Negreanu Exposes “Sociopathic” Old-School Poker Tournament Scam

It’s fair to say there’s not much, if anything, that Daniel Negreanu doesn’t know about the world of poker – and that includes the darker side of the industry we all love.

Thankfully, outright poker scams are far less common these days, thanks in large part to tighter security measures and years of cautionary tales exposing the game’s dirtiest hustles.

Still, a story shared in Negreanu’s latest YouTube video shines a light on an old-school tournament scam so ruthless that KidPoker himself described it as bordering on “sociopathic.”

The Scam Setup

Speaking on his YouTube channel, which has just shy of one million followers, Negreanu regaled viewers with a story from his early days playing at the Bicycle Club in the 1990s, using a $1,000 buy-in tournament as an example to illustrate the scam.

He described how one player would aggressively sell action before the event even began, saying, “I’d go over to the casino, and this guy would be like ‘Hey, boss – want to buy 5%? Want to buy 10%?”

The key, Negreanu explained, was that the player would routinely oversell himself, taking on more backing than his actual stake allowed. “He would sell $2,500 worth, at face [value] or a small markup…so now he goes and buys into the tournament, he’s got $1,000 and $1,500 more, but he’s oversold, so if he cashes in this tournament, he’s screwed, he’s gonna lose money.”

“If he cashes in this tournament, he’s screwed, he’s gonna lose money.”

From there, the hustle would take shape once play got underway and stacks started to build. “Well, he’s not going to cash in this tournament. What he did do was play well; he tried to build up a stack. So now he’s got the $1,500 profit, now he’s at the table saying ‘Hey boss, wanna trade 5%, you wanna trade 10%’ He’d do that, and then ah, somehow his chips would get pushed over that player, and now he’s got 5% of this guy, 10% of this guy, and $1,500 in his pocket.”

Despite admitting he found the audacity of the scam amusing, Negreanu was clear it was wrong and even bordered on the “sociopathic,” saying, “He’s home drinking, drinking some snake juice or whatever the hell he was drinking back then… Now, I find it kinda funny, but it’s just wrong. I find it crazy that people do this. I could never do something like that; you have to have a sociopathic tendency. This is a scam, that’s a scammer, that’s someone who’s really dishonest.”

Eliot Thomas is an Editor at PokerNews, specializing in casino and poker coverage. He has reported on major events around the world, including the World Series of Poker, European Poker Tour, and Triton Super High Roller Series.

Based in the United Kingdom, Will started working for PokerNews as a freelance live reporter in 2015 and joined the full-time staff in 2019. He now works as Managing Editor.

He graduated from the University of Kent in 2017 with a B.A. in German. He also holds an NCTJ Diploma in Sports Journalism.