Doyle “Texas Dolly” Brunson has been playing poker for many decades now. Although the game has changed significantly over the years, one thing has not changed; Doyle Brunson’s dedication to it.
Oct 31, 2019 Doyle Brunson poker blow-ups may have been few and far between, but for many, Brunson and poker go together like gunpowder and the bullet, and Texas Dolly’s life is.
Doyle has gone from playing poker in the saloons of Texas during the 1950s, to playing poker in the prestigious casinos of Las Vegas today.
Doyle has won millions of dollars over the years and he’s considered to be one of the most well rounded players of his time. Many professional players have been inspired by his incredible talent.
For more details on the life and adventures of Doyle Brunson, please read through this comprehensive biography.
Doyle F. Brunson was born on August 10th, 1933 in Longworth, Texas. He was an exceptional athlete when he was younger, excelling at both track & field and basketball. When it came to track & field, he would definitely be considered a long distance runner, setting the school record for the one mile at 4 minutes and 43 seconds in 1950.
His basketball skills earned him a scholarship to Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas.
It was during his time there that the Minneapolis Lakers showed an interest in drafting Doyle, but a brutal knee injury would stand in his way of ever getting to live out his dream as a professional basketball player.
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 was five-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 hours.
Needless to say, he didn’t stay with the company long and instead started to pursue a career as a professional poker player.
His first experiences with poker were not in luxurious casinos, but instead were in illegal poker rooms scattered all around Texas. Those who chose to exclusively play poker at this time were often associated with thieves or crooks; basically they were the people that most people tried to avoid.
There were multiple times early on in Doyle’s career where his life was threatened because he won against a thief with a shot gun.
Despite the crazy, life threatening experiences that Doyle endured during this time, he will still reminisce about how that was the best time of his life. His partner on the road with him was Dwayne Hamilton; together they travelled to various parts of Texas, Louisianna, and Oklahoma to compete in countless poker tournaments.
Somewhere along the way, he met Amarillo Slim and Sailor Roberts, who he’d get to know very well over the course of his career.
As Las Vegas turned into the booming multi-billion dollar empire it is today, Doyle Brunson was there every step along the way. As poker adapted, so did Doyle. He was always willing to take chances and try new things.
He never let the fear of striking out keep him from playing the game. Over the course of his career, Doyle has performed well in a plethora of different competitions.
There’s no arguing that Doyle’s greatest career accomplishments have taken place at the World Series of Poker. Having won over ten WSOP gold bracelets in total and having cashed out at the WSOP an additional thirty-six times makes Doyle one of the competition’s top performers.
To see exactly what events he has won and how much money he has been awarded for each event, please refer to the list below:
- Deuce to Seven Draw Event: $80,250 (1976)
- No Limit Hold’em Championship: $230,000 (1976)
- Seven Card Stud Split Event: $62, 500 (1977)
- No Limit Hold’em Championship: $340,000 (1977)
- Seven Card Stud Event: $68,000 (1978)
- Mixed Doubles Event: $4,500 (1979)
- No Limit Hold’em Event: $208,000 (1991)
- Seven Card Razz Event: $93,000 (1998)
- O.R.S.E. Event: $84,080 (2003)
- No Limit Short Handed Texas Hold’em: $367,800 (2005)
As the list above indicates, Doyle Brunson won the WSOP main event two years in a row. In the 1976 WSOP main event, Doyle was head to head against Jesse Alto for the title when he received a 10 and 2 of spades, the cards that would cause him to get a full house to end the game.
The following year, Doyle would find himself against Bones Berland at the final table. He again received a 10 and 2 of the same suit, which he would later use to complete a full house and take home the championship.
The 10-2 hand is often referred to as “Ten Deuce” or “The Mystic Hand,” and it’s said to bring good fortune to whoever is lucky enough to come a crossed it.
He was able to take away almost $2 million from that event alone. Winning this allowed him to join an exclusive group of only five people who have won both the WSOP main event and a WPT title.
Doyle has also participated in NBC’S Poker After Dark series, which started back in 2007. The show was one hour long, and it went on for fourteen weeks per season. Doyle was one of the inaugural winners of the competition, walking away with $120,000 when everything was said and done.
