To the surprise of few, Daniel Negreanu is a reasonably large favorite against Phil Hellmuth in the upcoming heads-up poker match. The poker legends will battle it out on PokerGO’s “High Stakes Duel” later this month in what will be a highly publicized heads-up match.

1. Poker Player Phil Hellmuth
2. Poker Player Daniel Negreanu Hair Transplant Surgery
3. Poker Player Daniel Negreanu Girlfriend

PokerShares, a poker betting company owned by poker pro Mike McDonald, handicapped the upcoming match. Poker players around the world (you can’t bet on PokerShares in the U.S.) will get in on the action.

Poker Player Phil Hellmuth

Daniel Negreanu was born to Annie and Constantin on July 26th, 1974 in Toronto, Ontario Canada. Daniel’s parents moved to Canada after leaving Romania in hopes of giving their children better lives. At the age of sixteen, Daniel discovered an affinity for gambling, pool hustling, and poker. 23 hours ago  For a guy who thinks he can beat $25k and higher buy in events against the worlds best players, the record doesn’t show any such thing. The numbers: — Daniel Negreanu. Playing heads-up cash games online for hundreds of thousands of dollars isn’t something most poker players will ever experience. However, poker fans recently got a taste of this action with Daniel Negreanu squaring off against Doug Polk at WSOP.com. Beyond the play on the felt and results, there was plenty of action behind the scenes as well.

According to McDonald’s website, Negreanu is currently a -164 favorite, giving him approximately a 62 percent chance to win. Hellmuth, on the other hand, is a +145 underdog (42 percent odds of victory).

The heads-up battle is a result of a brief feud between the poker pros. Following Negreanu’s $1.2 million loss to Doug Polk in a 25,000-hand heads-up challenge, Hellmuth criticized “Kid Poker’s” play.

Not your typical heads-up poker challenge

Negreanu wasn’t about to sit back and take it, so he offered up a heads-up challenge. But this isn’t going to take place online like most heads-up battles. Instead, they’ll play it out at the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas, and the match will be available to paid subscribers of the PokerGO app.

There are a couple other major differences between this heads-up challenge as compared to most others (Polk/Negreanu, Galfond Challenge, etc.). First off, there will only be a small amount of hands played, which makes variance a major contributing factor, perhaps even more so than skill.

How many hands will be dealt is unknown as the exact format for the match hasn’t yet been released. But given they’re playing a sit-n-go live format, which differs from the traditional cash game structure for most heads-up challenges, likely only a couple hundred hands per game.

Poker Player Daniel Negreanu Hair Transplant Surgery

The exact start date is also a bit in question. Mori Eskandani recently told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that gamblers shouldn’t wager “after March 14” on the match, but wouldn’t give an exact date for filming.

PokerGO will film the match and then release it to PokerGO subscribers a few days later. Both players are aware they shouldn’t spoil the outcome to anyone before it airs on PokerGO.

Hellmuth has already competed on “High Stakes Duel.” He defeated Antonio Esfandiari in three straight matches in 2020.

Daniel Negreanu and Phil Hellmuth are two of the most polarizing and popular poker players in history. They’re both Poker Hall of Fame members and have 21 WSOP bracelets and over $66 million in live tournament cashes combined.

Negreanu is favored in this match mostly because he just spent the past few months playing against one of the best heads-up players in the world (Doug Polk). Hellmuth, on the other hand, is far from a heads-up specialist, although he’s had great success in his career in these small sample size matches (won the 2005 NBC National Heads-Up Championship, beat Esfandiari three straight times last year, etc.).

Featured image source: Twitter

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Perhaps the world's most popular poker player will be donning a new patch.

Today Daniel Negreanuannounced via Twitter that he has signed on with GGPoker. An international brand supporting several skins, GGPoker has been an up-and-comer in the market with particular appeal to high rollers. It doesn't currently serve U.S.-based players.

'In a very short time, GGPoker has really made a name for itself in the online space,' Negreanu said. 'Their last GG Series, you're talking about $50 million in guarantees, up from $3 million the year before,' he added.

'More than that, it's really the software. The mobile client is super user-friendly, fun and engaging.'

Poker Player Daniel Negreanu Girlfriend

The move comes six months after Negreanu announced a somewhat surprising split with longtime sponsor PokerStars, with whom he'd been affiliated for more than a decade.

GGPoker

Since many former PokerStars-sponsored players have moved over to its most recognizable competitor, partypoker, industry observers may be surprised to see Negreanu sign on with lesser-known GGPoker.

However, while GGPoker doesn't yet carry the international name recognition enjoyed by party, it has made itself a viable player in the online market. In fact, according to traffic monitor PokerScout, GGPoker ranks slightly ahead of partypoker in seven-day traffic average with 1,500 cash game players to party's 1,200.

GGPoker's most notable ambassador to date has been all-time tournament money leader Bryn Kenney.Kitty Kuo and Michael Soyza are also among the recognizable players sponsored through GG skin Natural8.

The site has been a haven for high-stakes action in recent months, hosting a slew of $10,000 and $25,000 tournaments.

Celebratory Promotions

In celebration of the signing of 'Kid Poker,' GGPoker will be offering a slew of bonuses and promotions for players from eligible locales with the promotional code 'Daniel.'

Negreanu himself will greet the players at the felt with a promotional tournament. Dubbed the '$100,000 Daniel Negreanu Challenge,' the event will give players a chance to qualify for a nine-handed sit-n-go involving the eight players who advance through escalating steps plus Negreanu himself.

New players using the promotional code also get a 200% deposit bonus up to $1,000 and $30 worth of tickets good for entry to steps in the Challenge.

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