Brian Haveson learned how to play poker when he was 3 and his parents, amateur gamers, couldn't be prouder of the position he's achieved in the poker world. He was, after all, named player of the year at the 2002 Foxwoods event. Before becoming a poker professional, Brian excelled in the business world. When he sold off his portion of NutriSystem in 2003, he received seven figures. "I cashed out big!" he exclaims.

Brian points out that his poker skills helped him in business even more than his business skills help him in poker. "Negotiating, bluffing, knowing when someone might come down in price on a contract in business: being able to read people at the [poker] table and seeing that guy across the board room table—it's all remarkably similar."

Brian recognizes that he is particularly fortunate in being able to play on the tournament circuit without worrying about going broke. As he tells it: "A lot of the guys who you think are great poker players—they are good players—but they're broke. They're playing for someone else. They're called horses. Someone else is putting up the money for them. I don't do that. I play for myself. I'm not worried about going broke because I sold my business for a lot of money."

That attitude alone could be taken as part of his aggressive playing style. Take the example of Brian's challenge to Daniel Negreanu in the Sands tournament of 2003. Brian says: "Two hands in a row I had ace-king and he had a high pocket pair. So we put all our chips in. I'm willing to take risks. A lot of players don't like to see me come to the table because they don't want to put all their chips at risk. My feeling is that when the blinds are going up, I want to have the chips." Another quote which shows his generally aggressive nature: "In No-Limit events I'm looking to move all my chips in against someone else in a 50-50 situation."

Brian has always thrived in competitive situations. When a friend asked him what about poker he enjoys so much, he responded: "It's the same feeling you had when you were playing high school basketball; it's that same competitive accomplishment." At the poker tables, he loves to go heads-up against other aggressive competitors such as Daniel Negreanu, Mark Seif and Phil Hellmuth.

Since tournament poker has recently gained legitimacy in the eyes of society through the televising of events, Brain notes a change in people's reactions to his profession. "No one thinks I'm a degenerate...people are actually envious. They say, 'Oh, I want that kind of life.'"