Negreanu Goes On Super-Tilt Then Dumps €10k Buy-in At EPT Barcelona

Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu caused quite a stir at the EPT Barcelona €10k High Roller event after he fell victim to one of his pet hates, namely the “first card off the deck” rule.
The tournament rule states that if a player is not in his seat (or within arms length of his chair) by the time the very first card is dealt then their cards will be deemed to be dead. Daniel Negreanu is extremely familiar with the rule as a few months ago he called out the TDA (Tournament Directors Association) for amending it from the previous “last card off the deck” rule.
Daniel Negreanu has been its most vocal opponent ever since and finally falling foul of the rule in Barcelona proved all too much for the poker diva to bear. Apparently, Negreanu had posted the small blind and had stood up and turned around from the poker table to talk to Philipp Gruissem, when the dealer immediately mucked his hand (K-10). Fireworks then began to fly when Negreanu had realized what had happened leading to a charged scene in which the tilting pro spectacularly cut off his nose to spite his face.
After the tournament director ruled the dealer had made the right call,  Negreanu then erupted, exclaiming:
“I was standing right behind my chair talking to Philipp. I was one step behind my chair. I had already posted my small blind! This rule is so bad. F*** it. I’m all in blind. Come on, next hand. Let’s go. I’m all in blind. These f***ing rules are so stupid they make me want to shoot myself in the face!”
Despite originally losing just his small blind, Negreanu then proceeded to lose his remaining stack to Timothy Adams who called, and won, the hand, after which Negreanu took to his twitter account to vent his frustrations, stating:
“The first card off the deck rule is so poorly enforced it makes me not even want to play! So absurdly anti player and customer service! I was 100% aware of the rule and did NOT break the rule. It was ruled 100% incorrectly by the TD because the rule is absurdly stupid.”
Nevertheless, it would seem few of his peers agreed with Negreanu’s opinion or behaviour at the table, and here are a few choice tweets from the other pros:
Jason Mercier
“FYI: The first card off the deck rule does clearly state: u must be AT your seat which is defined as being within arms length of your chair.”
David Docherty
“Nice way to make a point tho, effectively piss €10k against a wall in a country with 25% unemployment. Should win u support! @RealKidPoker”
Herman vd Meerendonk
“Yeah, @RealKidPoker is obv in a good place thanks to Choice Center. He is not allowed to play a hand and just blindly burns 10k€. #CryBaby”
A while after the incident, Negreanu at least admited acting to inappropriately, and later wrote:
“I lose it a little bit and react in anger. I decide I just don’t want to be there anymore[…]Now, my reaction is silly and I realize this. I allowed myself to let anger consume me and cause me to make a silly decision. I can live with it, but I’m not at all claiming I handled the situation properly. The hand I had mucked was irrelevant to me, it was K-T off suit, it was just the point.”