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A wise man once said that "nothing substitutes for experience at the table." Doyle Brunson is the epitome of that statement. He's considered one of the best in the business and he's had more that 50 years experience as a professional poker player. And he’s seen it all; from low limit home games to ludicrously high limit cash games, crooked games, hold-ups and the start and growth of the WSOP. He probably has a few good bad beat stories as well! Aside from the unspoken but numerous sums he’s won playing ultra-high-limit cash games, he’s won a record 10 World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets and collected more than $4,000,000 in prize money in tournament prize money over his career.
In his late teens, Brunson was considered one of the best basketball up-and-comers in the United States of America and was drafted by the Lakers (at the time, they were the Minnisota Lakers and later moved to LA). A promising basketball career was on the cards (if you'll forgive the pun) until he suffered a devastating leg injury at work which ruined his basketball career. Brunson went on to complete college and throughout his studies, he supported himself by playing in the local card games. After graduation, he was employed by a company that sold bookkeeping equipment. At the end of his first week, he received his pay packet and realized that he make more in one poker session than he could working a week in a normal job. He quit and became a professional poker player.
Interestingly, Brunson teamed up with two other road gamblers: Amarillo “Slim” Preston and Sailor Roberts. They played off the same bankroll and traveled around Texas, seeking out the best games they could find, while trying to avoid being robbed, shot, cheated or going broke. During a trip to Vegas, they lost their entire bankroll and the partnership was subsequently dissolved. Yet, all three went on to win the main event in the WSOP.
Brunson built a bankroll back up playing 2 cent auction bridge. Eventually he got enough money together to begin playing poker again… and he never looked back! These days, you will occasionally see him pondering a large pot at the “4-8” game (that’s 4000-8000 to you and me) at the Bellagio. From little things, big things grow!
In the late 1970s, after Brunson had won back-to-back WSOP Championship titles, he arguably made his biggest mistake: He collaborated with other professionals of that time and wrote a book which provided incredibly sophisticated poker strategy: “How I Made Over $1,000,000 Playing Poker” - later re-titled “Super/System: A Course in Power Poker.” Within a few years of its publication, Brunson recalls that his usual games seemed “a lot tougher!”
Brunson also authored and published a lesser known book titled “According to Doyle” which was later re-titled to “Poker Wisdom of a Champion.” While this was a far less technical book, it provided a fascinating range of anecdotes and insights into the game of poker.
More recently, Brunson collaborated again with current professionals and published a sequel “Super System 2: A Course in Power Poker.” The book offers plenty of advice that is geared towards the more contemporary game. |
