Doyle Brunson

Brunson was born in the tiny community of Longworth in Fisher County, Texas. In high school he was part of the All-State Texas basketball team. In the 1950 Texas Interscholastic Track Meet, he won the one-mile event with a time of 4:43.Despite receiving offers from many colleges, he attended Hardin–Simmons University in Abilene, Texas.

The Minneapolis Lakers of the NBA showed interest in Brunson but a knee injury ended his hopes of becoming a professional basketball player. He still occasionally requires a crutch because of the injury. Brunson obtained a bachelor's degree in 1954 and a master's degree in administrative education the following year. He would go on to work as a school principal.

Brunson had begun playing poker before his injury, playing five-card draw. He played more often after being injured and his winnings paid for his expenses. After graduating, he took a job as a business machines salesman. On his first day, he was invited to play in a seven-card stud game and won more than a month's salary. He soon left the company and became a professional poker player, a career he would follow professionally for over 50 years.

Brunson was the first player to earn $1 million in poker tournaments and has won ten WSOP bracelets throughout his career, tied with Johnny Chan and Phil Ivey for second all-time, behind Phil Hellmuth's fifteen 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, at age 85, Brunson announced he was retiring from tournament poker.

Doyle Brunson passed May 14, 2023