Lucky Dog Poker by Russ Scott

By any measure, Doyle Brunson likely is the greatest gambler of all time.

It is hard to imagine anyone can top his worthiness of the title. In his 76 years on the planet, Brunson:

— Was one of only two players out of about 40 regulars to survive, literally, the illegal and murderous poker games run decades ago by criminals in the back alleys of Texas.

— Defied the longest of odds to beat what doctors called incurable cancer after undergoing surgery for a tumor on his neck.

— Sank a fortune into unsuccessful bids to raise the Titanic and find Noah's Ark.

— Bluffed his way, beaten but alive, through the horrific 1998 invasion of his Las Vegas home by two masked intruders bent on killing and robbing him and his wife, Louise.

— Overcame, as a young man, the trauma of a crippling leg injury that left him in a cast for two years and ended a promising career as a professional basketball player.

— Risked a $1.6 million bet on himself in a single round of golf when he could barely walk.

All of that, and we still haven't mentioned his stunning record in poker, including 10 World Series of Poker bracelets, two of those coming back to back in the main event more than 30 years ago.

Also, Brunson was the first player to win a million dollars playing tournament poker. His career tournament earnings now have reached nearly $6 million, but he has won much more than that at the game he loves most — cash-game poker at the highest stakes.

It's no wonder the jacket cover on his autobiography, released Nov. 10, describes him as an "American icon" and "the greatest gambler of all time." If you read "The Godfather of Poker," my guess is you will agree.

The 384-page hardback jumps around a bit from chapter to chapter, but every segment adds to your understanding of the man widely acknowledged as poker's most influential force.

Brunson's tales of encounters with gangsters and murderers are chilling, even though he tells the stories matter-of-factly, without embellishment.

He simply lays everything out there, and you can take it or leave it.

Most astonishing to me was how he was able to exist, even thrive, in the most dangerous environments a poker player could imagine. Gunfights, stabbings, murders — he somehow made it through, all for the love of the game, the thrill of the action.

He explains straight up, which is always his style, that he actually confronted the nefarious characters of his past and, incredibly, came to call many of them his friends. How gutsy is that?

Along the poker trail, from the illicit games of Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana to the bright lights of Las Vegas and card rooms around the world, he also picked up countless lifelong friends who hold him in the highest respect.

I especially like the accolade offered in the book by Nolan Dalla, media director for the World Series of Poker. Brunson "set the standard for achievement and excellence by which all other players are measured. He came to personify the notion that gambling could be a respected profession."

"The Godfather of Poker" isn't a perfect book, one could argue.

Besides some backtracking and repeated accounts, there are a few grammatical and punctuation errors, and a surprising incorrect mention of how many WSOP bracelets Phil Ivey has won.

Those quibbles aside, the book offers a compelling look at poker's living legend, who is showing very few signs of slowing down.

E-mail your poker questions and comments to russ@luckydogpoker.com for use in future columns. To find out more about Russ Scott and read previous LuckyDog Poker columns, visit www.creators.com or www.luckydogpoker.com.

COPYRIGHT 2009 RUSS SCOTT

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