If any poker player can be named a legend, it is definitely Doyle Brunson. Texas Dolly, as he is called by his poker pro friends, is by far one of the most prominent players ever to hit the tables. And he has his incredible stats to prove it.
He has won 10 WSOP golden bracelets, second only to Phil Hellmuth’s 11 golden bracelets.
He is one of only 4 players that have won more than 1 WSOP main event – winning the World Series of Poker main events in 1976&1977.
He has won 1 WPT championship title. One in only five players to win a WPT and a WSOP main events.
He was the first pro poker player to earn a million dollars.
His total career earnings of close to $6M put him in 38rd place in the all time poker players’ money list
And so many more amazing stats and winnings
But Doyle Brunson is so much more than just his stats. He is one of the key figures that have brought professional poker to its current popularity and extent.
Born in Longworth Texas in 1933, Doyle Brunson was a gifted athlete and a basketball player. A severe injury in his leg ended his hopes of becoming a professional basketball player. Although he started playing poker prior to his injury, his interest in the game emerged only after he had to let go of his passion for sports, and use his playing skills to pay for the medical treatment of his injury.
But it took him some more time to become a professional poker player. He managed to obtain his bachelor’s and then Masters’ degrees and even start a career as a sales man for business machines, when he realized that his poker skills can get him so much more than a regular job. He then left his job to start his new path as a professional poker player.
His professional poker career started in poker games, usually run by the organized crime. He then teamed up with fellow players to establish the Texas Rounders, a group of pros, traveling the country and playing high stakes poker. He then settled in Las Vegas where he developed his professional career.
In 1978 Doyle Brunson decided to share his knowledge in poker. He published the book Super/System, considered by many to be a breakthrough for the world of poker and one of the best books ever to be written about the game. In the following years he published a few more books, all dealing with poker playing technique and strategies.
Today, at the age of 77, after more than 50 years of a remarkable career, Brunson is still a regular participant at tournaments and continues to win some hard cash. He is also the name and the face of poker room Doyles room.
