Doyle ‘Texas Dolly’ Brunson

Doyle Brunson is a living poker legend, and one of the most influential and successful characters in modern day poker. His WSOP bracelets say it all - over the years, Brunson has won as many as ten, tying him with Johnny Chan for second all-time, and falling only one behind Phil Hellmuth's 11 bracelets.

Brunson was the first player ever to pass the US$1 million mark in winnings from live poker tournaments. He is also one of only four players in history who have won the World Series of Poker main event back to back during two consecutive years. He achieved this amazing feat in the years 1976 and 1977, making him Poker World Champion twice in a row.

Brunson was born in Longworth, Texas, on August 10, 1933. He showed an interest in card games from an early age. When he was young he was also a promising athlete, and dreamt of a career in basketball. While unloading a heavy load of sheetrock during a summer job he injured his leg, breaking it in two places. He spent two years in a cast, and still occasionally requires a cane to get around. That injury ended his hopes for a basketball career, and Brunson started focusing on other things.

After his injury, Brunson started playing poker more often, paying for his medical expenses with his poker winnings. After obtaining a Masters degree in 1955, he took a position as a business machines salesman. When his first day on the job had ended, he was invited to play in a Seven Card Stud game that would change his life. In less than three hours of play, ‘Texas Dolly' earned over a month's salary, and decided to quit his job to peruse a professional poker career. And what a career it has been.

Not many professional poker players reach the honor of having poker hands named after them, but Brunson has not one - but two Texas Hold'em hands to his name! The first hand is a ten and a two of any suit (T-2 offsuit). This had has come to bear Doyle's name after he won the WSOP main event two years in a row with this hand. In both cases he completed a full house with these hands, and in both cases he was an underdog and came from behind to win.

The second Hold'em hand known as the ‘Doyle Brunson', especially in Texas, is an Ace and Queen of any suit (A-Q offsuit). This hand became known as such only because Doyle himself stated in his classic book Super/System that he never plays it. It has since been proven many times that he does in fact play A-Q offsuit. He even got eliminated from the 2007 WSOP main event holding that very same hand. He has since corrected his first statement and said that he ‘tries never to play this hand'.

Brunson influenced the poker world not only with his spectacular style, but also through his writings. He is the author of Super/System, perhaps the most influential poker strategy book of all times. This book was originally self published in 1978, and was the first of its kind. Throughout the book, Brunson offers insight into the winning tactics of professional poker players. When it was published, many amateurs and ‘ordinary' players were craving for this kind of knowledge, and the vast popularity of Super/System changed the game poker forever. In 2004 a new edition titled Super/System 2 was published.

As of 2007, Doyle ‘Texas Dolly' Brunson has earned more than US$5,100,000 in live tournament winnings. He currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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