The last time professional golfer Rocco Mediate made a run at the U.S. Open he also played in the Main Event at the WSOP. Mediate finished tied for sixth in 2005, not quite as heartbreaking as his runner-up finish to Tiger Woods this year. His golfing stats include five PGA Tour wins, and another four wins in high-profile invitational events.

Rocco compares poker to golf in the way he feels his way through the game – not being robotic, using his instincts to guide him to decisions. He and Greg Raymer have golfed and played poker together, sharing tips and strategies for each. Maybe Rocco will take some of that second-place U.S. Open prize money and take a run at the WSOP Main Event this year. He has no major cashes on the felt to date, but maybe we’ll still see him on the poker tours after he retires from golf.

I think the best poker coach a person could hope to have would be Barry Greenstein. Barry is at the top of poker heap, and has had success at just about every variation of poker. Only a couple of legends like Doyle Brunson and T.J. Cloutier have been on the poker scene longer than Barry. He knows the game on a level that very few can reach.

Among all the legends of poker I think Barry would be the best coach because of his calm demeanour. He is patience personified, which is one of the most important traits a coach could have. Greenstein is well spoken and would be able to get his point across to any eager player looking to get better.

Unfortunately Barry is very guarded about his poker knowledge and doesn’t share it with the general public, so a Barry Greenstein poker school is unlikely to happen.

More women than ever are playing poker. There have been many accomplished female players over the last couple of decades. Players like Kathy Liebert and Annie Duke have had won millions of dollars and WSOP bracelets playing poker tournaments. Jennifer Harman regularly plays in the biggest cash games in the world, with the likes of Doyle Brunson and Barry Greenstein.

Today there are some new female pokers on the poker scene. The biggest name isn’t even old enough to play in tournaments in the US. Annette Obrestad has been a dominant online player for a couple of years, and she has already won over $2 million and a WSOP bracelet in last year’s WSOP Europe. The win moved her straight to the top of the WSOP women’s all-time money list.

Beth Shak has only been playing poker for four years, but she has won $390,688 over seven cashes in that time.

1. “You call and it’s gonna be all over baby.” – Scotty Nguyen before he won the WSOP.

2. “Limit poker is a science, but no-limit is an art.” – Jack Strauss.

3. “Don’t get mad that you lost, get mad because you didn’t win.” – Michael Gersitz.

4. “If you can’t spot the sucker within the first half hour at the table, then you are the sucker.” – Amarillo Slim.

5. “Holdem is to stud what chess is to checkers.” – Johnny Moss.

6. “Nobody is always a winner, and anybody who says he is, is either a liar or doesn’t play poker.” – Amarillo Slim.

7. “I can dodge bullets baby!” – Phil Hellmuth.

8. “The Kiddie Game is down the street.” – Mike Matusow.

9. “Pass the sugar.” – Joe Hachem.

10. “Poker is a lot like sex, everyone thinks they are the best, but most don’t have a clue what they are doing!” – Dutch Boyd.

Now that online poker players are being tracked and ranked, three of the top internet players have signed book deals with Dimat Enterprises. The books will be aimed at no-limit holdem, and are a step forward for the prominence of online players. The three players are Eric Lynch, Jon Turner and Jon Van Fleet. The three have combined for over $6M in tournament winnings over the last few years.

Eric Lynch goes by “Rizen” online and has had success in live events as well. He cashed seven times at the WSOP in the last two years. His biggest cash was his 26th-place finish in last year’s WSOP main event for $494,000.

Jon “Apestyles” Van Fleet has close to $2M in online cashes, which came from 70 wins and 350 final tables. Jon Turner is known online as “PearlJammer” and has been one of the top online money earners for years.