Doyle F Brunson aka Texas Dolly was born in Longworth, Fisher County, Texas on August 10 1933. He is a retired Poker player that had a career spanning 50 years.
Doyle was one of the first poker players to win $1 million in poker tournaments and won the World Series of Poker (WSOP) twice. He has also written numerous books about Poker and is an inductee in the Poker Hall of Fame.
The Early Years
Brunson was a keen basketball player and always dreamt of playing in the NBA. Unfortunately, a knee injury dashed his dreams of becoming a Professional basketball player, so he obtained a Bachelors and master’s degree in administrative education.
While studying, Brunson began playing five-card-draw Poker and got quite good at it.
When he graduated, he worked as a Salesman selling business machines. On his first day, he played a game of seven-card-stud Poker and won one months worth of salary. Soon after this, he left the Company and became a Professional Poker player.
Brunson’s Poker Career
Brunson and a friend called Dwayne Hamilton started playing Poker at various illegal venues in Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma, that were typically run by criminals who were members of organized crime syndicates.
Hamilton eventually moved back to Fort Worth, but Brunson continued to gamble and ultimately moved to Las Vegas where he won 10 World Series of Poker bracelets during his career.
Keeping it in the Family
His son Todd is also a Professional Poker Player, and in 2005 Doyle and Todd became the first Father and Son to win World Series of Poker bracelets. His daughter Pamela also played in the 2007 and 2009 WSOP and outlasted her father and brother.
Where is he now?
On June 11 2018, Doyle Brunson announced that he would be retiring that Summer to spend more time with his wife, who was sick.