Doyle Brunson, who was lovingly known as the “Godfather of Poker” for his outsized influence on the game, died at 89. Check out his Nickname.
Doyle Brunson : Nickname | Favorite hand | Age
Brunson started by playing in illegal games on Exchange Street in Fort Worth with friend Dwayne Hamilton.
Eventually, they began traveling around Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana, playing in bigger games, and meeting fellow professionals Amarillo Slim and Sailor Roberts.
The illegal games Brunson played in during this time were usually run by criminals who were often members of organized crime, so rules were not always enforced.
Brunson has recounted the violence and criminality of that era such as the time another player’s brains were blown out while Brunson was holding two pair – aces and sevens.
Hamilton moved back to Fort Worth while the others teamed up and traveled together, gambling on poker, golf, and, in Doyle’s words, “just about everything.”
Doyle Brunson Nickname
Brunson, called the Godfather of Poker and also known as “Texas Dolly”
Brunson was the first player to win $1 million in poker tournaments and won ten WSOP bracelets throughout his career, tied with Johnny Chan and Phil Ivey for second all-time, behind Phil Hellmuth’s sixteen bracelets.
He is also one of only four players to have won the Main Event at the World Series of Poker multiple times, which he did in 1976 and 1977.
He is also one of only three players, along with Bill Boyd and Loren Klein, to have won WSOP tournaments in four consecutive years.
In addition, he is the first of six players to win both the WSOP Main Event and a World Poker Tour title. In January 2006, Bluff Magazine voted Brunson the most influential force in the world of poker.
On June 11, 2018, Brunson announced he was retiring from tournament poker that summer.[8] That day, he entered the $10,000 2–7 Single Draw at the 2018 WSOP. He made the final table and finished in sixth place, earning $43,963.
Doyle Brunson Favorite hand
His favorite hand to play is 10-2. Hence, this hand is known amongst poker players as the “Doyle Brunson” or “Texas Dolly”.
The reason that 10-2 is his favorite hand to play, is because he won the 1976 and 1977 World Series of Poker Main Events back to back in subsequent years with it.
Many hands in poker have special names: Pocket aces are called pocket rockets, pocket kings are the cowboys and the famous “dead man’s hand” is made of aces and eights in cross and spades.
But there are not many hands named after a player in the world of poker.
Maybe you have heard of the “Doyle Brunson hand” before, maybe someone turned over 10-2 in a friendly game, smiled and everyone around you nodded knowingly. Or you watched the WSOP and someone played the 10-2 and the commentators started talking about Doyle Brunson although he was not even at the table. That’s because the 10-2 and Doyle Brunson will be linked together for eternity.
But how did a holding that can be considered a “trash-hand” get named after one of the most famous poker players who ever lived ?
Well, because this hand added much to the fame of Doyle Brunson and made him a World Series of Poker Main Even winner. Twice. In consecutive years.
The poker gods must have a strong sense of irony making a hand like 10-2 as iconic as they did in the years of 1976 and 1977.
Doyle Brunson is a living legend in poker, and who better to start a little series about famous hands in poker than the “grandfather of poker” with his long and illustrious career.
Age
Doyle Brunson died in Las Vegas on May 14, 2023, at the age of 89.