegas.
“[It was] for our thanksgiving break. The topic of Daniel always comes up and we always like to just play for fun. Some of us play more than the others, it just depends.”
After such a formative experience, the bond between the friends has never been stronger, no matter the distance between them all, scattered as they were to different colleges across the United States.
“Our group was very close beforehand” Ryan tells us. “Daniel coming to our game left us with one great memory for us to share throughout our college experiences!”
The day ‘Kid Poker’ got down with the kids and made their final high school home game an indelible memory that will no doubt inspire them in their careers is a moment of magic that defined 2023. Poker, no matter who the game loses – such as iconic Godfather of Poker Doyle Brunson – is always about the future, and bringing the great game to new generations. Thanks to Daniel Negreanu and a table full of America’s brightest future-makers, that’s never been truer.
Here’s to 2024 and a Happy New Year to all our PokerStake readers!
