We have had great poker million finals before. But none of them has even pulsed in comparison to the potential for this years final table. Poker Million or otherwise, this is looking like the best live televised final table in poker history. I kid you not. Three former Irish Open Champions, a recluse who is clearly in the echelons of the best players in the world, one of the most consistent players in this format over the last eighteen months, and a humble Manchester lad who probably is the best player in the world and but for his lack of an ego never gets his due. They should lower the blinds and make this pay per view. Here’s your six finalists and their chip counts.

Howard Lederer – 306,000

Even though Howard Lederer is one of the most accomplished poker players in the history of the modern game, he has nearly retired from the everyday scene over the last two years to concentrate on running the Full Tilt Poker empire. Howard was mostly known as a cash game player in the 1990’s before he burst the tournament scene during the first WPT season, taking two titles.

Howard is known for his meticulous preparation. As early as 2001, he compiled all of the televised poker shows into a cross referenced database and would study his opponents before playing with them. Although Howard has over three million dollars in tournament cashes, winning or coming second in the Poker Million would be his biggest tournament cash to date.

Howard came into the draw on Wednesday evening and immediately took me to task on his thought process behind one of the hands he played in his heats. But that’s Howard. Though he has passion, he would never ever allow his emotion to overcome his logic or thinking for the game. Howard remains one of the deepest poker theorists in the game, and one of the smartest people I have ever met. While creativity is not his strong suit, it doesn’t mean Lederer’s game isn’t capable of flair. He took Joe Beevers off of an ace-jack heart flush draw in the semifinal in a stunning example of just how out there Howard can be.

If there is a drawback to Howard’s game, it’s that he is far more concerned with always doing the right thing, always making the right play, than he is about winning. As Lancey Howard famously said, sometimes winning is about making the wrong move at the right time. I foresee Howard playing flawlessly with his big stack, but against this field that might not get him better than third.

Marty Smyth – 254,000

When Marty Smyth won the Irish Open this past Easter, it confirmed what many people had been saying for several years – “Sooner or later, he’s gonna win something big.” Marty started his poker career online with the launch of Ladbrokes Poker, and became won of the biggest and most consistent winners on the site. He financed a backpacking trip around the world with his online winnings and began to play televised tournaments. Last year in the Poker Million, Marty reached the final table, but was an unlucky sixth.

The beauty of Marty’s game are his instincts, which he backs to the hilt. That’s the Irish in him. On a good day, he picks up pots before the flop with well timed reraises and is capable of the great laydown. On a bad day, Marty looks like corned beef hash.

It’s hard to think of someone who would be a more popular winner than Marty Smyth. He’s a genuinely lovely guy whose got acres of support, and when he won the Irish Open the party lasted all night. The kind of guy Marty is, he wouldn’t leave the bar until he’d bought every drink in the place.

The form line says Marty should do well. He’s had a year poker players can only dream of. But form is only a few hours old and the last two months Marty has seemed a little out of joint. I saw him in London in October and in Dublin in November, and while he was in great spirits, his concentration seemed off. It’s possible that the new pressures that come with winning a lot of money have taken his head off the ball, what with buying a new house and playing bigger and such. I’m scared that Marty might be eyeing the pay structure and trying to guarantee himself third. Usually when you are aiming for third or better, then you unfortunately get knocked out in fifth.

Joe Beevers – 225,000

It may be a bit tongue in cheek, but who ever thought Joe Beevers would be the member of The Hendon Mob most likely to become a successful solo artist? For a long time, Joe was considered the member of the group that most needed the other three. He was hard working, a grinder, and the most interesting thing about his poker game was his black suit.

The last two years have seen a different Joe Beevers. His poker game has gotten edgier and results have followed. Last month Joe won the Great British Poker tour final and the 85,000 pound check equaled his biggest previous cash, for making the final table of the WPT Championship in 2005.

The last couple times I have seen Joe Beevers play on television, I’ve just said wow. Just when you think you know someone, they go and show you to be an idiot. It may have taken him a little longer, but there is no question in my mind that Joe has gone from being a very good poker player to being a great one. His game has shown many wrinkles in this Poker Million. Beevers made a laydown in his heat that was beyond world class, and a gutsy reraise during the semifinals that showed that he was far more focused on the big prize than just making the final table.

Cast your mind back to 2002, when Joe was runner-up in the Poker Million to Jimmy White. This gutted him more than he may have let on, and I see the Poker Million title as Joe Beever’s personal goalpost. In 2002, he may not have deserved more than second, but he’s a champion now. During the last year, Joe has celebrated both his fortieth birthday and the birth of twin daughters. He exudes inner confidence. I believe that Joe may have something else to celebrate this week, and that’s a million dollars.

