KidPoker

A couple of years ago I set out on an endeavour to run a half marathon. I'm far from a natural runner and was struggling for motivation to push through the tough early stages of training. Around this time Daniel Negreanu asked a question on Twitter, what people's goals for the new year were, and I threw mine out there just for the hell of it, never expecting a response. When my phone gave me a message saying 'RealKidPoker' had replied to one of my tweets my heart stopped. I was stunned. One of the people I looked up to most in the world had said something to me. I went and read it and it was something along the lines of "That's awesome, you can totally do it and I'll be rooting for you. Let me know when you complete it." I can't tell you how much that meant to me and six months later I completed the half marathon. I'll never know whether I would have managed it without those words of encouragement, but I can guarantee you they worked amazingly well as a motivational tool.

Such is the power of Negreanu. Had the likes of a Tom Cruise or a Will Smith offered the same encouragement it would have meant something for sure, but not in the same way that Negreanu's did. The reason for this is simple. You can tell Negreanu genuinely cares about people and means every word he says (positive or negative). I was already well aware of this fact before watching 'KidPoker', but the documentary does a fantastic job of displaying his incredible levels of likability and genuineness.

We are taken on a journey, starting right back in his early years before he ever made it big. His brother Mike is with us the for the entire ride, start to finish, and does a great job of giving us insight into things no one else could know, or have seen. We are treated to Daniel himself answering interview questions, home-footage from his younger days, other poker players and friends answering interview questions and footage from his many poker successes over the years. The highlight of it all for me was Daniel himself talking though. I could listen to the man speak on any topic for hours on end, such is his charisma and insight.

Anything that 'KidPoker' may lack in terms of controversy and twists, it more than makes up for in heart and inspiration. There are a couple of genuinely moving moments when you may well find a trickle in your eye. There's also an excellent scene (my favourite in the whole documentary) where Negreanu expresses his feelings towards the people behind the Full Tilt Poker controversy. This clip is a prime example of just how passionate, thought-provoking and hilarious Negreanu can be. There's no doubt this was made for poker players who are aware of Negreanu and his success, but I think there's also a lot here for everyone else too. I would defy anyone to watch this excellent documentary and not take at least something positive out of it.

Yup raised in Toronto and thus of interest. Immigrant parents who came in 1957 matches my story too in some ways.

Anyone who watches poker knows Daniel and I'd say the majority of people are fans of his. He's a character but this is a story really about his family and is very sweet and touching.

Poker is interesting to watch and I do get sucked in so I know the players and the names and many are in this documentary.

What is most interesting is how he got there and the lessons he learned. I play and just marvel at the guts and how many play the game, which is why I don't as I know enough to bet right, but no idea what people around me are doing who don't know as much as me. That is why for instance when you watch someone like Phil Hellmuth you know why he gets so upset, playing hands right and then losing as the game is at the end of the day really just about luck.

So Daniel learned his lessons more then once, but always got up, dusted himself off and returned.

He isn't shy and is opinionated and the fact that he doesn't want his epitaph to not just read "He was a good poker player" really means something.

One thing glossed over (actually ignored) is his marriages, which is fine, but did find striking as it probably would cloud what the directors wanted from the documentary.

I also think his brother did a very good job setting the scenes away from poker and who Daniel is, though here I wonder why there is no scenes with the two talking together about life, family & their parents.

Surprised that the rating to date is lower then I expected.

There's something about Daniel Negreanu that has always bothered me. Maybe it's the sheer self-satisfaction that seeps out of his every pore. Or maybe it's the way people interpret his often very basic reads as some kind of magical telepathy. Regardless, this film did nothing to make me warm to him. It plays out as a self-promotion video and just makes me like him even less. If you want a decent poker documentary, Nosebleed is by far the best one out there.