With all of the young, Internet players and foreigners who’ve been crushing poker lately, we sometimes tend to forget about the old timers. Of course nobody tends to forget Doyle Brunson since he has been able to keep his name in the news for years now through his poker exploits. But Brunson is more than just an attention whore seeking press clippings as he provides a distinct link to poker’s past.
Born in the dusty plains of Texas, Brunson began his poker days by hustling small town bar games across Texas. This was far from the glitz and glamour he sees in Las Vegas today, but it was a way for Doyle to make a living back then. What was really tough back in those days was avoiding the law as poker was illegal even in the one-horse towns of Texas. Brunson was arrested on numerous occasions and would get out of trouble by giving police a fake name and paying his $25 fine. He was also robbed 5 different times during poker games which is even more scary than being arrested.
Eventually, Brunson’s legend would grow to the point where he was invited to participate in the World Series of Poker in 1970. Perhaps even more amazing than Doyle’s humble poker beginnings was that he played against just 9 players in the 1970 WSOP at Binion’s Horseshoe Casino.
Now Brunson is tied for second all-time with 10 WSOP bracelets, and is still one of the stars of the game despite most of the other marquee players being over 30 years younger. And many of these players got their start by sitting at home in their comfy home playing on the Internet which is a far cry from the dangerous and illegal games where Brunson honed his skills. There’s no doubt that Doyle Brunson serves as a reminder to everyone where poker came from.