Know how Doyle Brunson has managed to play poker since the 70's

Two-time American WSOP champion Doyle Brunson is a poker pro for more than 50 years as well as an author. He was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame and was the first ever player to make $1 million from joining poker tournaments. He claimed ten WSOP bracelets throughout the span of his career. There are only four players who have championed the WSOP Main Event several times, and Doyle Brunson is one of them. Together with Bill Boyd, they are the only people who have won the WSOP tournaments for four years in succession. Brunson was hailed to be poker's most influential person by Bluff Magazine in January of 2006.

Born in a brood of three in Texas, he was a member of the All-State basketball team. He would have had a professional career in basketball, however, a knee injury meant the end of this path. Before this, he was already playing poker, which was usually the five-card draw. After his injury, he played more frequently, with his winnings helping him pay for his medical expenses. After graduating, he worked as a salesman and was invited to join a seven-card stud game on his first day at work. On that day, he earned a month's worth of salary. Soon, he resigned from the company and went on to become a professional player. He first started out playing poker in illegal matches at Fort Worth with his friend Dwayne Hamilton. Later on, they travelled around Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma where they met Sailor Roberts and Amarillo Slim. It was also at this time that they started to join bigger games. The tournaments he participated in were usually managed by organized crime groups so game rules were seldom enforced. He admitted to being beaten and robbed a couple of times.

After settling down in Las Vegas, Doyle Brunson has been consistently joining WSOP tournaments since it began in 1970. Two hands in Texas Hold'Em has been named after him and he penned the book Super/System, which is strongly considered to be among poker's most authoritative material. As of this year, his total tournament earnings from live matches is over $6 million. His son Todd and daughter Pamela are also a professional poker players.