Julian Gardner – 202,000

Julian Gardner is the original British wonder kid. Although he is now approaching 30, many in poker still remember him as the “not yet old enough to go to Las Vegas” kid who was tearing up the live European tournament trail in the years just before the Internet.

Julian’s record in the WSOP main event is unmatched. After coming 2nd to Robert Varkonyi in 2002, he came 54th in 2003, 32nd in 2004, and 64th in 2007. Finishing four times in the top couple percent of the field during the modern era of poker, no one else has even come close to this feat.

Julian would likely be far more famous were it not for his modest nature. He has studiously avoided the limelight. Compared to his peers, Julian also spends far less time on the tournament circuit. He attends a few events each year, and spends the rest of the time playing on the Internet.

The strength of Julian’s game is his natural talent. When it comes to aptitude for poker, Julian is in a class by himself, even in this tough lineup. After the draw on Wednesday, Julian looked at the seating chart for about fifteen seconds, and then he just shrugged his shoulders, looked up and laughed. And then went to get a beer. You could see the thought process. Let them worry about it. I’m just gonna play poker.

I remember watching Julian in 2002, en route to his second place in the WSOP. He put a play on a man with a 9-2 that nearly had the guy in a straight jacket. Of course when the money finally went in, Julian had the guy strangled. But Julian has never been scared to rewrite the rules to poker as he sees fit. And he’s pretty darn good at it. Julian has every gear from rock to lunatic to Picasso, and he employs them with precision.

For many years, if there was one drawback to Julian’s game, it was that he was genuinely uncomfortable on television. The cameras seemed to inhibit his natural game. But that has disappeared these last twelve months. I don’t know why, but if you’ve spent any time with Gardner over the last year you’ve seen a man who is as relaxed in his skin as it is possible to be. At all times. And during every stage in the Poker Million so far, he’s played like it’s his own kitchen table.

Gardner is a big Man United fan, so big that last week he was heard to say that if United were to beat Liverpool, then he would be happy to settle for second in the Poker Million. I’m afraid this may come back to haunt him.

Liam Flood – 121,000

For someone who had an entire gambling career before the Internet was ever invented, televised poker has given a whole new life to “The Gentleman” Liam Flood. The former Poker Million tournament director and Irish bookmaker has had all of his biggest poker results on television. In fact, his results in the televised one table format are nearly unparalleled. He has made numerous final tables on television, taking a first and a second over the last two years and pocketing over 100,000 dollars each time.

Liam embodies European poker history, as he is a former clerk of Irish bookmaker Terry Rogers, the man credited with introducing Europe to Texas Hold’em in the early 1980’s at his Dublin Club, The Eccentrics Club.

At this stage in Liam’s life, the prestige of winning the Poker Million means many times more to him than the money. Although the oldest player at the table by nearly twenty years, Liam is by far the most aggressive of the finalists.

Liam has been playing poker his way for over twenty years, and there is no way he is changing now. His game would be classified as “Hardcore Irish Blunderbuss”. By some twist of fate, this is a game that seems to fare best in the exact format of televised one table poker. He is absolutely fearless and has a good dose of the aggressive raising madman. Relentless before the flop, and if you call him you’ll be facing the second barrel on the flop for all your marbles. The weaknesses to Liam’s game, the turn and the river, are rare occurrences in this format and Liam does well to avoid them.

If Liam can survive until the blinds get high, fifteen and thirty thousand, he will be a freight train. I believe Liam’s bogey man at this table will be Howard Lederer. Howard is willing to call an all-in preflop if he believes he is a marginal favorite, and I think this will be the crucial confrontation for Liam. If Flood survives, it’s onward to the top, and what a story it will be. I fear, though, that Howard will wake up and bust Liam out in fourth.

Ian Cox – 92,000

Crapper, as he is known online, is Ladbrokes born and bred. Ian began playing tournament poker on the Ladbrokes software and soon became a consistent winner. He has been in a class by himself when it comes to getting to the latter stages of a tournament, reaching nine major final tables in the last two years. But Ian has had trouble sealing the deal on the big stage. The cards have just not cooperated at key moments, and I’m afraid that’s what has happened at this Poker Million.

I’m sorry to say, but I think Ian has already played his key pot in this tournament, and he came out on the wrong end. Though he was a stormer in the semifinal, losing a key race to Joe Beevers is the million dollar difference between being chip leader and short stacked at the biggest final table of the year. Had Ian won that race, I believe he would be thinking about first place. The task set out for him now, while not insurmountable, is odds against. I fear him whittled away and forced to make a move early.