Doyle Brunson can be considered a more contemporary gambler since he is still alive today; however, he started his life in 1933 making him a part of history in the early 20th century. Brunson is a Texas born gambler with several nicknames like Texas Dolly, The Godfather of Poker, and Big Papa. He has worn 10 WSOP bracelets, finished with money 35 times, and was at the 2006 WSOP. His highest wins were in 1976 and 1977. With the world poker tour he has one title, 3 final tables, and 8 money finishes. In terms of the European poker tour he did not get a title or get to the final table, but he did gain a money finish once.
Brunson has spent his life as a professional poker player in America. He has been at the poker tables for 50 years. Brunson was also the first to hold the WSOP title twice in a row. He has also been placed on the Poker Hall of Fame and written a few books on poker.
Doyle was the first to ever gain $1 million in a poker tournament. In his career he was tied with Johnny Chan, came in behind Phil Hellmuth’s 11th win, and was one of four to win the main event at the WSOP several times.
Before Brunson was a gambler he was an athlete. Longworth was a small town so he tended to run long distances between towns, which is how he gained the athleticism to become an All State Texas basketball player. He tended to like basketball over running, but he did enter track and field for the one mile winning the event. He had many offers to colleges for his athletic accomplishments.
Sadly a knee injury kept him from joining the Minneapolis Lakers. He broke his leg in two places at a summer job lifting sheetrock. He had to be in the cast for two years for the bones to heal which left him unable to pursue a professional basketball career. He didn’t stop his education though, going with a bachelor’s degree in 1954 and then a master’s degree in administrative education.
Brunson began playing poker in college. He would play five card draw and due to his injury he began to play more in order to get winnings for his expenses. He started working as a machines salesman, but some of the workers asked him to play seven card stud where he won over his monthly salary in three hours. This is when Brunson decided that his career in education, as a salesman and as anything other than a gambler would not work.
In the beginning he played in illegal games in Forth Worth. He met Dwayne Hamilton, another serious player before he moved around to bigger games meeting up with Sailor Roberts and Amarillo Slim. Many of the games he played were run by organised crime since he leaned towards the illegal games. He had guns pulled on him and was robbed and beaten a few times too.