Every so often a poker player just needs a good side game to boost his spirits.

Take it from Dewey Tomko, a man known almost as well for having two World Series of Poker Main Event titles slip through his fingers as for his 35 years as a professional player. The tournament regular says these days, he needs side games to raise his confidence.

"You get so used to losing - because that's what's going to happen most of the time in tournaments - that I play side games to feel like a winner again," he told PokerListings.com in 2005.

Still, with three WSOP gold bracelets, millions in tournament earnings and ample street cred, Tomko shouldn't have low self-esteem at the poker table.

Born Dec. 31, 1946, in a small rural community in Allegheny County, Pa., a young Tomko suffered from a classic case of nothing-to-do. As a teen, he started hanging out at the local pool hall, cutting his teeth on social card games. By 16 he was winning hands of poker against seasoned players in Pittsburgh halls.

While attending Salem College in West Virginia, Tomko made a habit of relieving returning Vietnam war vets of their paychecks at poker games. His skills eventually earned him enough cash to pay for four years of school, and he graduated with a degree in education.

After college, Tomko took a job working as a kindergarten teacher. He continued to clock in hours at the poker table, however, by spending his nights bellied up to the felt. Though he rarely slept, he did rake in cash from the nightly ventures. When he realized he was sometimes making more in a night of poker than his annual salary as a teacher, Tomko decided to turn pro.

On top of his cash games, he started playing tournaments, where he eventually met and became friends with poker greats Doyle Brunson and Jack Binion.

But at his first WSOP in 1974, Tomko was the new face at the table. Despite being a regular at the Gold Nugget during summer vacations from teaching, it was his first major tournament. There, he got his first taste of action in a WSOP event for amateur players with outside business interests - the now-defunct "Businessman's Tournament." Five years later, Tomko picked up his first WSOP gold bracelet in the $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em event.

In 1982, Tomko met with Jack "Treetop" Straus at the $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em WSOP Main Event. But when a lucky river card gave Straus the dominant hand, Tomko finished the game in second. For his efforts, he took home a $208,000 chunk of change.

Luck and skill were on his side in 1984, when Tomko earned two first-place finishes in the WSOP; one in the $5,000 Omaha Pot-Limit event and one in the Main Event. The same year, Tomko claimed first place in the $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Grand Prix of Poker and won his then-biggest pot, a $355,000 prize.

Over the following years, Tomko continued his side game and tournament play. On the advice of Jack Binion, however, Tomko started to invest his tournament winnings and parlayed the money into different business ventures. Today, he owns a golf course and operates a Costa Rican casino.

His businesses - and a new-found desire to play golf on the PGA's Senior circuit - eventually kept Tomko's tournaments to a minimum. He still attended the WSOP each year, though, and to date holds the record for most WSOP appearances.

Though he consistently landed at WSOP final tables, a big-money win eluded Tomko. Then, in 2001, he found himself heads-up with Carlos Mortenson at the final table of the $10,000 Championship event. Despite holding pocket aces, he lost, walking away with $1.1 million.

Patterns repeat themselves and, in 2003, Tomko played at the final table of the World Poker Tour $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em event. Once again, he placed second with prize winnings of $550,000.

Today, Tomko continues to play in tournaments and side games while running his businesses and golfing. He now lives in Winter Haven, Fla. and is married with three sons: Derek, David and Drew. Following in his father's footsteps, Derek is now also a professional poker player.