Some of the other tournaments he has won events in are Amarillo Slim’s Superbowl of Poker, America’s Cup of Poker, the Hall of Fame Poker Classic, and Queens Poker Classic Summer Edition.
When he isn’t competing in tournaments, he can often be found playing for high stakes at Bobby’s Room at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino. The blinds for these games sometimes soar past $100,000/ $200,000.
Doyle often played here with one of his good friends, Amarillo Slim, who passed away in 2012. Now he plays with some of the younger professionals, such as Phil Ivey, and enjoys watching this new generation of poker players in action.
We weren’t surprised to see Doyle’s name on the Poker Hall of Fame. He was inducted in 1988, alongside Jack “Treetop” Strauss. When Doyle was inducted, there were only sixteen members, but today the Poker Hall of Fame consists of over fifty members.
Doyle wrote a book entitled, Doyle Brunson’s Super System: A Course in Power Poker, which made its way to publication in 1979. This book was the first of its kind, as it’s a complete Poker strategy book that covers almost any variation of poker one could think of.
Many professionals were upset about how much information was leaked in these books, as they believed it gave the amateurs the necessary tools they needed to give the professionals a run for their money.
Doyle wanted his book to be as accurate as possible, so he asked for the help of other professional poker players to write specific sections of his book if he felt they were more knowledgeable when it came to that subject.
The Draw Poker section was written by Mike Caro, the Hi/Lo section was written by David Sklanski, the 7 Card Stud section was written by Chip Reese, the Lowball section was written by Joey Hawthorne, and the Limit Texas Hold’em section was written by Bobby Baldwin.
Goodreads gave this book 4 out of 5 stars and said,
We weren’t surprised to discover that over 300,000 copies of this book have been sold worldwide.
The sequel of this book was published in October, 2004; it was simply titled Super System 2. Even more variations of poker are covered in this book, and even more professional poker players contributed their advice. This book goes into more detail than the first book, and includes new sections on the psychology behind poker and applying advanced strategy.
Also in 2004, Doyle launched an online poker room, which he named, Doyle’s Room. It has been associated with several different networks over the years including Playtech, Microgaming, and Cake Poker.
Doyle eventually cut his connections with the poker room, after an investigation revealed that it had violated several gambling laws.
This wasn’t the only time that Doyle Brunson would be under investigation, as the Securities and Exchange Commission filed one on December 14th, 2005. They were claiming that Doyle had tried to manipulate the stock price of WPT Enterprise by making a fake tender offer.
The SEC was never able to find enough evidence to support their claims, so the charges were eventually dropped.
In 1962, Doyle met the woman he would eventually spend the rest of his life with: Louise. Less than two years later, the two of them would be married and ready to start a family together. Louise was pregnant with their son, Todd, when Doyle discovered a cancerous tumor on his neck.
The Doctors predicted that he wouldn’t make it to see the birth of his son, but not only was he there for his son’s birth but his tumor went away almost immediately. Doyle thanks his miraculous recovery to a faith healer he contacted via mail just a few months prior.
Doyle never pressured his son into becoming a professional poker player, but he did give him the tools and resources he needed to get on the right path. Early on in Todd’s career, he won a WSOP gold bracelet in the Omaha Hi-Lo event.
Doyle is very proud of his son and all that he has accomplished so far; Todd will certainly be carrying on his father’s legacy.
Although Todd seems to get the most attention from the media, Doyle and Louise actually had two daughters as well: Doyla and Pamela. Their first daughter, Doyla, passed away when she was eighteen due to a heart valve condition.
It was a very difficult time for the whole family; Doyle took quite a bit of time off from his gambling career to be with his wife and kids after her death. Pamela enjoys playing poker and although she doesn’t hold any WSOP bracelets, she has competed in the WSOP main event several times.
Doyle has made a couple appearances in the filming industry, having starred in the 2006 documentary, No Limit: A Search for the American Dream on the Poker Tournament Trail and having played a small role in Lucky You in 2007.
Many directors have asked him to be in his productions, but he usually refuses as he has a fear of being portrayed in a negative light.
