Negreanu Reading People: Crossing Over?
I’ve never been much a fan of Daniel Negreanu. Sure, he’s one of the best players on the circuit, he’s always funny, and the camera loves him. However I’ve been less than pleased with his attitude toward his fellow players, One of the things he’s famous for among the TV commentators and poker columnists is his reading ability - his ability to discern with near-deadly accuracy the pocket cards of his opponents. I thought for a while that this was just from years of playing and watching for the usual tells and signals from him opponents. However, I think his technique has less to it than simple application of established techniques, like Joe Navarro’s well-publicized “spycatcher” training for poker pros. I think he’s accentuating his ability by emulating a different kind of celebrity - John Edward.
John Edward’s techniques have been ripped up and debunked by skeptics for years (including my personal favorites), but Kid Poker may be on to something by applying the “cold reading” approach to picking up on what his opponents may be holding. Check out the YouTube video below:
Click to viewOkay - in the first hand, he didn’t even need the read, yet the announcers go nuts. Even I knew the best his opponents had was two pair, but Daniel announced “I think you both have Ace-King”, hoping to elicit a reaction. This is exactly how John Edwards claims to know so much about the people he “connects” with - he says something until he gets the reaction he needs. Had Daniel not seen a reaction he liked, he might have assumed that his initial read was wrong, and started firing off different “readings” to cover his tracks. No reaction, so the bet is made.
For the second hand, he creatively used the technique, but turned it around on the other player - he started with a fair assumption - rockets - and then made this guy believe he had him beat simply because the read was correct. Look at the other guy’s body language: he’s all but screaming “damn, my Aces are cracked.” Any other reaction, and Daniel may have acted differently - but I think he wanted the guy to turn over his Aces so the table knew that the read was right. To him, it was worth the price of the bets.
The third hand, it doesn’t take much for Daniel to realize that the kid made his straight - K9 was a fair read at that point, since trips or two pair might have elicited a different response. Troudt obviously chokes back a smile and clenches his teeth when Daniel announces “some kinda nine. . .King nine or something. . .” Didn’t cost Daniel anything at that point, but the reaction was the same - he got the guy to turn over his cards, firming up his table rep.
I gotta give this a shot when I play in the PLO8 tourney at World Series this year. I try to emulate Negreanu when it comes to reading anyway - maybe by adding the Edwards cold reading techniques I can “cross over” into winning some cash.