1. JENNIFER HARMAN

She might be small but she’s one hell of a battler – against a genetic kidney failure (which has needed transplants), as well as around the table. She’s been given the accolade of top woman in poker by luminaries like Daniel Negreanu and Doyle Brunson, and although her closest rival, Annie Duke, has won almost three times her tournament prize money, Jen is the only female regular playing in the Big Game at the Bellagio. She was also one of the ‘Consortium’ that played Andy Beal in a series of heads-up matches, and she received a mass of publicity when she won a pot of $1.7m.