Daniel Negreanu Correctly Changes Mind About Re-Entry Tournaments

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During the 2019 World Series of Poker Europe, Daniel Negreanu stated that he would no longer re-enter into poker tournaments. He said that it was unfair to amateur players and widened the skill gap. Back when he made that statement, some questioned whether he would follow through with that promise, and they were right to do so.

Recently, Negreanu did an about-face on his previous statement and said that it would be stupid for him to forgo re-entering into poker tournaments. While this may make him seem a little hypocritical, it is clearly the best option for him as a player.

Negreanu States Protest Would Be Pointless

Daniel Negreanu made headlines in October for both his run at WSOP Player of the Year and for his statements about re-entry tournaments. He had announced that he would only fire a single bullet in future events because re-entry tournaments are not fair to amateurs who do not have a massive bankroll.

Granted, he continued to re-enter into events through the end of the WSOP Europe, so it was clearly a statement made to shake things up. In the end, his words ended up being hollow. Negreanu spoke with reporters recently at the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic and revealed that he is no longer taking a stance against re-entry tournaments.

He stated that he talked to various people and came to a decision that it was stupid to burn +EV in order to take a stand against re-entry tournaments. As he stated, “It’s not like if I don’t rebuy you’ll stop seeing them do re-entry events. It’s just not going to happen because they make so much money off of them.”

So with that, Negreanu stated that the would “still play by the rules that are given to me the best way that suits me.” He then stated that he would lobby for sites to do more freezeouts rather than re-entry events.

Negreanu recently signed on as an ambassador with GG Poker and odds are that he will be working with the company to offer more freezeout tournaments to appeal to amateurs and those that prefer freezeout events. He was a long-time ambassador with PokerStars but split with the company earlier this year.

Negreanu’s Change of Heart is Actually the Best Move

While I am not a proponent of re-entry events, I do not begrudge poker pros and players for re-entering into events. I’ve played numerous rebuy poker tournaments in the past and those are somewhat similar to re-entry. The main difference is that the rebuy period is much shorter than what you see in re-entry.

What poker players have to remember is that poker is a game about making money. It is nice that some players are concerned about the health of the poker ecosystem and want the game to be fairer for amateurs. However, this is not the best play for those pros.

Poker players are supposed to look for advantages they can exploit over other players. That is how they make money in the game. While it is great to say that you want to be there for amateurs, that doesn’t help your bankroll as a player.

Negreanu could take this type of stand when he had what was rumored to be a lucrative deal with PokerStars. However, odds are that his deal with GG Poker is not as lucrative. As such, he needs to be able to perform well when he plays, and that means taking advantage of re-entry.

However, keep in mind that Negreanu is very influential in the poker community and he could use his influence behind the scenes to convince online poker sites and live poker rooms to offer more freezeouts. Until that happens, you can expect him to re-enter whenever it suits his strategy.