It’s my belief that Phil Ivey is the best poker player in the world, and that includes every format. I’ve played live with him, and cash, Hold’em, Stud, Omaha, whatever, and he is just the most consistently good player at everything – include online based on what his results look like. I don’t think anyone has won more money online, live play, or tournament poker, than Ivey. Pretty strong.

Daniel Negreanu – 01/2010 – in Full Contact Poker

 

Virtually every poker situation can be broken down to a simple mathematical formula. If there is $600 in a pot and you bet $600, you’ll be getting even money on your proposition. That means, in the long run, you’d have to win that pot half the time to make it a profitable play. When you consider that the hand will play out almost identically with a $400 bet, you’ll see that, mathematically, it often makes sense to choose the smaller bet. [...]
You will rarely see a to professional bet all of what’s in the pot when you watch poker on television. They’ll vary their bets generally between one-third, one-half, and three-quarters of the pot. They understand that by keeping the pots smaller, they’ll have more control over the outcome. And that’s just what they want – to maintain control of the table.

Daniel Negreanu – 01/2007 – in Hold’em Wisdom for all Players

 

If you want to be a successful poker player that reaches the highest levels, you simply can’t do that unless you are aware of your weaknesses and focus on plugging those leaks. For most people, even after doing that, they’ll simply never be good enough to play at the highest levels. That’s just life. You have to accept that and find a game you can beat. Most people rise to their own level of ruin by always looking to play in games they can’t beat. It’s part ego, part delusion, and part competitive spirit.

Daniel Negreanu – 12/2009 – in Full Contact Poker

 

Make sure to think outside the box. It’s not enough to simply memorize how to play certain hands, it’s important to understand why the hand should be played that way. Poker is a beautiful game with so many variables, you can’t play it with a defined set of rules as you would in blackjack. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different strategies. Even if they fail, you will have learned something.

Daniel Negreanu, in Hold’em Wisdom for all Players