Poker Brunson Hand
Down to heads-up play against a final-table fixture of the day in Jesse Alto, The Doyle Brunson hand would make its first mark on the poker world. Preflop, Alto raised with his unsuited A-J, an excellent heads-up hand. Doyle called with his 10-2, both spades. The flop was A-J-10 with 2 hearts and 1 spade. A two-time world series champion poker player and winner of ten bracelets from the World Series of Poker (as well as the winner of a 'Legends of Poker' tournament on the World Poker Tour), Doyle Brunson is a universally acknowledged legend of the game who brings more than half a century of experience to bear in 'My 50 Most Memorable Hands'. Brunson is widely understood to be one of the greatest poker players of all time. He won two consecutive World Series of Poker championships - in 1976 and 1977 - each with the starting hand 10-2. In both cases, he won the showdown with a full house, 10s full of 2s. There's a very well known Poker player, a man who enters the World Series of Poker every year, who has a talent for figuring out exactly what your hand is. But when he decides that you're holding a Pair of Jacks (in Hold 'em) and his own hand will not beat the Jacks, he'll try to make you throw your hand away.
The longest ongoing chapter in poker history, Texas Dolly at the World Series of Poker, has come to an end.
A soft thud sounded, as with a single knuckle tap on the green felt of the main stage in the Amazon Room, Doyle Brunson signaled defeat one last time.
After the final showdown had unfolded, his raspy voice with distinguishable Texas drawl filled the quiet room.
“Good job.”
The recipient of those words, James Alexander, will forever be known as the final opponent of Texas Dolly after 49 years at the World Series of Poker.
As the applause swelled up, Brunson swiftly mucked his final hand, before raising his arm with a slight tremor, reaching for his iconic cowboy hat in salute of fans both in the stands and watching from home.
Born on August 10, 1933, in Longworth, Texas, the All-State basketball player and track star nearly signed with the then Minneapolis Lakers before a knee injury changed the path of his life. During a brief stint as a school principal, it was a game of Five-Card Draw that changed his life forever, and the chapter: Doyle Brunson the poker player, started.
More than 60 years ago, the Texas road gambler turned living poker legend, could’ve never foreseen tipping his cowboy hat to fans, fans of his play, his persona, his story and simply fans of the game that he introduced them to.
Whether you got to know him through his best-selling Super System, first was released in 1979, countless appearances in big televised cash games such as High Stakes Poker and Poker After Dark, his record at the World Series of Poker, or simply his status as one of the best and toughest players to have ever played the game, Brunson could’ve never seen any of it coming.
In between signing autographs and posing for pictures with fans understanding the gravity of the moment before the play got underway on his final day, Brunson reflected back on what has been a journey unlike anyone has been on that’s still with us today.
“I’m a poker player, and just to think that people acknowledge poker players is very rewarding to me. They used to look down on us as second-class citizens, and now we have a certain celebrity status that we probably don’t deserve. It’s nice to see how far the game of poker has come.”
The game of poker has certainly come a long way from dimly lit, smoky card rooms, and underground games ran by infamous mobsters, and when getting a gun pulled on you was part of the sweat of getting home with that night’s profits.
Phil Ivey, considered by many as the best all-around player of the last 20 years, spoke on exactly that, and how much Doyle has done for the game and how it’s players are being perceived.
“Back when he [Doyle] was coming up, if you told someone you were a poker player, you might as well have been telling them that you were a drug dealer. Even with myself, in my limited experience before being on TV, when I told people that I played poker for a living, they would look at you a little differently. Everyone in poker owes Doyle a huge ‘Thank you’ for all that he’s done for the game.”
Within hours, Sports Center with Scott Van Pelt on ESPN gave the ultimate ‘Thank You’ to the man that helped lay the foundation and built upon it, turning poker into a global pastime. Van Pelt perfectly summarized how much the times have changed, how the name Doyle Brunson reaches far beyond card rooms, into the living rooms of millions of Americans, resonating with anyone that loves the thrill and excitement of playing a game of cards.
“Known as a gambling pioneer, paving the way for the poker boom in the Early 2000s, to the man they call Texas Dolly, no bad beats and only good health to he and his wife. I’m not a poker guy, but everyone knows that guy,” Van Pelt said as the clip was shown of Brunson’s elimination from the $10,000 No Limit 2-7 Single Draw Lowball event.
As the clip ended, and the standing ovation by his opponents and fans slowly weakened, Brunson said, “Good luck everybody.”
Phil Galfond, who once tried impressing Doyle on High Stakes Poker by check-raising Daniel Negreanu for $94,000 on the turn with ten-deuce offsuit, delivered heartfelt commentary on the PokerGO stream as the ‘Godfather of Poker’ headed for the exit one last time.
“The audience reacts the way that we all feel.”
Lead commentator and the voice of Poker After Dark, Ali Nejad, added, “Appreciation and respect for the author, father, husband, legend, in the twilight of his poker career, riding off into the sunset.”
“Let him rebuy” – a person in the crowd yelled.
Galfond added, “It’s tough to imagine the poker community without him as an active participant.”
