No Joke, huge amounts of people are trying to be the next "big-time thing" in poker, but here is a short list of 4 of the more noteworthy "great players" of the game. Although "nice" is connected with their names when you are facing them it’s "no more Mr. Nice guy" up until they have put you out of the competition!
Daniel Negreanu
In 2004, his competition payouts amounted to more than four and a half million dollars and he came away with 2 highly respected awards in the WSOP Player of the Year and Cardplayer Magazine’s Tourney Player of the Year. In Feb 2006 he was chosen Card Player’s Favourite Poker Player. He still has the decency to speak to his fans about how they could advance their own game.
Howard Lederer
Called "The Professor" and brother of fellow poker pro Annie Duke. His achievements have lead to him making an instructional video called "Secrets of No Limit Hold’em" and also holding a tournament poker show for Fox. As of 2005, his total life time winnings surpass 2.7 million dollars.
Scotty Nguyen
Scotty is 1 of the busiest players in poker and from Two Thousand to 2004 he finished in the money in more than 100 tournaments. He’s noted for saying "yeah baby" throughout poker matches and also credited with the term "that’s poker baby" when referring to a particularly bad loss. As of Two Thousand and Six, his life time earnings are almost $6 million.
Chris Ferguson
Chris has earned five WSOP titles with 2 of his wins happening in 2003. Has the alias "Jesus" because of his trademark long hair and beard, along with his ability to throw cards fast enough to slice through pickles and bananas. As of Two Thousand and Five his total poker tournament winnings exceeded 5 million dollars.