Last time I switched from a local maniac's play to the loose aggressive playing style. The attributes that a maniac and a good loose aggressive player share are actually few. Maniac Doug was a very loose aggressive player who turned into a maniac due to a high intake of alcohol that dulled his senses and caused him to lose all fear (as well as a psychological need to feel all powerful). On the other hand, Daniel Negreanu is an excellent poker player who utilizes the loose aggressive strategy but he also has outstanding attributes that make him one of the best players in the game today.

Two of Daniel's best attributes is his ability to remain calm and focused when the pressure is on and an uncanny ability at reading opponents with a high degree of accuracy. Before I go any further I want to clarify that reading opponents isn't just about detecting and understanding physical tells. Reading opponents is much deeper than that. It includes understanding betting patterns, starting hand criteria in relationship to playing style, positional considerations, the past history, observations in the present session, and good memory skills. Daniel is not totally fearless like Doug was. This is actually a good thing. For example; a totally fearless rock climber has a much higher probability of dying young because he will take too many risks (I plan to discuss the fear factor in poker in a future article). Sometimes Daniel makes it look too easy. But he doesn't just have good instincts in and of itself as some people might be led to believe. He prepares himself for tournament play by studying opponents from televised events. He has sharpened his observational skills, practiced, studied hard, discussed poker situations among other strong players, and worked toward optimizing the best strategical play based on the variables present. With repetition Daniel has also increased his ability to remain cool under pressure and use his deductive reasoning skills without feeling the stress (fear) that a lesser player might experience. Several other people who maintain focus under pressure extremely well include Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan.

Phil Helmuth wrote in a book introduction: "Success in the game is 70% reading of opponents and 30% reading the cards, understanding the mathematics, and the technical aspects of the game" (assuming psychology is part of the read and the luck factor is equally likely among all of players, I agree). Daniel's specific knowledge about a players' abilities supplements his read. A good sense of the best money decision at the time based on all of the technical factors also gives Daniel an edge against most opponents too. Daniel knows his poker math and therefore despite being a good "feel" player, he doesn't rely on feel alone. The guy has done his homework performing simulations, memorizing percentages, understanding outs, pot odds, implied odds, and understanding the nuances of the specific game he is playing. One other aspect to survival techniques in poker includes an ability to change gears or adapting to changing conditions. I have a lot of respect for Daniel and his abilities that allow him to get there more often than what should occur. He appears to be luckier than most but Daniel isn't any luckier than you or I. A famous Louis Pasteur quote says it all. "Luck Favors a Prepared Mind!"

I started out talking about a maniac named Doug. Doug taught me a few things about tournament poker. By accumulating a lot of chips early on and accumulating even more chips in the late stages one insures survival while most players choose to tighten their game to survive. A big stack allows more options. These forces are the major principles behind the loose aggressive strategy and why it wins more tournaments than any other style. Amir Vahedi said. "In order to survive you must be willing to die." Most players aren't willing to die!