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  With so much attention on Texas Hold 'Em, there are some folks who forget about the other variations of poker, some of which have been around for a much longer time than Hold 'Em. Poker tournaments are one place where all of the poker variations get their time in the sun. One such variation is Seven-Card Stud, and one man who hasn't forgotten about this game is Denis Ethier, who won the World Series of Poker Seven-Card Stud High Low event in 2005.

  Gustav Hansen is a European player living in Copenhagen, Denmark. And though speaking of poker in his homeland Gus states that “it is nonexistent” and “government taxes make poker prohibitive” he is a very skillful player with a remarkable playing style. He does not play many tournaments, but when he does he is always at his best.

  There is a saying about an apple and exactly where it falls in relation to the tree. The gist of cliche is that a child is likely to be similar to their parents. Much of this is, of course, complete rubbish. The road of life is littered with the failed careers of kids who tried to follow in the footsteps of their more successful parents. There are those occasional folks who not only reach the level that their parents attained, but manage to eclipse the accomplishments of their gene pool.

  Not to be confused with the Oakland Raider’s football player by the same name - Kirk Morrison the poker professional is a much slighter framed man - certainly not having the appearance of a football brute. But he is a poker brute - flexing some big-time muscle and knocking down opponents who can only sit back and watch as he leaves with the cash.

  Michael Gracz has made his mother proud. His mother teaches biochemistry at North Carolina State and she wanted her son to get a college education. In December 2004, Michael not only graduated from college - but suddenly found himself making serious money playing poker

  His first major win dates back to 1989. In 1992 he won the WSOP golden bracelet for the first place in Pot Limit Omaha event and… quit gambling for eleven years. What was he doing? He just enjoyed quite like at his cattle farm in Alabama. But he became bored and now he is back again.

  Mansour Matloubi was the first European to win at the WSOP. In 1990 before the final battle he played against Hans 'Tuna' Lund. Mansour was sitting with 10d 10c. A pocket pair is a very good hand. Before the flop. His opponent was sitting with ac 9d. Mansour raised to 75,000. Lund called.

  Growing up in Canton, Ohio, Natalie McIntyre was often made fun of because of her funny sounding voice. It is ironic that the unique vocal intonations that made Natalie a bit of an outcast in her formative years would be her ticket to stardom when she emerged decades later as Macy Gray. She is far from simply a unique voice though. Back when Ms. Gray was growing up, she was a shy child who for seven years studied classical piano.

  Kristy started playing poker in 1986. She was underage for many of the places she played at, but like a true poker player, bluffed her way through the doors and sat confidently at the tables. Despite this early start to her career, she didn’t begin serious tournament play till 2003. It did not take her long to make name for herself. In this short time she has had a number of notable finishes and victories. The most recent being last July when she took home $250,000 after winning the FullTiltPoker.net Championship at the Wynn in Las Vegas.

  Both Clare Miller and her husband were participants in the 2006 World Series of Poker Seniors Event, and both managed to make it into the top 50. While this alone was a good accomplishment, Miller went all the way to take first prize and the sought after World Series of Poker bracelet. Miller's husband, who busted out in 40th position, was her entire support team. More than $240,000 went to Miller for her win, and the distinction of being the first woman in 37 years to win the Seniors Event at the World Series of Poker.

  James Woods might be a relative newcomer to poker, having only been playing for a couple of years, but he proved himself to be a natural to the game at the WPT event at Foxwoods, where he placed just outside the money. The award-winning Woods has lent his name and face to Hollywoodpoker.com, helping to make it one of the most popular poker sites on the web. Woods has appeared twice on Bravo TV's Celebrity Poker Showdown, World Poker Tour and is the ringleader of the James Wood Gang on GSN's Poker Royale.

  The one of the more amazing things about the game of poker is the diversity among the players - not just their personalities and their playing styles, but their backgrounds, their hometowns, their philosophies, and their experience both in the world of poker and the world in general.

  Kosta "Gus" Sengos wears a big smile and a big ring. The smile comes from winning nearly $230,000 dollars and a trip to the World Series of Poker. The money and the ring were recently won at the Horseshoe Casino in Council Bluffs, Iowa at a Circuit event.

  Bill Smith was a player from Dallas. He was an excellent gambler and managed to win the main 1985 after beating TJ Cloutier with a pair of threes. Still, if he hadn’t drunk so much he would have had much more titles. “Bill was the tightest player you'd ever played in your life when he was sober, recalled Cloutier later. “And when he was halfway drunk, he was the best player I'd ever played with.” No one could read opponents’ hands better than half-drunk Smith. “But when he got past that halfway mark, he was the worst player I'd ever played with.”

  We're not sure where Jack Judge was standing when he composed the song "It's a Long Way to Tipperary" but I'm guessing he would have a new appreciation for distance if he followed the career of Seth Meyers. Perhaps the road to the Irish county mentioned in the song would have only seemed like a short day trip compared to the long haul that Seth Meyers has made in the name of his love of comedy and acting.

  Barry Shulman is like so many other poker players. He started off somewhere else is his life, and when the game got into his bloodstream, he headed for Vegas like a salmon swimming up stream back to its place of birth. Things started humbly enough, Barry was a real estate agent in his native state of Washington before poker became the driving force in his life.

  Barry Greenstein has become a well-known person approximately in 2003. However he has been playing poker since 70’s. More than that – he has been participating in the biggest Vegas game and has won more money than any other player in last decade. But that is not what he is famous for. What is really amazing is that he donates all his tournament earning for charity. He is called “The Robin Hood of Poker” for that.

  Matt Matros could have done anything in his life. He was valedictorian of his high school class. Following that he got a degree from Yale. This was combined with an education from Sarah Lawrence College in the art of fiction writing. In other words, this is a very bright and versatile young man.

  Most of us became aware of Kevin Sorbo when he played the lead role in the television series "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys". The show was popular even though Kevin was widely regarded as the least imposing Hercules the screen had ever seen. He certainly was no Steve Reeves. What he lacked in muscle mass he more than made up with by having really good hair. In the end, the show was a hit, and Kevin became a star.

  By his own admission, Stan Goldstein has been playing poker for as long as he has been able to legally enter a casino. Those who know Stan best hint at the possibility that he was sneaking into casinos long before he was legally able to walk through the doors. That is a subject for another day though.