Doyle Brunson
Nickname: Texas Dolly
Hometown: Las Vegas, Nevada
Doyle Frank Brunson (born August 10, 1933) is an iconic American professional poker player who has played professionally for over 50 years. He is the first two-time World Series of Poker main event champion to win consecutively, a Poker Hall of Fame inductee, and the author of several highly influential books on poker.
Brunson is the first player to earn $1 million in poker tournaments and has won ten World Series of Poker bracelets throughout his career, tied with Johnny Chan for second all-time, one behind Phil Hellmuth’s eleven. He is also one of only four players to have won the Main Event at the World Series of Poker multiple times, which he did in 1976 and 1977. In addition, he is the first of five players to win both the WSOP Main Event and a World Poker Tour title. In January 2006, Bluff Magazine voted Brunson the #1 most influential force in the world of poker.
Early life
Brunson was born in Longworth, Fisher County, Texas, a town with a population of approximately 100, the eldest of three children. Because of Longworth’s small size, Brunson frequently ran long distances to other towns, and became a promising athlete. He was part of the All-State Texas basketball team, and practiced the one-mile run to keep in shape in the off-season. Although he was more interested in basketball than running, he entered the 1950 Texas Interscholastic Track Meet and won the one-mile event with a time of 4:43. Despite receiving offers from many colleges, he attended Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, because it was close to his home.
The Minneapolis Lakers were interested in Brunson, but a knee injury ended his playing days. He had taken a summer job and was unloading some sheetrock; when the ton of weight shifted, Brunson instinctively tried to stop it, but it landed on his leg, breaking it in two places. He was in a cast for two years, and the injury ended his hopes of becoming a professional basketball player. He still occasionally requires a crutch to get around because of the injury. Brunson changed his focus from athletics to education and obtained a master’s degree in administrative education.
Brunson had begun playing poker before his injury, playing five-card draw and finding it “easy”. He played more often after being injured and his winnings paid for his expenses. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in 1954 and a master’s the following year. After graduating, he took a job as a business machines salesman but, on his first day, he was invited to play in a seven-card stud game and earned over a month’s salary in under three hours. He soon left the company and became a professional poker player.
| Year | Prize (US$) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | $10,000 No Limit Hold’em World Championship | $230,000 |
| 1976 | $5,000 Deuce to Seven Draw | $80,250 |
| 1977 | $10,000 No Limit Hold’em World Championship | $340,000 |
| 1977 | $1,000 Seven-Card Stud Split | $62,500 |
| 1978 | $5,000 Seven-Card Stud | $68,000 |
| 1979 | $600 Mixed Doubles with (Starla Brodie) | $4,500 |
| 1991 | $2,500 No Limit Hold’em | $208,000 |
| 1998 | $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 (6 players per table) | $367,800 |
Credit source and image: wikipedia.com | wildnatureimages.com
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