Many a player has enjoyed a golden spell in the spotlight, accompanied by incredible runs of cards, only to start running bad and fall by the wayside.

Let's look at some prime examples of how fleeting poker fame can be.

5. Prahlad Friedman aka Mahatma, aka Spirit Rock

One of the true innovators of online poker. Prahlad was one of the first players to employ a LAG style at six-max tables. During his Party Poker glory days he systematically dismantled everyone who stood in his way for a long time at the highest stakes at the time - $25/$50 and $50/$100.

He also was known to tilt very hard. Eventually players started figuring out his style and his tendencies, and he lost his once-huge edge. He finished 20th in the 2006 World Series and has been a ghost on the poker scene since then. While he may still be dropping sick rhymes, he certainly isn't playing the highest stakes around any longer.

4. Jeff Madsen

After bursting onto the scene in 2006 as a fresh-faced 21-year-old by winning two bracelets and an additional two third-place finishes in the 2006 WSOP, he was billed as the next "it" player. Since then he has had moderate success, including an eighth place in the 2007 WPT at Bay 101. He has dropped off the scene somewhat since his last cash in October 2007.

3. Jerry Yang

Winner of the 2007 World Series of Poker. Now of course nobody expected Jerry to follow up this performance with any sort of run on the tournament circuit. Then again, nobody expected Jerry to take the money and run either. To date Jerry has been a ghost and nobody knows if he will even play another tournament

2. Alex Dalaklis aka TexasLimitKing

This young gun was literally pillaging the highest-stakes Limit games online before the age of 20. Playing $1,000/$2,000 on Full Tilt against the best in the world and raking in money hand over fist before he could even legally drink in the U.S. of A. seems like a life most of us would want.

Alex however saw it differently and, like Seinfeld, decided to go out while he was on top. He just stopped playing. The TLK moniker has not been seen online in some time now. Rumor has it that Dalaklis has quit poker to pursue other life ventures.

1. Josh Arieh

Best known for his third-place finish in the 2004 Main Event, Josh went on to have moderate tournament success in the WPT and other tournaments. However, lately we haven't heard boo from the usually loud player, and now he's been dropped by Bodog.

With cash finishes few and far between and final tables pretty much gone from his resume, we wonder what happened.

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