The courage of a sportsman takes him through some of the most difficult moments a person can face, and he needs to face them again and again. The courage to get back out on the field or the floor after you've taken a hard knock. The courage to push yourself further and the audacity to believe you can be the greatest.

When your sport is poker, you also need the courage to risk your chips, even when you can't guarantee the outcome. While there's many things a poker player can do to determine what the most likely result of the next hand will be - read his opponents, play the odds, understand the room - even for the greatest and most informed player, there is always that small percentage of the unknown that requires a leap of faith.

A leap of faith can be both a terrifying and an invigorating prospect, but either way it requires a big dose of courage to propel you forward. Perhaps you find yourself down to the final two in a leading tournament; you've beaten your way through a field of thousands and accumulated a hefty chip stack. Your opponent has done the same and you're both feeling the pressure of the past four days of play. One wrong move and the whole game could be lost. The natural temptation is to protect yourself - play small, play close, not make any big movements or take to many risks.

However, to move the game forward, for someone to claim victory you will need to pick your moment, draw on your reserves of courage and go all in. Whether you're at a home game with your mates or the final table of a major tournament, the decision to go all in is one that brings with it a surging rush of adrenaline. A great poker player will calmly find their way through that adrenaline rush to play out the hand, and hopefully be able to celebrate when it comes to the river card.

I've always found taking that big step exhilarating, but I also know how important it is to manage that rush, which is why on The Poker Star show this week, I was looking for a contestant who felt the same. To discover who had what it took to conquer their fears and go out on a limb, I took the contestants on a heart-pumping tightrope walk between two sixteen-storey buildings.

A small plank placed between the two buildings and a safety rope were all the contestants could rely on to get them from one building to the next. Tensions ran high as players discovered what I already knew - the first step out into dangerous territory is always the scariest, but with a bit of courage you can make it the rest of the way.

As Josh, the first player to cross, made it safely, and gratefully, to the safety of the opposite building he smiled and grabbed onto the steadying wall with relief. As I smiled at him and told him that he'd done well, but now he had to turn around and come back again, he looked at me incredulously as though I was joking. When he realised I wasn't, his face fell as he turned and steeled himself to complete the terrifying walk a second time.

I'm proud to say that Josh pulled himself together and drew on his courage to turn around and cross back over one more time, as did his fellow contestants.

Because having the courage to make a brave move once is impressive, but having the courage to push yourself to make those challenging leaps again and again is what makes a true professional. And that's what I'm looking for in The Poker Star.

"There's nothing like winning, kid," Hachem said moments ago, during the first break in action of day 1b of the Main Event. "Winning is the only thing that really matters."

Although Europe hasn't been Hachem's fondest stamping ground -- notwithstanding an 11th place at the 2008 Monte Carlo Grand Final -- he's grown quite accustomed to that winning feeling. After earning $7.5m alongside the bracelet, he took another $2.2m for a WPT title at the Bellagio in December 2006, and there are eight further five-figure cashes on his record since then.

He also defeated some personal demons. "The funny thing is," Hachem said, "I busted out of the High Rollers event and was on mad tilt. I played the PLO six-max and lasted one level. So I bitched to Greg (Raymer), had something to eat, went up to my room, and came down not on tilt any more.

"I went through day one on par for the whole day, stayed out of trouble, and I never looked back on day two. I even worked out the secret to success. I was never all in in the whole tournament. It's so obvious."

When you put it like that...

EPT London side event results so far:

£1,000 + £100 - No Limit 6 Max
Winner: Andreas Gulunay, Germany, £67,000
223 entries; £223,000 prize pool

£1,000 + £100 - PLO Double Chance - 6 Max
Winner: Fabrice Soulier, France, £23,400
71 entries; £71,000 prize pool

£2,000 + £150 - European 8 Game Championships
Winner: Joe Hachem, Australia, £42,400
60 entries; prize pool £120,000

£1,000 + £100 - PLH / PLO Freezeout
Winner: Iikka Tahkokallio, Finland, £30,000
85 entries, total prize pool £85,000

£20k High Roller
Winner: Matt Glantz, USA, £542,000
75 entries; £1,485,000 prize pool

Hold on, when did Team PokerStars Pro Hachem ever run a motel? Of course, he didn't. This is cinema, folks, and the new horror flick Prey sees a cameo role from the Team PokerStars Pro, who plays a motel owner .