As he steered his scooter through the crowd, poker fans, usually eager to stop him for a photo or autograph, kept their distance. A few of his peers put their hands together in the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship being played just a few feet away from where Brunson was dealt his final cards.
Passing through the doorways of the Amazon room, Doyle left the room behind him filled with the banners of Blumstein, Nguyen, McKeehen, Jacobson, Riess, Merson, Heinz, Duhamel, Cada, Eastgate, Yang, Gold, Hachem, Raymer and Moneymaker.
Without Brunson, there is no Moneymaker and all those that came after him.
As Jack Effel, escorted Brunson through the hallways, fans quietly snapped photos of the cowboy hat fading into the distance.
“Good game, Doyle,” – a fan said.
Doyle gave a friendly nod.
“Thanks for everything, Doyle,” – another added a few steps further down the hallway.
Doyle nodded again.
Head nods, and other signs of respect and admiration followed each other up rapidly, as word spread of Brunson’s departure from the Rio.
Passing under a banner reading, “Thank You For Playing in the World Series of Poker,” Brunson turned his scooter into the orange colored Las Vegas night skies, homebound one final time to his beloved Louise.
High Stakes Poker returns Dec. 16 with 14 new episodes on PokerGo with 20 of the top cash grinders in the world. Some new faces emerge, but many famous players such as Phil Ivey, Phil Hellmuth, and Tom Dwan will be back in action.
The legendary cash game started during the poker boom in 2006 and was an instant hit. The series ran on the Game Show Network (GSN) until 2010.
♠♠♠ For more on the debut of the eighth season of High Stakes Poker including insight from Phil Hellmuth and Doyle Brunson, click here. ♠♠♠
Ten years after the show ended, reruns and YouTube clips have kept its popularity alive. The high rollers are now back at the table and viewers will be pleased.
High stakes poker coming back guys. Hope I run as good as last time pic.twitter.com/m8auOjG2ic
— Tom Dwan (@TomDwan) October 27, 2020
High Stakes featured some huge moments through the years – highlighting some of the biggest bluffs ever caught on camera. Viewers also saw how fast a million bucks could swing from player to player with the turn of a card.
With the new season debuting this week, here’s a look at some of the most memorable hands.
Poker Brunson Hands
1 – Greenstein’s Aces get cracked
Barry Greenstein went toe to toe in this hand for heaps against Sammy Farha. Greenstein is in a dream situation when he gets it all in with his A♥A♣ against Farha’s K♣K♦.
The hand turns into a $361,000 nightmare when Sammy hits a K♥ on the flop.
2 – Brad Booth bluffs Phil Ivey
Recently Brad Booth was the center of a missing person case. Luckily Booth was located and confirmed to be okay. Many will remember Booth for one of the most epic bluffs ever against poker legend Phil Ivey.
Ivey held K♥K♦ and Booth did him dirty with 4♠2♠. It is quite memorable hand against one of the biggest names in the game.
3 – Gus Hansen hits quads against Daniel Negreanu
Daniel Negreanu’s 6♠6♥ went heads-up against Gus Hansen 5♦5♣. Both players hit a set on the flop of 9♣6♦5♥. The fireworks began and the pot exploded. Hansen ended up winning more than $575,000 when after making quads on the turn.
4 – Aces no good Barry Greenstein
Greenstein had his luck tested again in as he reraised with A♦A♣ preflop. Dwan called with K♠Q♠ and Peter Eastgate with A♠K♥. The pot was already at almost $50,000 before the flop.
The flop came Q♥4♠2♠, creating a giant hand about to erupt. Dwan ended up cracking Greenstein in a $919,000 pot – one of the biggest cash game pots ever on television.
5 – Jamie Gold cut down by Patrik Antonius
Fresh off of his 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event victory, Jamie Gold appeared on the show. His duel with Patrik Antonius stands out. After an Antonius raised to $4,000, Gold three-bet to $14,000 with K♠K♦ and Antonious called with A♠J♦.
The Brunson Poker Hand
The flop brought 3♠Q♦10♥ and Antonious called Gold’s $15,000 bet. The turn then dropped the K♥. Action kicks up as both players get it all in. The players decide to run the river three times for insurance and Gold sucks out on two of those.
Where to see more High Stakes Poker
Along with the new season, all the classic episodes can be watched exclusively on PokerGo. Poker fans will see plenty of high stakes action mixed with some trash talk and fun.
“It truly represents a raw, unscripted high stakes cash game,” legendary televised poker producer Mori Eskandani says. “We don’t make the rules, we react to the rules players make. That’s why you will see many cash game situations like running it twice, sleeper straddle, and more in HSP first.”
Here’s an inside look of the new High Stakes Poker set and some things to watch out for.
Take an exclusive, behind the scenes tour of the High Stakes Poker set at the PokerGO Studio with Jeff Platt.
New season of High Stakes Poker debuts Dec 16th, only on https://t.co/2RQh5RNM18! pic.twitter.com/QUDsg0Ui3A
— PokerGO (@PokerGO) October 30, 2020