The Godfather of Poker: The Doyle Brunson Story (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Mike Cochran (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The story of Doyle Brunson, an American treasure and the greatest poker player of all time, is one for the ages. It’s a story of guts and glory, of good luck and bad, of triumph and unspeakable tragedy, of courage and grace. He has survived whippings, gun fights, stabbings, mobsters (the real-life ones portrayed in the movie Casino), murderers, and a death sentence when, riddled with incurable cancer, he was given months to live by doctors who told him his hand was played out. Apparently, fate had never played poker with Brunson—he lived. Of a group of 32 men he played poker with in the tough alleys of Texas, just he and one other survived the treacherous perils of that life. A master of the bluff, his most outrageous bluff came after being pistol-whipped and told he’s going to die with a gunman pointing a pistol at his forehead. Again, he lived. He’s gambled for millions of dollars—and with his life against the real-life mobsters and killers made famous in the movie Casino—and was the biggest sports bettor in the world with a reputation of betting enormous sums of money on just about anything. Doyle has not only made more money at golf than anyone else until Tiger Woods came along, he once bet one million dollars on a single hole—that, when he was virtually wheelchair-bound and could barely stand. He’s been hard-up flat broke more times than he’s got fingers and has won millions of dollars just as many times. Brunson has seen it all: from the athletic dreams and a leg shattered by a freak injury which waylaid his path to the NBA (he was drafted by the Lakers), to the devastating death of his first-born daughter, to outrageous exploits like trying to discover Noah’s Ark and raise the Titanic. Doyle’s rollercoaster of a life defines the saying: Truth is stranger than fiction.  

Twice a winner of the prestigious World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, he's won millions and lost millions—sometimes in seconds—but decidedly more of the former than the latter. Brunson can still be found playing in the highest stakes poker games in the world, often with as much as one million dollars in front of him. To every one of the 250 million people worldwide who play poker each year, Doyle Brunson, is the legendary “Babe Ruth of Poker”—the greatest gambler and poker player who has ever lived.

About the Author

Doyle ‘Texas Dolly’ Brunson, an American treasure, transcends the game of poker, where he is a two-time World Series of Poker champion and a living legend. He is the author of the best-selling “bible” of poker, Doyle Brunson’s Super System and its sequel, Super System 2, and three other books including Poker Wisdom of a Champion.

 

Mike Cochran, an award-winning AP reporter and three-time nominee for the Pulitzer Prize, grew up several miles from Doyle Brunson, and spent 39 years with the international news service roving Texas, interviewing its offbeat characters and reporting on its darkest crimes and deepest secrets. Cochran has won a Katie award (for his book Shattered), six Headliner awards, two Headliners’ Star Reporter of the Year, the AP Managing Editors Top Performance Award, and the prestigious Stanley Walker journalism award in 1987 and 1991. He’s written six books including And Deliver Us From Evil, a trilogy of true-crime stories, the inspiration for a CBS Television movie, Fugitive Among Us, starring Eric Roberts and Peter Strauss. His latest book, Claytie, about Texas rancher/wildcatter/politico Clayton Williams was the best-selling title ever published by Texas A&M Univ. Press.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Cardoza; 1 edition (November 10, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580422578
• ISBN-13: 978-1580422574
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.9 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,757 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating life, a fascinating book, November 19, 2009

By	M. Drudzinski (Santa Monica, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've heard many stories about Doyle Brunson's life, but I wasn't quite prepared for how remarkable (even insane) his journey has been from small-town America to playing poker full-time on the Texas Circuit in the 1950s and 1960s to worldwide fame as one of the toughest and most successful poker players ever.

The stories go all the way back to Brunson's days growing up in tiny Sweetwater, Texas through to the current day. A phenomenal athlete (basketball, baseball and track) as a child and teenager, Brunson's road to the NBA (the Lakers wanted to draft him #1) was tragically cut short when a load of sheetrock fell on his leg, breaking it in two places. I say tragically, but that single event from Brunson's college days helped determine the choices he made in his twenties. And those choices led to one of the most outrageous and successful gambling careers anyone has ever known.

