People who make a living writing about sports are always looking for a few eternal story lines that seem to consistently manifest themselves in a wide range of different competitions. One of the most iconic of these is the saga of the master player who takes a young, talented but naive student under his wing and guides this individual to greatness. The story usually reaches its conclusion when the apprentice defeats the master in a high stakes competition. And then, naturally, the cycle repeats itself once the apprentice has become an over-the-hill master in his own right.

This is among the most popular story lines to crop up again and again in the world of sports. Just the other day I was watching "The Color of Money" in which Paul Newman plays a seasoned pool shark who takes an energetic and obnoxious Tom Cruise under his tutelage and teaches him the ropes.

It should not be a surprise that in the 36-year history of the World Series of Poker, this story line has appeared once or twice. Perhaps the most dramatic of these occurrences involves the career of Layne Flack. Born in 1969 in South Dakota, he was introduced to the game of poker by his grandparents, but truly caught the bug after walking into a casino for the first time as a young man. So dazzled was he by the experience, that he promptly got a job working as the night manager. That gig didn't last too long, however, as Layne's attention was constantly drawn away from his duties and toward the action on the tables.

At this point, the wise master enters the story in the form of Johnny Chan. After meeting young Layne, Johnny took the time to instruct him in the basics of the game and guided him on a path to glory. It was not always a smooth road. Flak lost a big tournament in the worst way and was so rattled by the experience that Chan had to impress upon him the importance of getting a good night's sleep before a major match, rather than staying up, drinking whiskey and chasing showgirls.

However, Layne bounced back from these early stumbles and went on to win a staggering five World Series of Poker bracelets, as well as finishing in the money fifteen times. He also holds a title on the World Poker Tour and has five money finishes is in that arena.

Sadly, Flack's demons appear to have revived as recently as 2004, when he slipped into bad company and began dabbling with drugs. Fortunately, he had another wise poker friend in Daniel "Kid Poker" Negreanu, who personally financed Layne's rehab and got him through this rough patch.

By all accounts, Layne Flack is back on the winning path and sure to continue racking up substantial victories on the professional poker circuit.