08 Nov 2024 In honor of his remarkable life and career, let’s take a look at 5 unforgettable stories from the life of Doyle Brunson — tales of grit, triumph, and the kind of poker genius that only he could deliver. He is considered as the godfather of poker and he has won 10 WSOP bracelets. Doyle Brunson’s time has been marked by many interesting stories. Here are 5 amazing stories from the life of Texas Dolly that you probably didn't know. #1: Dangerous Encounters There are few people in the world of poker who have survived as long and through as many incredible and life-threatening incidents as Doyle Brunson. In an interview with PokerStars, Brunson said he was once playing a poker game when a man burst in and shot the man beside him in the head. Brunson said, I remember the guy's head falling off. Doyle's description of the general poker scene would make most modern pros balk at the thought of even sitting down to play. Doyle used to play on a street the players called Bloodthirsty Highway where thieves, robbers, and killings were commonplace, and everyone was some kind of an outlaw. In another incident back in 1998, two masked gunmen robbed him on the doorstep of his Las Vegas country club home. Brunson and his wife Louise were handcuffed together as the armed robbers threatened to kill him if he did not hand over the contents of his safe. Doyle eventually gave them $4,000 in cash and $80,000 in Binion's Horseshoe Casino chips knowing that if he did not give them any money, they would be awfully mad. Faking a heart attack to get them to leave, Brunson explained the cashing in the chips would prove to be problematic. He even jokingly said, if they call me, I'll buy them back at half the price. A year later, Doyle was one of the lucky high rollers who avoided an armed robbery at the Bellagio Casino. Doyle and his fellow nosebleed players were comfortably absconded in Bobby's room for the big game when the inept robber decided to target the cashier's cage some 10 yards away instead. The $35,000 was chicken feed compared to the $200,000 or so in cash the big boys of poker had between them. CCTV footage of the robber was quickly released by Las Vegas Metro Police, although they still did not find the robber to this day. Brunson said he also had a knife held to his throat, was threatened with a baseball bat, beaten and was robbed so many times that he couldn't even remember the number. Before long, however, Brunson had befriended Amarillo Slim and Sailor Roberts and the three watched each other's backs. They became close, lifelong friends, with each of them going to win the WSOP main event. #2: Business Decision That Cost $230,000,000 The business decision that cost Brunson $230 million. Back in early 2006, the poker boom was exploding and everything poker related was turning into gold. Brunson had used his highly respected name to open his own online poker room, of which he was the face, which was Doyle's Room. A number of other famous pros were also brand ambassadors, including online entity earnings record holder Chris Moorman, Amit Makhija and David Sands. The site never rose to the level of FullTilt Poker or PokerStars, but it was attracting steady traffic. Originally part of the Tribeca Poker Network, it switched networks multiple times over the course of its operation, followed by the final destination, which was Winning Poker Network after the room was acquired by America's Card Room in 2011. It wasn't long before an offer came in to buy up the poker room while Brunson was holding a 50% stake in it. If the deal had gone through, he would have instantly become $230 million richer. The reason, he said, he did not sign on the dotted line was that he believed that Doyle's Room was going to be worth twice the amount. Unfortunately, Black Friday came along and tanked the online poker market, so there was no way Brunson was ever going to see another offer of nearly a quarter billion dollars. Although Doyle's Room did not exit the US online market instantly after Black Friday swooped down in April of 2011 when UIGEA was announced, Brunson ended up cutting his ties with the company right after the crackdown on FullTilt Poker, Absolute Poker and PokerStars. So, you may wonder who offered him $230 million for his namesake online poker room. Well, the answer was the late and great Paradise Poker. Doyle Brunson's regret on not selling his poker site before UIGEA was sympathized by fellow poker hall of famer Daniel Negrano who built his own website FullContactPoker from nothing and within six months had an offer to sell it for $170 million. Literally three days later, this thing called UIGEA happened, so they pulled the plug on that offer too. #3: The WSOP Main Event He Did Not Compete For Back in 1972, the WSOP Main Event title was still entirely new. The first edition was in 1970, which involved just seven players, while the following year drew only six players. Nobody at that time had any idea that this high-stakes sit-and-go would become the most prestigious poker tournament in the world. In 1972, there were just four players remaining from a starting field of eight when the players took a break. As they sat drinking a coffee together in Binion's, discussions turned to who seemingly was likely to win. Amarillo Slim was very short-stacked, Cradnell Addington and Doyle Brunson had plenty of chips but weren't overly enthusiastic by the attention that comes with being world champion. They played for money, not fame after all. Huggy Pearson remarked that he was hoping not to win as he'd already sold 200% of himself and so a deal was struck. Amarillo Slim agreed dividing most of the money between the others and he would win the tournament. Later, of course, Brunson would go on to win two Main Event titles along with a second, third and fourth place finish in the early 1980s but has never expressed any regret at giving what could have been a legacy-altering third title to his friend Amarillo Slim. #4: A Blessing in Disguise In his college days, Brunson was an exceptional athlete when he was younger, excelling at both track and field and basketball. His basketball skills earned him a scholarship to Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas. While primarily interested in basketball, he took to running and attempted to work on his speed over one-mile distance. At just 18 years old, Doyle Brunson ran a mile in 4 minutes and 38 seconds before going on to set a personal best of 4 minutes and 18 seconds. It was during his time there that the Minneapolis Lakers showed an interest in drafting Doyle. That summer, Brunson took a job in a local gypsum plant which produced sheetrock. While unloading the heavy sheets and stacking them one day, the pile began to topple. Brunson threw his body against a 2,000-pound stack and jammed his knee against it to try to stop the inevitable. His leg was crushed and snapped in two places, with further complications meaning that he spent two years in a cast. In athletic terms, his career was over. Even with his injuries, Doyle managed to earn his bachelor's degree in 1954. He even finished his master's degree just one year later in education administration. Unable to play basketball during that time, he started playing poker, his game of choice which was 5-card draw. He used the money he earned through playing poker to pay for his medical expenses. After he was done with school, he became a salesman and started to make a decent living for himself. Around the same time, he played in a 7-card stud tournament and won over a month's salary in just a matter of a few hours. Needless to say, he did not stay with the company for long and instead started to pursue a career as a professional poker player and his legendary life in the game began. #5: Fighting Against Cancer Lastly, number 5, the terminal cancer that just vanished. Through the course of his life, Doyle Brunson had beaten cancer 6 times. In 2018, he tweeted that about one of those brushes with death back in 1960. He said 5 doctors gave me 3 months to live with terminal cancer. A proudly religious man, Doyle Brunson credits God with his survival but he had 2 operations to remove the cancer at that time which appears to have played a role. Whatever the reason, his cancer vanished, marking one more fascinating chapter in the life of poker's greatest legend. Undoubtedly, Doyle Brunson left a tremendous mark on the history of global poker through his life and career. His role in shaping modern poker is hard to overestimate. For years to come, his book Super System will remain a core guide for most aspiring poker players, and the legend of Doyle Brunson will live on — perhaps even inspiring a future Hollywood film. This article was written by Dennis «Dennis_Stets» based on a video from the Poker Bounty channel.
