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My 50 Most Memorable Hands by Doyle Brunson
Product
My 50 Most Memorable Hands by Doyle Brunson
Hits
- A straightforward look at the standout hands in Brunson's career
- Filled with interesting anecdotes from the start of Texas Dolly's career as a pro poker player in 1957 to his 10th bracelet at the 2006 World Series of Poker
- Readers can be entertained and still pick up a little poker strategy
Misses
- Light on the strategy
Review
Doyle Brunson is 73 years old. While some senior citizens grope around their minds for an acquaintance's name or where they left the remote, Brunson can recall in exact detail how he took a pot from Johnny Moss with a jack high in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1957.
The Texas Dolly evokes that particular pot and 49 others in his latest book, My 50 Most Memorable Hands. The paperback is a short-but-sweet anecdotal grab bag of Brunson's standout moments from his 50 years at the poker table and, ultimately, a record of the game's evolution from the illegal Texas cardrooms to the spectacle that is today's World Series.
At just 161 pages, including illustrations of each of the hands Brunson describes, the book is a light and easy read filled with amusing stories, insider information and game strategy.
For the most part, though, My 50 Most Memorable Hands is a book for those interested in poker lore, trivia and history.
The scene Brunson sets is always entertaining but not entirely flattering for his profession. He's witnessed more than one man die at the poker table - from natural causes and otherwise - and, while recapping his 10th most notable hand, recounts the impact it had on the other players.
After beating out Brunson in an ace-to-five no-limit lowball game in Texas, a local slaughterhouse worker named Virgil takes a gulp of whisky, starts to rake the pot and drops dead.
"That is when I found out how cold-blooded poker players can be," Brunson writes. "All of us had known Virgil and had played with him many times. After the paramedics took him away the game resumed, and we played another 24 hours."
With the bulk of his years spent on the felt, when not writing or discussing the game, Brunson has indeed seen it all. The odds of making a royal flush are one in 649,740; Brunson has made several and discusses two which were "significant" - both, coincidentally, against Bobby Baldwin. He's seen misdeals, cheats and suck-outs; he's been crowned world champion twice; he's won and lost - but for the most part, won - millions of dollars.
It's all in My 50 Most Memorable Hands, a fun book where Brunson reminds you why poker is such a fascinating game.
Details:
- $14.05
Cardoza Publishing