Despite his love of poker, Doyle has realized that it’s his family and friends that truly have made his life worth it over the years. In an interview with Bluff Magazine, he left them with this final statement,
Bluff Magazine declared Doyle the number one most influential force in the world of poker and it’s not hard to understand why.
Doyle Brunson (aka “Texas Dolly”) is arguably one of the greatest poker players of all time. His specialty is no limit Texas holdem. He’s won the Main Event at the World Series of Poker Twice. He’s also a member of the Poker Hall of Fame. He authored and edited both Super/System and Super/System 2.
But that’s only the beginning of his accomplishments. He’s also the first person to win over a million dollars playing poker tournaments. And besides his 2 Main Event bracelets, he has 8 additional WSOP bracelets.
Only Johnny Chan, Phil Hellmuth, and Phil Ivey compare to the fame and skill of Doyle Brunson.
But here’s the thing about poker:
Anyone can play.
And if you’re dedicated enough, and if you have the right temperament, you can learn how to play no limit Texas holdem like Doyle Brunson.
Read Super/System and Super/System 2
Doyle Brunson didn’t write the entire book for Super/System or Super/System 2.
But he did write the sections about no limit Texas holdem in both books.
It’s impossible for a simple blogger like myself to encapsulate everything Doyle Brunson has to share about no limit Texas holdem strategy in a single blog post. You should read and study the insights he offers in his own words.
I suggest reading both books’ sections on no limit Texas holdem and taking notes in your own words. Multiple readings are a good idea.
Also, once you’ve read these strategies, put them into action at the table. But don’t do so in a passive way. Pay attention to what happens, and keep records of your play.
You should know your overall results for every session and for your entire poker careers. You should also be able to see what kinds of results you got when you brought your strategy more into line with Doyle Brunson’s.
Be Aggressive
The one thing I’ll never forget about reading Brunson’s advice on no limit holdem is his advice about aggression. He points out that he bets and raises a lot, and he does so for 2 reasons:
- He wants to steal lots of blinds.
- He wants to give other players action so that he’ll get action in return when he has a big hand.
The way he explains it, by aggressively going after blinds, he gets money into his stack that he can use to gamble on drawing hands. Since he’s stolen so many blinds, he basically gives himself a freeroll when he’s drawing to a big hand—those chips should have stayed in the stacks of the weaker players at the table.
Being aggressive in poker isn’t unusual advice, but Brunson’s perspective and advice on it is phrased uniquely enough that it’s well worth reading.
I’ll add one piece of advice from my own observations at the poker table:
I’ve seen loose aggressive players win a lot of money, and I’ve seen tight aggressive players win a lot of money, too.
I’ve never seen passive players make much money at the poker table.
What’s the difference between a loose and a tight player?
A loose player gets involved in lot of hands. A tight player doesn’t play many hands at all.
Both loose players and tight players can be aggressive. Aggression refers to how often you bet or raise versus how often you call or check.
You can play only premium hands, and if you’re consistently betting and raising with them, you’re being aggressive.
On the other hand, you might be willing to play almost anything, but if you’re willing to raise with those hands, you might profit dramatically from all the dead money at the table.
This is especially true if you’re at a table with a lot of tight and/or weak players.
But if you play passively, you’ll let players with bad starting hands draw to better hands. You’ll also get little money in the pot when you do have a stronger hand. And you’ll never be able to get dead money, because people only fold in the face of raises and bets.
If you want to play no limit Texas holdem like Doyle Brunson, you need to be willing to get aggressive and bet and raise more often.
Loosen Up
It’s fair to characterize Brunson’s approach to the game as fearless. He’s loose-aggressive, not tight-aggressive. This doesn’t mean he plays junk cards. If Brunson’s in a hand, he usually has something.
But Doyle Brunson is more likely to bet and raise with a less-than-premium hand than many beginning players. This approach works for him for multiple reasons.
For one thing, Doyle Brunson is a famous Texas holdem player. Many players—even professional players—respect his bets and raises because of his reputation.
If you want to play more like Doyle Brunson, you’ll have to become willing to get some money into the pot with some drawing hands.
The first time I ever played live poker at an underground cardroom in Dallas, Texas, I saw a guy go all-in on the flop.
