myquickwit said:
This is where I tend to disagree.
The issue with the likes of Negreanu (actually anyone used in the poker ambassador role) is few bring outsiders to the game from what I can see. Are there any statistics to support the idea Negreanu brings outsiders/non-players to poker?
You use the term GOAT in terms of promotion but there is only one – Chris Moneymaker whose story went mainstream in real time (viral in a contemporary sense) and literally drove a poker boom like none could imagine. But he was hardly a poker ambassador when it happened, he became one after the fact. The various poker television shows produced in his wake underlined the Moneymaker effect so poker benefited through collective exposure (various players and shows).
As for Negreanu, I would say no one has done more to promote himself within poker than Daniel Negreanu.
Negreanu’s draw to GG poker (following his departure from PokerStars) is undoubted. However, Negreanu talks as if he moved to join its founding phase but GG poker was long established (2014) and already thriving across Asia. He joined when GG was aggressively courting a global market and offering high guarantees on weekly tournaments. He doubtlessly brought eyes to GG poker but I would argue (once again) what he did was draw existing players to the platform, not new players.
It is not a knock specific to Negreanu, I just do not believe that most who are propped up as ambassadors do little to draw new bodies to poker period. They are little but promotional tools within the poker community, useful to a degree but not in the manner touted.
Negreanu's demeanor is the exact opposite of what some of the greatest poker pros do today: he's nice. So nice that many players are actually not impressed by him and therefore often underestimate his skill level. He's also very sociable and communicative, can often be found at public events, and has also appeared in major screen events, such as in the movies X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Grand, and Lucky You.
monkey23 said:
I'm not a fan of his. The man can play poker though. I always thought he came across as a little bit phony to me. He seems to be trying to hard to be the nice guy in poker too much. Phil Ivey is a better role model at the table. He doesn't have to say anything and let his play do the talking for him.
This man has already proven his worth. He has been in the history of poker for a long time, he is one of the best players. It is impossible to challenge his play, at least for me. But for me he is not an idol, but he is not a bad person, judging by his television behavior.
