Doyle Brunson: The Godfather is made an offer he can’t refuse
01 June 2008
Just a few months shy of his 75th birthday, Doyle Brunson has seen it all in the poker world. His résumé you already know: ten World Series of Poker bracelets, a World Poker Tour title, $5.3 million in career tournament earnings and author of arguably the most important poker strategy book ever written, Super System. He’s also beaten the highest stakes games the poker world ever known, including being a part of the now-famous Andy Beal heads-up matches.
et as the 2008 WSOP begins, Brunson finds himself hungry again for another WSOP bracelet, and is at best cautiously optimistic about the future of poker. Whether it’s politics, the American economy, the younger generation of poker players, or challenges from some of the other top players, Brunson’s got his finger on the pulse of what’s going on and what it’s all about.
Doyle on the World Series and the Main Event
But Brunson remains true to his roots and, despite the desire of many in the industry to see him in every tournament, acting as an ambassador for poker, he’s never forgotten that passing up a game where he has an edge isn’t financially prudent. As competitive as he is, he’d like nothing better than to catch up to Phil Hellmuth, who broke the three-way Hellmuth-Brunson-Johnny Chan tie for most WSOP bracelets last summer. He’s just not willing to do it at the expense of his bread and butter – high stakes cash games.
“I’m not really sure yet how many (WSOP) events I’ll play. It all depends on the cash games,” admitted Brunson. “I’d like to play a lot of them this year, maybe ten to fifteen, but if the cash games are good, maybe it’ll only be four or five.”
“It still comes down to money. It always does.”
Still, the Main Event holds a special place in Brunson’s heart. Having won it all twice, he is well aware that it is poker’s biggest stage – and always will be. But given the size of the field each year and the number of amateurs who make their way to Las Vegas to live out their dream, Brunson realizes that winning the Main Event is a ridiculous long shot, for him or any other pro.
“I wouldn’t bet on a pro winning it this year. I haven’t seen any estimates on how big the field will be, six or seven thousand?” said Brunson. “And there are really only maybe 300 pros. So I don’t think you can pick any one year and say it’s going to happen.”
He knows the odds of it happening, but deep down believes that having one of the game’s biggest names win the biggest event would have a huge impact on the game and might restore some of the luster to the title. For the past six years, an unknown commodity has navigated his way through the field to claim the title of World Champion. If it were Brunson or Hellmuth or Phil Ivey or Daniel Negreanu, the impact would be far-reaching.
“I think it would really add a little more prestige. I know when a pro makes the final table, I’m pulling for him,” said Brunson, who readily admits that winning the Main Event is a much bigger deal than the taking home the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event. “I’d still rather win the Main Event I think. A little more prestige to it and the money, of course.”
Doyle on Chip Reese
But in 2008 the H.O.R.S.E. event is going to mean something more, in particular to Brunson. Following Chip Reese’s sudden death in December, the decision was made to honor the winner of that event with the Chip Reese Award – a trophy to go along with the bracelet. Friends Reese and Brunson were as close as any two poker players have ever been, and the opportunity to honor that friendship by bringing home that award is a thought Brunson cherishes.
“It has a little bit more to it, especially for me. Chip was such a dear friend and winning that one would be really, really special,” said Brunson who turns reflective when thinking that this will be the first WSOP in quite some time without Reese there. “I think it will all depend on how people knew Chip. I think those who knew him considered him a friend. If anybody who knew Chip didn’t like him, I didn’t know it.”
Since Reese passed, Brunson has noticed that the action in Bobby’s Room at the Bellagio just isn’t the same. With lower stakes games and less frequent play, it’s pretty obvious to Brunson that a lot of that has to do with Reese not being there to keep things going when times are slow.
“I think the games are smaller now. Chip’s not there to start ‘em. He was always the catalyst for games,” said Brunson. “A lot of guys don’t wanna sit down and start the games, but Chip would. He understood how important that was.”
There’s also one half of a great friendship that is sorely missing the other half. Brunson first met Reese in the 1970s when Reese made his first trip to Vegas. The young Reese stood out for a number of reasons, not the least of which was his play. The mutual respect for each other’s ability in high stakes games led to a lifelong camaraderie between the two.
