Doyle Brunson (Texas Dolly)

The patriarch of world poker never takes his cowboy hat off. Doyle Brunson, aka Texas Dolly, has marked poker history with his style and longevity. A true figure of Las Vegas and the WSOP, he is one of the most respected players in the world.

Born in 1933 in Longworth, a small Texas town, Doyle Brunson initially dreamed of shining on the Basketball courts. But while working as a laborer on a summer job, a plate of plaster will shatter his leg and his athletic ambitions.

Doyle discovered poker around the age of 20. At the time, five-card closed poker and 7 Stud were played. Variants for which the Texan quickly showed great aptitude. He played numerous illegal games in Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma. A far cry from the neon lights and atmosphere of today's casinos. According to Doyle's testimonies, the tables were filled with disreputable people, and it wasn't uncommon to see certain games degenerate, between beatings and revolvers pointed at the players.

In the early 70s, Doyle left for Las Vegas. He lost all his savings there for the first time, before returning to settle permanently in the Nevada city. He reached his first WSOP final tables and regularly razed the Cash Games tables, which were becoming less mob-run and more secure.

Texas Dolly and the WSOP, a love story

Everything changed in 1976. Doyle took part in the 7th edition of the World Series of Poker and won the $10,000 Main Event in front of 22 entrants, for a prize of $220,000. He repeated the feat the following year against 34 opponents, winning each time with the same hand: a Ten and Deuce that went full on the river. This card combination would follow him throughout his career and contribute to the legend of Doyle Brunson, who even gave it his name.

The first player to reach the million-dollar mark in tournament winnings, Doyle Brunson racked up a string of WSOP bracelets and established himself as one of the best players of the 70s and 80s, both in variants and in No Limit Hold'em, the new game in vogue. In 1979, he published Super System, one of the first strategy books devoted to poker, and the future bible of all budding players, which would be reissued several times.

Longevity and bracelet records

Doyle Brunson will continue to amass fortunes in juicy Cash Games games in Las Vegas' finest venues, most notably the Bellagio. He will also continue his collection of WSOP bracelets: in 2005, he equalled the record of ten units, which Johnny Chan had just achieved a week earlier. The previous year he won $1,198,260, his biggest WPT Championships win.

Historic player, WSOP figure, writer and Las Vegas fixture, Doyle Brunson appears on numerous TV shows, rubbing shoulders with the new stars of the 2000s and 2010s. The "Godfather" will announce the end of his career in 2018, on the occasion of one last WSOP final table, on a $10,000 Two to Seven Single Draw. After a 62-year career. Legendary.