Beyond a doubt countless of individuals are trying to be the next "star" in poker, but here is a short list of 4 of the more noteworthy "great pros" of poker. Even though "nice" is associated with their names when you are playing them it is "no more Mr. Nice guy" until they have put you out of the competition!
Daniel Negreanu
In 2004, his competition payouts added up to in the region of 4.4 million dollars and he won two highly admired awards in the WSOP Player of the Year and Cardplayer Magazine’s Tournament Player of the Year. In Feb 2006 he was appointed Card Player’s Preferred Poker Player. Daniel even still has the humility to speak with his fans about how they could boost their own game.
Howard Lederer
Known as "The Professor" and sibling of fellow poker professional Annie Duke. His success has allowed him to make an educational poker video named "Secrets of No Limit Hold’em" and also holding a tournament poker show for Fox. As of 2005, his total life time earnings exceed 2.7 million dollars.
Scotty Nguyen
Scott is 1 of the busiest players in poker and from 2000 and Two Thousand and Four he placed in the money in well over 100 competitions. He’s notorious for saying "yeah baby" during poker matches and also credited with the phrase "that’s poker baby" when referring to a particularly bad loss. As of Two Thousand and Six, his career winnings are just about $6 million.
Chris Ferguson
Chris has won five World Series of Poker titles with two of his wins coming in 2003. Chris has the nickname "Jesus" because of his trademark long hair and beard, along with his ability to throw cards fast enough to slice through bananas and pickles. As of Two Thousand and Five his total live poker tournament earnings exceeded $5 million.