Whether the field of players is 48 or 847, Hoyt Corkins has proved he is a true player in the poker world, taking down his first World Series of Poker bracelet in 1992 before the big poker boom and coming back to win another in a much larger field in 2007.

Technically, Corkins is an old-timer in the poker business. He learned how to play poker from his father in after-school games while growing up in Alabama. In his teen years, he was allowed to sit in on his father's home cash game, occasionally playing a hand, but mostly gaining invaluable experience in reading players' actions and reactions at the table.

That experience turned him into a fierce, aggressive player.

He saw his first tournament success in 1989 with a fourth-place finish in the World Series of Poker $2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha event. He added three more WSOP cashes in the next two years as well as cashes in other events.

In 1992 he conquered the $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event of the World Series, and went on to make a 10th-place cash in another event before dropping off the tournament circuit.

Corkins was going through a divorce and decided to give up on tournament poker. He managed to stay away for 11 years before his girlfriend convinced him to give it another shot in 2003.

He had a few deep cashes including one in a World Poker Tour event, but it was the WPT World Poker Finals win in Mashantucket that proved he still has what it takes to be a serious competitor in the tournament world. He pocketed more than $1 million for the win.

He now splits his time between Las Vegas and Alabama where he still has 60 head of cattle, and his tournament circuit repertoire reads like WSOP and WPT schedules as he focuses mainly on playing in those events.

That strategy has led him to some big cashes, but not quite to another big win - that is until the 2007 World Series of Poker. There, he finally won his second bracelet and more than $500,000 in cash.

Despite his 11 years away from the tournament circuit, Corkins has pulled in more than $3 million in tournament winnings. And you can bet that number will only continue to grow as he seeks more wins and enjoys the spotlight poker is shining on him.