|
|
 Doyle
Brunson
Doyle
Brunson
is to
poker
what
Babe
Ruth was
to
baseball
-- a
larger-than-life
giant of
a man
who not
only
helped
to
revolutionize
and
popularize
the game
he
loved,
but set
the
standard
for
achievement
and
excellence
by which
all
other
players
are
measured.
Brunson
won the
World
Series
of Poker
twice,
but is
perhaps
better
known
for his
greater
contributions
to the
game.
Twenty-five
years
ago, he
co-wrote
what has
been
called
the
"Bible"
of poker
--
"Super/System:
How I
Made
Over
$1,000,000
Playing
Poker."
He also
pioneered
higher
virtues
as one
of the
first
respected
voices
in
gambling
to
discuss
the
importance
of honor
and
trust
amongst
his
peers.
Brunson
came to
personify
the
notion
that
gambling
could be
a
respectable
profession.
From his
humble
beginnings,
there
was
little
evidence
to
suggest
this
farm boy
from the
dusty
plains
of West
Texas
would
become
one of
the
world'
most
successful
gamblers.
Brunson
was born
in
Longworth,
Texas on
August
10,
1933. He
was so
gifted
athletically
in his
early
years,
that he
was
drafted
by the
NBA's
(then,
Minneapolis)
Lakers.
A knee
injury
ended
Brunson's
dream of
becoming
a
professional
athlete,
so he
had to
find a
new way
to
satisfy
his
competitive
instincts.
He would
soon
find it
after
graduating
from
college
with a
Master's
Degree
in
Education.
Brunson
hung up
his
basketball
uniform
and sat
down at
a poker
table.
And the
rest, as
they say
-- is
history.
Brunson
became a
"Rounder",
making
the
rounds
from one
poker
game to
the
next. It
was a
colorful,
but
dangerous
way to
make a
living.
Along
the way,
he met
other
men who
would
later
become
poker
legends
in their
own rite
--
including
Johnny
Moss,
Sailor
Roberts,
and
"Amarillo
Slim"
Preston
(with a
combined
eight
world
championships
between
all of
them).
In the
early
1960s,
Brunson
married
his
sweetheart,
Louise.
Together,
they had
four
children.
The
family
moved to
Las
Vegas
after
Brunson
found
invitations
to poker
games
increasingly
difficult
to come
by, as
he
repeatedly
won the
most
money
from the
games
back in
Texas.
Once he
was
firmly
established
in Las
Vegas,
Brunson
won the
World
Series
of Poker
twice --
in 1976
and
1977.
Incredibly,
he won
both
years
with the
exact
same
poker
hand, a
full
house --
tens
full of
deuces
--
giving
the
hold'em
hand
"10-2"
the
rightful
nickname,
"a Doyle
Brunson."
When
Brunson
wrote
his book
"Super/System,"
which
would
become
an
instant
classic,
many of
his
fellow
poker
pros
were
outraged
that he
would
give
away the
secrets
to
beating
the
games.
While
the
games
surely
did
become
more
difficult
over the
years
that
followed,
a far
more
significant
result
was a
greater
public
interest
in
poker,
and more
players
wanting
to play
for
higher-stakes.
"Super/System"
sparked
a new
wave of
books on
strategy
that
fueled
greater
public
interest
in
poker.
Brunson's
next
contribution
to the
game was
another
book,
"According
to
Doyle"
-- which
was a
collection
of his
best
columns
written
for the
old
Gambling
Times
magazine.
The book
is a
series
of
reflections
and
philosophical
musings
about
what it
takes to
be
successful
in
gambling.
Again,
Brunson
was a
trailblazer
--
introducing
notions
that
gambling
was a
legitimate
profession
and that
all true
gamblers
had an
obligation
to
conduct
themselves
honorably.
In the
1980s,
Brunson
became
just as
well
known
for his
antics
out on
the golf
course,
as at
the
poker
table.
He
played
golf for
astronomical
sums of
money.
He once
commented:
"The
guys out
on the
pro golf
tour
don't
compete
for the
amount
of money
we bet
on a
single
round."
Brunson
also bet
huge
sums in
the
sportsbooks.
He
frequently
bet
five-figures
or more
on a
single
sporting
event.
It was
(and is)
not
uncommon
for
Brunson
to have
a
quarter
of a
million
dollars
in
wagers
"in
action"
on the
day's
games.
To date,
Brunson
has nine
gold
bracelets
at the
World
Series
of
Poker.
But his
real
claim to
fame may
be his
success
in cash
games
where he
has been
"The
Man" for
nearly
five
decades.
He can
still be
found on
a daily
basis
playing
in the
highest-stakes
games in
the
world --
winning
and
occasionally
losing
more
money in
a single
pot than
the
average
working
person
makes in
a year's
salary.
Now,
approaching
his 70th
birthday
-- Doyle
Brunson
shows
absolutely
no signs
of
slowing
down.
At Doyle's Room, sponsored by Doyle Brunson, they give each new player a one time $55 Bounty Rebate to be used after the first time you play in the weekly Bounty Tournament. This offer is good for new players who sign up.
|
