Ian JohnThe world of poker is in mourning this week at the passing of one of the true legends of the game.
Doyle Brunson, a poker professional for over 60 years and the self-styled Godfather of Poker, died at the weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada aged 89.
While Brunson may not be a household name for the majority of the UK, he is one of the key players that helped propel poker into the mainstream, helping to grow the sport both in casino halls and latterly, online.
His career spanned three generations of poker, from the late 1950s through to the 70s, through the 70’s up to the Poker Boom and then from the Poker Boom and beyond.
In fact Brunson is one of the key reasons why you can log in to sites like bet365 Poker today and enjoy a wide range of poker games against other players from around the world.
So for those in the UK who perhaps don’t know too much about the 10-time WSOP bracelet winner and the man that people nicknamed “Texas Dolly” we are happy to bring you the colourful lifestory and a celebration of one of poker’s true greats.
Doyle Brunson – Early Years And Introduction To Poker
Born in Longworth, Texas on August 10th 1933, Doyle attended Sweetwater High School where he quickly became known due to his athletic prowess.
As a 17-year-old, he won the Texas Interscholastic track meet in a time of 4.43 and he was head-hunted by a number of colleges, but in the end chose to attend Hardin-Simmons University, which is located in Abilene in Texas.
While at University, Brunson’s athletic prowess saw him become a star of the basketball team, attracting interest from the NBA professional team Minneapolis Lakers (now the Los Angeles Lakers).
Unfortunately, Brunson suffered a horrific knee injury while at college which ended his fledgling basketball career before it had even begun.
While injured Brunson occupied himself by playing a game he had recently picked up, five-card draw poker, proving himself to be very adept at the game and he used his winnings to pay for his expenses as he continued through university, graduating in 1954.
His love and ability at poker continued and after graduating, he was employed by Burroughs Corporation as a salesman of their business machinery.
On his first day with the company, Brunson was invited to a seven-card stud game, which he duly won, earning more than a months salary in a single night.
Not soon after, Brunson felt he could earn more as a professional poker player and quit his job to give his new career a try.
Travelling Poker Pro – Mid-1950s – 1970s
It is hard to imagine what the life of a poker professional was in the mid-1950s. Unlike today’s very organised tours in various parts of the world, outside of Las Vegas, poker rooms were generally illegal and often controlled by rival gangs.
With his friend Dwayne Hamilton, Doyle began playing in illegal games in Fort Worth Dallas, but soon began to try and find bigger games to play in around the states of Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma.
It was during this period Brunson met fellow professionals Amarillo Slim (below) and Sailor Roberts and it was a brutal period with the rules of the game not strictly followed.
Hamilton soon left to go back to Fort Worth but Brunson stayed on, forming a partnership with Amarillo Slim and Sailor Roberts, where they travelled around the states playing games and betting on anything and everything.
By the mid 1960s, the group had earned a six-figure sum, enough they felt to head to Las Vegas with to try and make their fortunes.
Instead, they lost all their money. They agreed to end their partnership there and then but still remained friends thereafter.
Struck by the lifestyle in Las Vegas, Brunson decided that he wanted to settle in the area and by the late 1960s, he was a familiar face at the tables in and around Vegas.
The WSOP Years
The timing was almost perfect for Doyle as the professional era of poker was about to become far more regulated with the advent of the World Series of Poker tournament. With events taking place in other cities around the world, a good living could be made, but the WSOP finally gave poker stars the chance to hit he big time.
Brunson was one of the star names at the first WSOP event and played in most of the Main Events until officially announcing his retirement from tournament play in 2018.
He finished third in 1972, but landed his first Main Event win in 1976 and then followed it with a back-to-back win a year later.
Incredibly, the hand that won him both Main Event titles was the same, pocket 10-2, which he improved on in the community cards to land the win against the odds.
The 10-2 hand in Texas Hold’em is now known as the Doyle Brunson hand as a tribute.
From 1976 to 2005, Doyle Brunson won ten World Series of Poker bracelets, he sits joint-second on the all-time list of WSOP bracelet winners behind Phil Hellmuth (16).
Brunson was the first player in poker’s history to earn a million dollars across his career and by the end of his career he had earned over $6.1m in tournament winnings.
Author Of Arguably The Book That Is The ‘Poker Players Bible’
In addition to his success on the baize, Brunson also became a hit as an author when he wrote the book Doyle Brunson’s Super System: A Course in Power Poker, which was first published in 1979 and is still rated by many as the book that helped bring poker into the mainstream.
A second book followed called Doyle Brunson’s Super System 2, and he also penned According to Doyle in 1984 as well as Online Poker: Your Guide to Playing Online Poker Safely & Winning Money in 2005.
Doyle Brunson Career In Statistics
Milestones
- First player ever to win over a million dollars as a poker professional
- Second in the number of WSOP bracelets won (10) alongside Phil Ivey and Johnny Chan.
- One of just four players to have won multiple WSOP Main Event titles.
- One of three players to win WSOP tournaments in four consecutive years along with Bill Boyd and Loren Klein.
- One and the first of six players to win the WSOP Main Event and a World Poker Tour title.
- Reached 26 Final Tables at WSOP events.
- Has 37 cashes from WSOP events.
WSOP Bracelet Wins
- 1976 – $5,000 Deuce to Seven Draw – $80,250
- 1976 – $10,000 No Limit Hold’em World Championship – $230,000
- 1977 – $1,000 7-card Stud Split – $62,500
- 1977 – $10,000 No Limit Hold’em World Championship – $340,000
- 1978 – $5,000 7-card Stud – $68,000
- 1979 – $600 Mixed Doubles 7-card Stud (with Starla Brodie) – $4,500
- 1991 – $2,500 No Limit Hold’em – $208,000
- 1997 – $1,500 Seven-card Razz – $93,000
- 2003 – $2,000 H.O.R.S.E – $84,080
- 2005 – $5,000 No Limit Shorthanded Texas Hold’em – $367,800
After Doyle’s death was announced, many of the superstars of poker and beyond have taken to Twitter to express their remorse over his passing.
Doyle is survived by his wife Louise and two of their children, daughter Pamela and son Todd, both of whom play poker professionally. His first daughter, Doyla, died at aged 18 due to a heart valve condition.
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