Poker Legends Series - Doyle Brunson

October 6, 2008

Doyle Brunson is indeed a poker legend. Being among the first poker lovers to realize the games great potential, this prominent poker professional has always been an ardent poker supporter. Nicknamed Texas Dolly, Brunson is the first player in the world to make $1,000,000 of live tournament play. He is also one of only four poker players to have won the World Series of Poker Main Event two times in a row (in 1976 and 1977). Despite his honorable age, 74-year-old Brunson is still very active on the poker circuit. He was once reported as saying that he would retire, when hed stop winning.

According to onlinepokereport, Brunson was born in Longworth, Texas. Because of the towns extremely small size, as a child, Brunson frequently ran long distances to neighboring towns. Running around all day long, soon turned him into a promising sportsman. He was a member of the All-State Texas Basketball team. Although he received many tempting offers from a vast selection of colleges, he chose to attend the one closest to his hometown, Harden-Simmons University in Abilene. The Minneapolis Lakers invited Brunson to join them, but he suffered a knee injury at his summer job and, so, his basketball career ended before it really began. Eventually, Brunson chose to obtain an MBA in administrative education.

Brunson started playing poker even before he got injured. He mostly played 5-Card Draw and was quite successful at it. After graduation from college, he found himself a job as an office equipment salesman, but soon resigned. On his very first day on the job, he was invited to a friendly game of 7-Card Stud and landed over a months salary in less than three hours. Realizing that poker is a much more profitable occupation, he decided to develop a professional career in poker.

In 1960, Brunson met Louise, the woman who later became his wife. Soon after their wedding, Louise got pregnant and the couple was ever so happy. However, their happiness did not last very long as doctors found a deadly tumor in Brunsons neck. It was announced that Brunson had cancer and that it was incurable. Brunson asked the surgeons to prolong his life so that he would be able to see his soon-to-be-born child. Miraculously, after the operation, the tumor was already gone. Louise gave birth to four children. The youngest one, Todd, followed his fathers footsteps and became a poker pro as well.

Brunsons poker career was launched at a time when poker was illegal. However, Brunson kept playing along with a friend of his, Dwayne Hamilton. Finally, they started traveling across Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma, in search of richer games. On one of these gambling trips, they met fellow poker pros Amarillo Slim and Sailor Roberts. Tired of playing poker illegally (with all the implications), Brunson decided to move to a place where poker was legal, namely Las Vegas.

In 1976 and 1977, Brunson nabbed World Series of Pokers winner title two times in a row. Amazingly enough, his pocket at both Final Table events was 10-2. From that point on, the hand regardless to the cards suit has been nicknamed Doyle Brunson. This is because he conquered both championship games with tens full of deuces.

Besides being a successful poker player, Brunson is also a prominent poker author. His book, Super/System, which was first published in 1978, is one of Brunsons greatest accomplishments. Super/System turned out to be a highly celebrated publication from the very beginning. This is probably because it gave average poker players a comprehensive insight into the world of professional poker play for the first time. In 2004, Super/System 2, an updated version of the book was published. A selection of other expert poker players, including David Sklansky, and Mike Caro, have also written a chapter or two for Brunsons book.

Till this very day Brunson continues playing in the richest poker competitions in the world, including the World Series of Poker. He nabbed his ninth WSOP bracelet in 2003, and, in 2004, placed 53rd in the No Limit Hold em Championship tournament. That same year he won the Legends of Poker World Poker Tour and finished fourth in the World Poker Tours first championship event. In 2005, he landed his 10th gold bracelet, tying the record with another top poker pro Johny Chan. Additionally, Brunson was among the first three players to be inducted into the WPTs Poker Walk of Fame.

Brunson received his nickname Texas Dolly after prominent American sports commentator Jimmy Snyder pronounced his name incorrectly. Instead of announcing Brunson as Texas Doyle, he eventually said Dolly and it somehow stuck.

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