He got called, and when he flipped over his hand, he had 4 cards to a high flush.
The other player had top pair with a solid kicker.
The player who bet into the flush draw hit his draw and won the hand, and a lady at the table said, “Just like Doyle Brunson suggests.”
Here’s the thing:
The player with the flush draw was driving the action. He didn’t just call someone’s bet to stay in the hand. He tried to win the pot immediately by going all-in.
He wasn’t the favorite to win the hand, but when you combine the odds of his opponent folding with his odds of hitting his draw, it becomes clear that he made a profitable move.
Had he lost the hand, he might have faced a little bit of derision from his opponents.
But he would have also gotten plenty of calls when he got his next pair of aces in the hole.
Learn How to Play Pocket Aces
Doyle Brunson Hand
I have a playful running debate with a buddy of mine about how you should play pocket aces from early position in no limit Texas holdem.
The conventional wisdom is that you should always raise with this hand, regardless of your position.
But in Super/System, Brunson suggests that you limp in with those pocket aces from early position. Your hope is that someone acting after you has a pair of kings or queens and raises you.
Then you can put that other player all in when it comes back to you.
In fact, some aggressive players in late position will play hands like suited connectors and AK very aggressively. These players will have a hard time laying those hands down in the face of a re-raise, especially if their cards are high in rank.
I was playing no limit Texas holdem at an underground cardroom in McKinney, Texas about 10 years ago, and I got into this situation. I had AQ suited, and I was in late position. One of the players in front of me had limped in, so I put in a raise the size of the pot.
The limper before me re-raised me all-in, and I just couldn’t lay that AQ suited down.
That was a mistake, because he had pocket aces.
I was a huge underdog, and I lost my entire stack within minutes of sitting down. (It was the first hand I’d been dealt in fact.)
I sheepishly laughed and told everyone at the table I had to go to the ATM to get more money.
Then I drove home.
Learn to Read Other Players
Another key to why Doyle Brunson can play hands that other players should fold is because he’s an expert at reading other players. He suggests trying to guess which hole cards each of your opponents has. There’s almost a hint of belief in ESP in that section, which I suggest ignoring.
But when you can read other players’ tells, the game gets a lot more interesting.
Brunson doesn’t go into much detail about reading tells in his books.
But you can find multiple sources for information on how to improve that specific skillset.
The best book I’ve read about poker tells is Mike Caro’s book, Caro’s Book of Poker Tells. It was written years ago, but the psychology behind it remains as strong as ever. It’s charmingly illustrated, and the pictures are dated, but the advice is as sound today as it was when the book was written.
If you take nothing else away from Caro’s advice on poker tells, remember this:
A player acting strong usually has a weak hand.
A player acting weak usually has a strong hand.
This doesn’t hold true for every player in every situation, but Caro estimates that it’s true a large enough percentage of the time that you can use it as a rough guideline while you get to know the other player.
Joe Navarro has also written a couple of books about poker tells. Navarro has some expertise in spotting liars, too, as he’s a former FBI agent. He makes information about poker tells available in both a series of books and a series of YouTube videos.
But when it comes to reading other players, nothing succeeds like success. You absolutely must sit down at a table and get some experience before you’ll ever be good at reading other players.
Conclusion
Can I tell you how to become as great a no limit Texas holdem poker player as Doyle Brunson is in a 2000-word blog post?
Of course not.
The man has been playing for decades. Brunson’s poker career is comparable to the musical careers of legends like Willie Nelson and Frank Sinatra.
You can’t compete with that kind of experience and talent unless you’re willing to put in the time to get that experience. And you need to be born with talent—that’s not something I can grant you in a single blog post.
You can, though, absolutely improve your no limit Texas holdem skillset by examining and thinking about Brunson’s approach to the game. He’s shared a lot of his approach to the game in 2 books, Super/System and Super/System 2.
I’ve also read interviews with Brunson where he explains that he’s had to change his approach after everyone read his book, because that approach was no longer profitable.
And that’s as good a final tip for playing no limit Texas holdem poker as any:
You must be willing to adjust your approach based on conditions.
Being flexible and adjusting to the situations you find yourself in is probably the most important lesson you can learn from Doyle Brunson.