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Poker Community in Mourning as Doyle Brunson Dies at 89

Written by Jennifer Newell
Last updated on
Jennifer Newell

Daniel Negreanu tweeted it on Sunday evening. He wouldn’t joke about something like this.

The #RIPDoyle hashtag had been a “joke” for many years, but when Doyle Brunson made his way through his 80s, his death became more of a fear than the stuff of internet jokes. And Negreanu would not have joked about it in this way.

“Legend,” he wrote. “There will never be another…”

Shortly after, longtime poker agent Brian Balsbaugh tweeted an official statement from the Brunson family:

“It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of our father, Doyle Brunson. He was a beloved Christian man, husband, father and grandfather. We’ll have more to say over the coming days as we honor his legacy. Please keep Doyle and our family in your prayers. May he rest in peace.”

Then, the tweet from Todd brought it home:

Doyle Brunson, the Godfather of Poker and a true legend of the game, died on May 14, 2023. He was 89 years old. He is survived by his beloved wife Louise, son Todd, and daughter Pam.

What Makes a Legend?

There are many memorable players in poker history, those who paved the way for the game to become what it is today. Full names are not even needed in those cases: Chip, Puggy, Sailor, Moss, Benny, Treetop, Slim, Keller, Stu, Chan, Crandell, TJ, Baxter…

And Doyle. Tex Dolly. Texas Dolly. The Godfather of Poker. Mr. Doyle Brunson.

No matter how you knew his name, you knew that he was a legend. You’d seen photos of him in his cowboy hat, tipping that hat, smiling with piles of money or chips, looking comfortable in black-and-white photos at poker tables of the past, or sitting on his scooter as he tooled around the Rio during the World Series of Poker. Many people have pictures with him because he always had time for poker fans, even in his 70s and 80s, when walking through casinos was no longer an option and playing long tournament days were exhausting, when all he wanted to do was to get home to his wife.

Of course, Doyle’s record alone in poker made him a legend.

-He won 10 World Series of Poker events, two of which were back-to-back Main Event titles in 1976 and 1977. He also made the WSOP Main Event final table in 1972, 1980, 1982, and 1983.

-His last WSOP cash was a final table in the 2018 $10K buy-in NL 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship.

-He won a World Poker Tour title of his three WPT final tables.

-He wrote Super System in 1978, widely regarded as the bible of poker, and released the updated Super System 2 in 2004.

-He authored Poker Wisdom of a Champion (also printed as According to Doyle) in 1984.

-He played the biggest cash games in the world for decades, many of those years in the famed Bobby’s Room at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.

-He was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1988.

-He founded the Doyle’s Room online poker site in 2004, though his affiliation ended due to Black Friday in 2011. (Americas Cardroom acquired the site later in 2011.)

-His career live tournament earnings ended with $6,176,737, per the Hendon Mob.

Part of Doyle’s journey to poker passed through track and professional basketball, as colleges offered scholarships based on his sports ability. He played with the All-State Texas basketball team at one time, even fielding interest from the NBA’s Minneapolis Lakers. However, a physical injury kept him from pursuing that dream.

That journey, combined with his penchant for competition, took him to poker, first through home games and back rooms of Texas bars and then to Las Vegas. Along the way, he survived robberies and the “Wild West” adventures and risks of poker, all the while surviving health challenges like cancer. He also spent enough time courting a woman named Louise until she married him in 1962. They had three children together. Daughter Doyla died at the young age of 18 from a heart condition, but daughter Pam and son Todd accompanied Doyle through the rest of his life.

All of that and more made Doyle Brunson a legend.

How to Properly Pay Tribute

Simply put, there is no proper way to pay tribute to a person who paved the way for the world of poker to be what it is today. The tributes will flow organically, as they have already started to do.

The tweets began instantly when the news hit social media. People shared condolences and memories via Twitter and then Facebook and Instagram. Joey Ingram started a Twitter Spaces open forum for people to share their thoughts. There will be podcasts and video tributes, collections of stories and photos, all emerging in the coming hours and days and weeks.

There was a documentary in the works about Doyle’s life, and his passing will likely speed the production of the film.

All of this happens on the heels of the 54th Annual World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, which kicks off on May 30. With the renaming of Bally’s to Horseshoe – harkening back to the original WSOP days at Binion’s Horseshoe – and the Poker Hall of Fame now on display at Horseshoe, this new home of the WSOP will be the center of many Doyle Brunson commemorations this summer. There will likely be moments of silence, perhaps the renaming of a bracelet or event, and many, many memories shared across poker tables and in all spaces occupied by poker players and fans this summer.

And there is no doubt that the hand of the summer will be 10-2, the famous hand with which Doyle won his two Main Event bracelets and that has come to symbolize a nod to the legend.

To all those who want to pay tribute, do it in your own way. Tell your stories. Write your tributes. Share your photos. And play 10-2 like a legend.

The summer of Doyle Brunson is about to begin.

 

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