The odds of that happening once were 11 to 1, and yet it happened both times for Brunson. In both instances, he needed a 10 to be dealt on the river to give him a full house and the victory. He won two straight championships with a bad hand.Ī 10 and 2 of any suit isn’t typically a great starting hand in poker, but it is known as the “Doyle Brunson hand” because Brunson famously won two back-to-back No Limit Hold ‘Em events at the World Series of Poker while holding that hand in the final play.īoth in 19, Brunson was the underdog holding the 10-2, with his opponent having him beat until the “river card,” or the final card flipped by the dealer. We had to go through a cold, cold creek.” #3. “We all ran out the back door to keep from talking to cops. “His brains seemed to splatter all over the wall,” Brunson said of the incident on Twitter. In his early years, Brunson frequently played on a particularly dangerous street in Fort Worth, Texas called “Bloodthirsty Highway.” During his first year as a pro, Brunson claimed he was playing in a pool hall there when someone came in and shot another player in the head. He witnessed a shooting during a poker game.īrunson’s career as a professional poker player started with a bang-literally. “They said sometimes they see one or two cases of spontaneous remission,” Brunson told. Brunson was told to get his affairs in order, and he only hoped to live long enough to see the birth of his daughter, Louisa.īut when it came time to operate, Brunson's doctors were shocked to discover the cancer had disappeared, seemingly completely on its own.

After he discovered a lump on his neck, doctors found an advanced form of melanoma progressing upward from his neck toward his brain. His cancer suddenly disappeared.ĭoyle Brunson was only 29 years old when he was told he had three months to live. Here are just a few of Brunson’s wildest true stories. Doyle Brunson also lived a remarkably colorful and eventful life, both at and away from the poker table.

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