When I first started playing poker I was captivated by two professionals I watched on TV. One of them I don’t care for anymore and it’s a little embarssing to say, but Phil Hellmuth’s Play Poker Like the Pro’s was the first book I ever read. While I’ve grown to dislike Phil’s personality and general act at the tables, the other player, Daniel Negreanu, remains one of my favorite players to watch. I think what I like most about Daniel is his persona at the table and it’s simply amazing some of the reads this guy can make. I read his blog and lurked on the FCP Forums for a couple years before I joined the community. I don’t post much but I spend a lot of time lurking in the strat forums. I know Pocket Fives, 2 + 2, and some other forums out there are considered more popular and have been around longer, but the FCP community is the best IMHO.

Another thing that’s been great about Daniel’s site is the amount of swag and other promotions they put on for the players. The also have a contest once a year to be Daniel’s Protege. Here’s the most current FCP Freerolls and Promotions. The Ain’t Life Grand Freeroll Challanges 1-5 which take place November 14-18th at 9pm Eastern. It’s a series of 5 freerolls in which the top 9 players get entries into the Ain’t Life Grand FCP exclusive $10+1 $500 added November 19th. The tournament takes place on Poker Stars and all you need to do is have an FCP and Poker Stars account. Once you have signed up you will find more information in the general forums.

Aside from the freerolls and other promotions, it’s also got a great community of skilled players who offer feed back in the strategy forums. It’s also just a great place to mess around and have fun so sign up and check it out!

I’ll be going up The Hill tonight and have a bunch of writing to catch up on over the weekend. I’ve been playing at The Station but I think I’ll be at The Golden Gates tonight. I’ll also be announcing the contest for December next week.

What ever happened to Daniel’s second protege anyway? There wasn’t much talk about him on the forums and I only found one video on You Tube