It seems that every time you turn around, another athlete or actor is taking up the game of poker.  Soccer players do not seem to be immuned to this trend.  With the ever growing list of online poker rooms, players can learn the game anywhere  anytime in their spare time.  Certain players have either retired or were forced to retire from the game and became competent pros.  Here are a few of those players.

Teddy Sherringham is probably the most famous Soccer player turn poker player.  After a storied career that included stops with Manchester United and the Tottenham Hotspur, Sherringham moved on to poker.  Since taking up the game, he has won nearly $300,000 in poker tournaments worldwide.  His best finish was a 5th place finish at the EPT Villamoura last August where he took home $118,347.

Tony Cascarino may not be as well known to the worldwide soccer community as Sherringham, but he has definitely put together a better overall poker career.  After finishing a soccer career that saw him appear 88 times for the Irish National Team, he started a poker career that has netted him $589,429 so far.  His best finish was in 2009 when he won the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour Grand Final in London.  He took home $283,412 for that finish.

Two current poker pros were formerly soccer players.  David Levi used to play soccer professionally for Hapoel Ramat Gan, but had to retire due to injury.  Since that point, Levi has won $2.9 Million in poker tournaments.  Another up and coming pro is Sam Trickett.  Trickett used to be a semi-professional soccer players but was also forced to retire due to injury.  Pokerlistings.com and other sites have been reporting on how that 2011 has been a breakout year for Trickett.  He first won almost $3 Million in two high roller events at Aussie Millions.  He then won the Partouche Poker Tour Main Event in Cannes for another $1.3 Million.  So far in his young poker career, he has won over $6.3 Million in live tournaments.

Poker is like any other sport, requiring amazing focus, concentration, and even physical stamina in order for players to be successful.  Soccer players exhibit these qualities in spades, no pun intended.  It is not shocking that they would not only take up the game, but become among the best players in the world.