25 Dec 08

Biography Special: Doyle Brunson

For the Holidays, we updated biographies of known poker players and rewrote them for you. Naturally, we will begin the series with THE living legend - Doyle Brunson.

Even though he is already a legend, he's far from being an 'old dog'. The meanwhile 75-year old is still fighting for the coveted chips in High Stakes cash games, and bracelets at the WSOP, as his final table participation at the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event in 2007 at the World Series of Poker proves.

"On each day I played poker so far, I learned something new."

As a double world champion and owner of no less than ten bracelets, his poker career speaks louder than words. Without any billposting, the charismatic Texan shows his supremacy in his tournament- and TV appearances. Without any fear, he plays very aggressively on the highest Stakes, always ready to invest a lot of money to win even more.

Born on August 10th 1933 in Longworth, it took some time before Doyle became acquainted with the cards, as he was an athletic runner and enthusiastic basketball player. This even got him to be involved in the All State Texas Basketball team, until a bad knee injury put a sudden and unexpected end to his possible career as an athlete. Brunson injured his knee so badly during a summer job that his leg was in a cast for two years.

Consequently, he concentrated on his studies in Abilene which he finished with a Master degree in Administrative Education. Already during his studies, he got in touch with Five Card Draw, but it was the first working day which should mark the beginning of an over 50-year old pro career as a poker player.

The invitation to a Seven Card Stud game earned him a whole monthly salary within less than three hours, which confirmed his resolution to become a professional poker player.

First broke, then WSOP Bracelets in a Double Pack

With meanwhile over 5.5 million US Dollars (as of Dec. 14th 2008) in tournament winnings, he is counted amongst the most successful tournament players of the world. However, his career was not always an ascent. For years he travelled through the south of the country with a friend, probably risking more than only his bankroll in illegal games.

The pair split up when he met the professional players Thomas Preston and Brian Roberts, with whom Doyle formed a team over the following years.

After six years of poker, golf and almost any possible risk game, the three players had gathered a six-digit sum which they risked in Las Vegas and busted completely. Following this, Brunson settled down in Vegas on his own, where he still lives to date. After the breakup of the trio, the success quickly returned.

In his first participation at the WSOP in 1976, he already secured the first bracelet. A triumph which he repeated a year later - amazingly enough with 10-2 as the final hand in the heads-up twice in a row! Since then, Brunson is also the name giver for this hand (AQ is the second hand named after Brunson).

WSOP 1976 Final Hand

WSOP 1977 Final Hand

However, he was not only successful during his appearances at the WSOP: Three notable final table participations at the World Poker Tour (WPT) in the years 2003 - 2005 are a proof of his prosperous activity, with the win of the $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em event 'Legends of Poker' in the year of 2004 standing out.

With ten bracelets at the WSOP, he only has to submit to Phil Hellmuth (with Doyle, on the picture to the right), who has 11 golden bracelets to show for. Johnny Chan has ten of them as well, putting him on the same step with Doyle.

It should be noted, however, that Hellmuth had his triumphs only in the No-Limit Hold'em discipline, whereas Brunson showed his wide-reaching skills by winning in different poker variants.

Overall, Doyle has 31 WSOP cashes to show which make up about half of his whole tournament winnings.

 

Chosen Tournament Wins
Year	Series	Tournament	Prize money
2005	WPT Five Diamond Classic	$15,000 No-Limit Hold'em	$563,485
2005	WSOP	$5,000 No-Limit Shorthanded Texas Hold'em	$367,800
2004	WPT Legends of Poker	$5,000 No-Limit Hold'em	$1,198,290
2003	WPT World Championship	$25,000 No-Limit Hold'em	$160,000
2003	WSOP	$2,000 H.O.R.S.E.	$84,080
1998	WSOP	$1,500 Razz	$93,000
1991	WSOP	$2,500 No-Limit Hold'em	$208,000
1979	WSOP	$600 Mixed Doubles	$4,500
1978	WSOP	$5,000 Seven Card Stud	$68,000
1977	WSOP	$1,000 Seven Card Stud Split	$62,500
1977	WSOP	$10,000 No-Limit Hold'em	$340,000
1977	WSOP	$5,000 Deuce to Seven Draw	$80,250
1976	WSOP	$10,000 No-Limit Hold'em	$230,000

 

His participations in different televised events like, for instance, Poker After Dark or High Stakes Poker granted him further worldwide popularity. Nowadays, he is the name giver of the online platform and poker school 'Doyle's Room'. Already in 1988, he was included in the "Poker Hall of Fame", and in 2006, the BLUFF Magazine honoured him as the most influential force in the world of poker during the World Poker Tour:

"When the Godfather of Poker speaks, the poker world listens. Doyle’s has been a life devoted to the game and, at 72 years, he remains one of the greatest players the world will ever see. ... Doyle was a trailblazer back in the days when poker was a harsh and unforgiving existence. Forever a devout and gentle man, he spent his much of his life having to endure askance looks from ‘respectable’ people, while being robbed and cheated by disrespectable people. It is a testament to his single-minded courage that, in this more enlightened day and age, we are able to play poker in our cosy environments without risking harassment, social ostracism or eternal damnation. That’s why he’s number one and that’s why we will forever be in his debt." (BLUFF Magazine, 2006)

His bad knee injury in his youth did not only lead to the end of his sports career, but also to the fact that he at times requires a crutch to move on.

In 1962, Doyle married his wife Louise which he had met in 1960. In the wedding year, the family would grow, but at the same time he was diagnosed with a cancer tumour in his neck. The surgery back then concluded that it is incurable and put the possible close of his life near the birth of his child. After a procedure, the carcinoma was gone, something the doctors couldn't explain. A short while later, his wife ended up with a tumour herself, which also disappeared after the surgery.

Doyle and Louise have four kids, Todd (a successful poker player as well, who even won a WSOP tournament in 2005), Pam, Cheryl and Doyla. Doyla died at the age of 18 due to a heart disease. During the following years, Brunson read a lot of Christian literature and turned towards Christianity. Even to this day, he still thinks about her daily, but says that he has made his peace with god.

Brunson was the first player who openly admitted in a publication that he had won over one million Dollars in poker: With his book 'Super System', released in 1978, he revolutionised the world of poker and gave his insights into different Hold'em and Stud variations.

He published the book himself, as no publishing company could be found. The written down insights were a big help for many poker players back then, improving their game. In retrospect, Brunson often stated he probably would have earned more had he never published the book.

Further lessons were revealed in the follow-up 'Super System 2' (2004). Furthermore, he published 'According to Doyle' (1984) and 'Online Poker: Your Guide to Playing Online Poker Safely & Winning Money' (2005).

On his website you can find lessons for different game levels besides his biographical overview, as well as a collection of magazine articles, interviews, pictures and videos.