Doyle "Texas Dolly" Brunson, one of the most successful gamblers in the world, is considered an icon in the game of poker. Born in Longworth, Texas in 1933, he originally planned an athletic career with the Minneapolis Lakers which was cut short by an injury to his knee - thereby making it necessary for him to rethink his options. After his initial introduction to poker after graduating from college with a Masters Degree in Education, Brunson found his calling.

Brunson was so lucky at playing poker in Texas that he was rarely invited to take part in local games and decided to take himself and his family to Las Vegas. After a short time, he won the World Series of Poker in 1976 and 1977. Each time, he won with the same full house ? tens full of deuces. Consequently, the "10-2" Texas Hold"em Poker hand is now known as "a Doyle Brunson".

The patriarch of modern poker was one of the first three players inducted into the Poker Walk of Fame ? the other two being player Gus Hansen and actor James Garner. Some of his wins include:

? 1976 Deuce to Seven Draw

? 1977 Seven-Card Stud Split

? 1978 Seven Card Stud

? 1979 Mixed Doubles

? 1991 No Limit Hold'em

? 1998 Seven Card Stud

? 2003 H.O.R.S.E.

Brunson is also well-known for the book he co-wrote twenty-five years ago called "Super/System ? How I Made Over $1,000,000 Playing Poker" which has since been called the "Bible" of poker. The book is continually updated to reflect new games and currently sells approximately 14,000 copies each month. However, at that time, there were complaints from a number of other poker players who felt that Brunson was giving away too many secrets of how to win the game.

Another of Brunson's contributions to the game of poker is his belief in the importance of honor and trust among his fellow players and the personification of gambling as a respected profession ? which has influenced many other players.

He wrote another book called "According to Doyle" which is a collection of some of the columns he wrote for the old "Gambling Times" magazine. These articles deal mainly with his thoughts about what it takes to be a successful gambler ? which Brunson certainly is.

He currently has an online site called "Doyle's Room" which is the only Internet website to earn an official endorsement from Mike Caro, "The Mad Genius of Poker". Brunson and Caro provide online tutorials to anyone wanting to learn how to play Texas Hold'em and Omaha Poker. Players who sign up on his site get an initial free $27.50 on the house and a chance to play against the legendary Texas Dolly, the man who won ten World Series of Poker bracelets.

Now in his early seventies, Doyle "Texas Dolly" Brunson still plays his favorite poker games for very high stakes on a daily basis usually winning and occasionally losing $50,000 or more on a single hand.