Former Poker Pro Alex Jacob in Jeopardy Tournament of Champions

When poker players excel in other contests or arenas, it makes those of us who are engrossed in the world of poker quite proud to cheer them on.

The poker community will be watching in earnest and doing some cheering on Tuesday when former pro Alex Jacob makes his second appearance in the Tournament of Champions (TOC) on the popular TV game show "Jeopardy." Jacob advanced to the TOC due to making a deep run on the show seven months ago and earning over $151,000.

Jacob's first TOC appearance came last Friday in the quarter-finals when he managed to beat his two opponents, Michael Bilow and Scott Lord. It was a runaway victory going into the final round, with Jacob, a six-time champ on Jeopardy in April, easily covering the cash totals amassed by the other two.

Tuesday's action will see Jacob take on Brennan Bushee, a software developer from Malden, MA, and Vaughn Winchell, a grad student from Columbia, MD. Winchell's area of study is mathematics, but poker players will tell you that a career on the poker tournament circuit in which he won more than $2.6 million gives Jacob the edge in any math clues that may be posed by Jeopardy host Alex Trebek.

Jacob, who turned 31 years of age last month, has quite an academic background as well. His resume includes a degree in Economics and Mathematics from Yale University.

The trio of contestants on Tuesday will be competing in the semi-finals of the TOC, which pits the biggest money winners and longest-running champions from the past season against each other. The eventual champion of the TOC will earn $250,000, while 2nd and 3rd place are good for $100,000 and $50,000, respectively.

Jacob is now a currency trader in Chicago following a successful poker career that saw him cash in over two dozen WSOP events. His biggest score was for $878,500 at the 2006 U.S. Poker Championship in Atlantic City. Jacob's deepest run in WSOP action was a 3rd place finish in $1,500 NLHE in 2007 good for $282,367, according to the Hendon Mob.