In his scene film-goers will see Hachem playing on PokerStars just as the main characters arrive to inquire about rooms.

The film has just been released in Australia, and with Hachem involved it fittingly gets its star-studded US premier right here in Las Vegas on Tuesday night at the Brenden Cinemas at the Palms Hotel, which will be PokerStars players' base during the WSOP.

Here's what the film release material says: "When six friends decided to leave the City and head for the surf, how were they to know that they were being drawn into a world of ancient curses and inescapable nightmares.

"Trapped in a valley of primordial evil, these friends try to come to terms with past wrong doings but no matter how hard they try to escape, they always end up staring death in the face.

"Welcome to a place where the supernatural world hunts the real world. Welcome to PREY...Dreamtime is over!"

Scary stuff!

As you might expect, Team PokerStars Pro Joe Hachem is more than a little concerned with what's happening at home. After struggling to find a way to help, he worked with PokerStars and set up a charity tournament with a portion of the buy-in going to help the people affected by the fires in Australia.

Below is an open letter Hachem wrote to the PokerStars community.

*****

My family and I have been watching in disbelief over the recent weeks to what has been happening on our doorsteps. We would like to do something to help and I also feel the Australian poker community feels the same way. With the help of PokerStars I have been able to set a tournament this Sunday where $10 of your $20 entry fee will go the bushfire appeal. PokerStars will also help by doubling your contributions. The more people who enter the more we will give. So please join me and help bring some hope to my fellow Victorians.

Please log this Sunday afternoon 22nd February 2009 at 2.30pm (AEST) to play in a charity tournament to help the victims of this tragedy. The tournament is under Events > Special tab in your PokerStars game lobby.

Regards,

Joe Hachem
Team PokerStars Pro

*****

If you've been around PokerStars for very long, you know the company and the players step up when it's time to help others. The PokerStars community has raised millions for the people affected by the 2004 tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, the earthquakes in China, and several other major causes. Now, it's time to help again.

See everyone on Sunday.

As pretty much everyone who has ever riffled a chip is well aware, Hachem was born in Lebanon but now represents his adopted home of Australia. When he charged to the world title in 2005, he did so to the raucous soundtrack of "Aussie! Aussie! Aussie!" from an enthusiastic rail. And when major result after major result followed, Hachem emerged as far more than a one-hit wonder: his bank and air miles account ticked ever upward as he became a global ambassador for the game.

But while Joe may be miles away from his childhood home when he visits Las Vegas, he is clearly wholly comfortable strolling around the Rio, whatever event is underway. And no one was surprised yesterday when Joe moved into the money in that mouthful of a tournament mentioned up there. He didn't take it all the way to the final table today -- Joe just busted in 35th for $4,619 -- but it's another impressive result for the former world champ and further proof of his pedigree.

And his presence did not gone unnoticed by his table-mates. I watched the final couple of orbits of Joe's tournament, including the moment when he was moved to a new table, checked his big blind to one limper, then folded when the limper bet. Pretty standard, until the limper - a young guy in the one seat - looked at Joe and said: "Can I take your picture?" even as he was restacking his chips.

Joe smiled, sensing a curious rub-down perhaps. But the guy said: "I'm just a tourist. I didn't plan on playing the tournament. Can I have a photo?" With that, he reached into his back-pack beneath the table and took out a camera. "Not while I'm in a hand, but sure. Of course you can." With small blind folded, Joe looked across, smiled again, and CLICK: "The day I took the big blind of a world champion" was captured for ever.

It was only a few hands later that Hachem departed. His Kh-Kc-5s-4h losing both ends of the pot, all in pre-flop, to his his opponent's Ad-4c-2c-7d when the board ran out 3c-Qc-7c-4s-As. Composed and polite, Joe took his leave. But he'll be back. And there'll be plenty more opportunities for photos as this series reaches its business end.

Hachem gave an in-depth interview with our video blog team this week. Check out the piece below in which Hachem talks about how to be successful, money management, pacing, and stepping down when necessary.