“I talked to Chip at least once a day for 30 years – sometimes two or three times, so I miss him dearly.”
It was those daily conversations, sometimes about poker, sometimes about sports betting – which both had a real passion for – and sometimes it was about things as random as the weather. It was those daily conversations between the legends that make Brunson believe that Reese had an inclination that his time was at hand.
“I think Chip knew something, either medical information or maybe just an inkling of some kind. It seems I saw less of him those last six months,” recalled Brunson. “He seemed to be taking more time for his family.”
Doyle on the heads-up match with Patrik Antonius
Brunson looks around the top players today and doesn’t see too many who carry themselves in the same manner as Reese did. One of the players Brunson does carry respect for is Finnish superstar Patrik Antonius. But in a recent interview, Antonius put a challenge out to Brunson: “I’ll play him any game for any amount.” Caught off guard by the challenge from a player Brunson has played with for years now, he fired back with two words: “I accept.”
“He said any game, and I think that’s his mistake,” said Brunson. “I won’t play him at Hold’em, because I don’t have a clear edge. I do know there are other games where I do and if he means any game then I’m getting the best of it.”
The banter about the potential series of $100,000 matches filled poker blogs and forums with endless speculation. While there’s no concrete schedule or timeline for the matches, Brunson promises they’ll happen. “I’m not going to back out now.” It seems that interest in the matches has crossed the Atlantic. Brunson took a call from a Finnish journalist asking about the challenge.
Doyle on the new generation of players, and his struggles as a young ‘pro’
There are a few other players Brunson looks to as potential torch carriers. His son, Todd, is one of them. Having seen first hand where his father came from, he’s at an advantage. But in the eyes of the man many consider to be the godfather of the game, young players today haven’t had to endure as much as he did to find success.
“We used to drive 500 miles just to find a 10/20 game,” said Doyle. “It wasn’t as easy as it is today, that’s for sure.” Brunson worries that the younger players might not have the same discipline necessary to stay in the game for the long haul. When asked to point out a player other than Todd who reminds him of the old-time road gamblers he first played with, Brunson struggles to find an answer.
“I don’t know, to tell you the truth. The rest of them, they go out there and do a lot of wrong things. Come back in twenty years and see who’s still here, and then you’ll know. It’s hard for me to say.”
Doyle on Phil Ivey – the heir apparent?
“I know Phil Ivey is kind of the heir apparent to whatever title there is, but he’s got a lot of bad habits. He likes to go into the pit,” said Brunson. “He’s just got so much gamble in him; and he’s got so much ability, he’s really a talented player. So I think he’ll last. He’s made some good investments, so I think you’ll see him around for a long time.”
“At the end of the day, I think he’ll be the biggest gambler that ever lived. He’s a prototype of the real gamblers. He’s ready to bet it all when he likes something. I respect that in him.”
Doyle on Jack Binion
When it comes to respected members of the old guard, few have more of Brunson’s respect than Jack Binion. The former president of the Horseshoe Casino and original host of the WSOP, Binion and Brunson’s friendship goes back nearly forty years.
“Benny, his dad, gets a lot of the credit, but the truth of the matter is Jack has always been the driving force behind the World Series of Poker and the Horseshoe Casino,” said Brunson. “Jack was the poker players’ friend. He did everything he could do for the poker players. If anybody should be referred to as the Godfather of Poker, it’s not me, it’s Jack. He’s the one that really set poker apart. Without Jack Binion, poker never would have become respectable like it is today. He’s the one that did it all.”
It’s Brunson’s ability to deflect accolades to others in the industry that make it impossible to cheer against him. The bracelets, the tournament success, the strategy books he’s written all pale in comparison to his ability to continually help build the game and the industry. The heads-up matches with Antonius, for example, could be financially rewarding to Brunson’s already inexhaustible bankroll, but he’s also acutely aware that a high stakes match-up between the best of two generations is sure to generate a lot of attention for the game he loves so much. And that in itself makes Brunson one for the ages.