On May 14, Doyle Brunson announced that he will not be playing in the upcoming tournament play for the WSOP (World Series of Poker) scheduled for this summer. Brunson is a 10-time WSOP gold bracelet winner, and the announcement came out via his Tweeter account. Brunson is now 79, and he said that his age was the major reason for this decision to abstain from this year’s competition.
Those who have followed Doyle over the last few years will not be surprised by this decision. Brunson has been playing less and less over the last few years in general, and has been playing in the big tournaments even less than that. For 2012, Doyle played in four events and in 2011 he played in only seven.
Doyle Brusnon is known as one of the original poker pros who attended the very first WSOP event back in 1971. He has always made time for it since, which is just one reason it has gained such popularity. It can be said that he has put his mark on poker and the WSOP especially. (Note: Professional player Johnny Chan is actually the first player to have won ten bracelets; this happened in 2005. Brunson went on to win his tenth bravelet later that same year.)
It was back in 2005, that Doyle Brunson was able to win his 10th golden bracelet. He did it beating everyone at No-Limit HoldEm (Short-Handed), $5000 event. This win earned him $367,800 which was the third largest win in long poker career.
In 2009, Brunson made it to 17th position when he played in the WSOP Europe (London) £10,000 Main Event. He was able to earn some £31,198 in that session. Doyle’s last cash win that took place in the US happened during the WSOP that was held earlier that same year. He was able to make it to the final table of Seven Card Stud Hi Lo $10,000 World Championship event. He came in seventh with winning of $62,234. Brunson’s first gold bracelets came back in 1976 when he won the $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em World Championship that also earned him $230,000 and he also won the 1976 $5,000 Deuce-to-Seven Draw at the same WSOP gathering. This earned him $80,250. Both cash wins seem meager to today’s winnings at the WSOP.
It is not known at this time if this recent decision to not play in the upcoming WSOP means he is retiring permanently, but if that turns out to be case, it is sure that he will be missed. Over the years, Doyle Brunson has earned a fan base that any poker player would be proud to have. Many of his loyal fans actually grew up watching him (and his big cowboy hat) on television, or they learned the inner workings of a winning game through his many writings and lessons. It can be said, and with a great deal of honesty, that Doyle Brunson, along with other notables such as Thomas Preston, aka Amarillo Slim”, made poker the popular game that it is.