Doyle Brunson is a living legend of pro poker, having an experience of over 50 years. Doyle is from Longworth, Fisher County, Texas, a locality with around 100 inhabitants. When he was young, he was a promising athlete, having a short career as a basketball player, until a knee accident forced him to give up sport.
Doyle F. Brunson
Nickname: Texas Dolly
Date of birth: 10 august 1933
Residency: Las Vegas, Nevada
- He earned over 5 millions of dollars during his career.
- 10 WSOP bracelets and a WPT title
Doyle attended the courses of Hardin-Simmons University, in Abilene, Texas because it was closer to his home. He paid some of his courses by playing poker and obtained his diploma in administrative education. After his graduation in 1954 he got a job as a vendor (his only job until now) but in his first day he was invited to play poker. Brunson won his salary of a month within 3 hours and decided to quit his job and become a pro poker player. The beginning of his career was not a happy one, as he participated at illegal games and Doyle had to avoid cheaters, the police and thieves, at some point being threatened with the gun and witness to a crime. In 1960, Brunson met his future wife, Louise. The two got married in 1962 but during that year, while Louise was pregnant, Doyle was diagnosed with cancer. Doctors told him he has only few months to live. Doyle decided to have an operation to win more time and see the birth of his child. After the operation, Doyle miraculously cured. His wife was also diagnosed with cancer one year later, and similarly she got cured completely. Brunson had 3 children: Doyla, who deceased at 18 because of heart problems, Todd and Pamela. Todd became a pro poker player and Pamela occasionally plays. In 2007, Pamela had better results than her brother and her father at World Series of Poker.
In Texas, poker matches were illegal and many dubious people participated. Because of this, Brunson reached many limit situations, being threatened with the gun, robbed and beaten. Being an illegal activity he could not place a complaint, as poker players were not regarded as good people. Doyle then met Amarillo Slim and Sailor Roberts. The three had notable successes and after 6 years they decided to go to Las Vegas. There, the group known as “Texas Rounders” lost all the money. The three players from Texas decided to break the group and remain friends.
Brunson learned that everything can be transformed into a winning card in life, and moved to Las Vegas with his family. In Nevada, poker was a legal activity. In 1976 he won his first World Series of Poker title. Two years later, Brunson completely changed poker game by publishing his book, “Super System”, a bible of Texas Hold’Em players and the best sold poker guide. In 2004 a reviewed version of the book, named Super System 2″, was published with the contributions of more pro players. Doyle Brunson has 10 WSOP bracelets, being at equality with Johnny Chan, and also close to having more than Phill Hellmuth (the owner of 11 WSOP titles). In 2004, the one known as Texas Dolly won the “Legends of Poker” event, leaving with a prize of 1,2 millions of dollars. His nickname comes from a mistake made by a commenter who called him “Texas Dolly” instead of “Texas Doyle”. Now aged 75, Doyle Brunson owns the DoylesRoom.com website and can be found playing poker at Bellagio, in Las Vegas, being easily to recognize because of the crutch he carries with him, necessary since his problems with the knee when he was young. Doyle is a legend of poker and prove of the fact that “a man with money cannot beat a person that has a goal”.