The tales in this book meander and drag on a bit (thus my four-star instead of five-star rating), but that gives the story a homespun, unpretentious feel that reminds me of the man I've seen on TV and read about in interviews. The characters who populate this book are from a different age. Men mostly born poor who risked everything to con, cheat, steal and gamble their way through life. Some of them ended up wealthy, many of them met their end early in life. Brunson himself suffered beatings, muggings and all of sorts of harm (including going broke too many times to recount) on his way to fame and fortune.

Reading this autobiography, I had the feeling that they just don't make 'em like Doyle Brunson and his contemporaries anymore. Adventurous, fun-loving and willing to risk everything at the drop of a hat, Brunson comes across as quintessentially American in his toughness and determination to make it big.

If you are a Brunson, poker and/or gambling fan, I recommend you buy this book now. It is exciting, cautionary, hilarious and poignant all at once, and it reminded me how arduous but ultimately rewarding the road to success can be when you strike out on your own path.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Poker World Through The Eyes of the Grand Old Man of Poker, November 27, 2009

By	W. D. Barnum (Columbia, SC United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

I was planning a trip to Vegas and ordered this book - what a great book to read on the plane and during any downtime I might have. I had made it about half way through and happened to be playing poker in the beautiful Venetian Poker Room when they made an announcement that Doyle Brunson was in the poker room at table 40 discussing the new Pocket Casino hand held terminals that they have introduced at the Venetian. I ran back to my room at the Palazzo and then back to the Venetian Poker Room - and got there before Doyle left. As I walked up Todd (Doyle's son)said "Dad, we should have brought some books to sell!" They had not, and mine was the only copy around. I got him to autograph the book, got a chance to trade a few stories, and talked to Todd Brunson for quite a while.

Now, about the book.

This book traces Doyle's long history from a small cotton farm in West Texas, through his college days, where he was a star athlete with visions of the NBA, to his poker in the rough Ft. Worth area, to his days playing poker on the Texas circuit and finally his move to Las Vegas in the early 70's. He has seen 35 years of the poker world in Vegas and tells it like it was/is from his perspective, right up to this year.

If you are looking for a poker manual or how to book - don't buy this book - buy Super System or Super System II. If you are looking for a book that talks about all of today's hot TV poker players - read the internet - this book is not for you. But, if you want to get a feel for how today's poker world evolved and the various characters that made it what it is today - then this history through one man's eyes is the book for you!

As with many an autobiography, this book tends to put the author in the best light possible in the many situations in which he is involved - but what do you expect - it is an autobiography and the author has control of what he says about himself! (If you want an "open kimona book by a poker player - get "Check Raising the Devil")

I found the writing to be well done, the stories interesting, and the insights into the mind of a big time gambler to be first rate. The amount of money these guys will bet on poker, golf, or any number of "prop" bets will stagger you.

It is a really great read, as you ride along the trail with the man who is rightly called the Godfather of Poker.

In parting, from a proof reading standpoint - I only found two errors - on page 277 in the second paragraph, fourth line the line "slots of cash" should read "lots of cash." Also on Page 322 in the last full paragraph on the page, line seven "the while industry" should read "the whole industry." Two proof reading errors in a First Edition, and both of them words that pass "spell check" is not bad for today's book world - but I do wish they would actually have somebody read the final version before it goes to print - but, maybe that's just me. Picky, Picky, Picky!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Early Road Stories: I Was There., November 22, 2009

By	Johnny Hughes (Lubbock,Texas) - See all my reviews

This wonderful, must-read, classic tells true stories of many people I knew and played poker with including, World Champions: Johnny Moss, Amarillo Slim Preston, Sailor Roberts, Bill Smith, Jack "Treetop" Straus, and also, Pat Renfro, James "Tennessee Longgoodie" Roy, John "Austin Squatty" Jenkins, Doc Ramsey, Paul Harvey, Tuffy Hufstedler, George McGann, Joe Floyd, and Tooter Leyland, who robbed them. This absolute treasure is not just for poker players. I am finished with my Christmas shopping. All the Texans, meaning my list, get this fantastic story of a brilliant man, who has really had some experiences to share with one and all. Congrats, Doyle! The cheats, the cons, the robbers, the square players, the big scores, the dry pockets, and paying some dues out on the road. It is all here, and more. You will absolutely love this book. I'll lay you box car odds.
Texas Poker Wisdom