DOYLISM OF THE DAY: “Winning is not everything – but making the effort to win is.”

Back from Montana! I’ll never complain about hot weather again. It was 3 degrees on the mountain my grandson lives on, along with 8 inches of snow. That cold cut through me like a knife. We had talked about having the Brunson Christmas at my place on the Flathead Lake but they can scratch that!

There are so many deer in upper Montana that you to be super careful not to hit one while driving. I saw 6 bodies on the side of the road on a 20 mile trip. There is all kind of wildlife. My friend has a large pond stocked with fish. He told me the eagles and osprey take 60-70 fish a day out of it. I had better be careful letting Casper run around outside because one of those big eagles could pick him up and fly away with him. I’ll bet Casper would get one good bite of that eagle if that happened.

I was there for the Todd Brunson Montana Challenge poker tournament. The weather was so bad we had less than 100 players but everyone had a good time. I told Todd to have his next on in the summertime. Of course, my daughter Pam was the “Last Brunson Standing.”

No disrespect intended, but these poker shows are awful. Full Tilt’s “Face the Ace” and Poker Stars “Million Dollar Challenge” are so bad, it’s embarrassing. There is no skill involved in either show and I can’t imagine getting an audience that will watch the shows. As I travel around, the High Stakes cash games are the ones all the fans talk about and I agree with them that they are by far the most interesting. Speaking of that, I read where A.J. Benza is being replaced on GSN’s High Stakes Poker show. That’s too bad, I like A.J.’s subtle sense of humor. Vanessa Rousso is named as his likely replacement. I’m pro-Vanessa so I think she will fit in nicely with the old comic Gabe Kaplan.

The golf-poker tournament in Orlando with David Leadbetter has been postponed because of some complications. I’m glad because along with Mike Caro, Daniel Negreanu, Todd Brunson and Dewey Tomko, I was one of the poker instructors. To tell you the truth, I’m traveled out! I look forward to staying home for a while. Harrah’s has asked me to do a few things in conjunction with the WSOP final table that I’m glad to do, but it would have been a tight fit to be back from Orland in time to do them.

My autobiography is supposed to be out November 10th and I’m doing a book signing right after the final table is completed. I’m having a special edition that I’m going to give to the final  nine. Also, at the book signing, or right afterwards, we are having a press conference to announce the signing of the 5th player to the Brunson 10 at DoylesRoom.com  I’m really pleased at the selection of this young man, as I am with the previous four.

I’ve started reading blogs. Again, I find the blogs about poker hands extremely boring. The same thing with the tweets on Twitter; does anyone really care about the hand by hand update of a poker tournament? If it was a real poker game and someone tweeted they had just won a million dollar pot, it would interest me.  But I guess some folks like the updates, that’s why they make chocolate and vanilla – different tastes.

After saying I want to stay home, I’m leaving in the morning for Abilene, Texas. My University is inducting me into their athletic Hall of Fame. After being turned down for 40 years I have mixed feelings, but all my old teammates will be there, so I’m going down and will be on my best behavior.

-DB

DOYLISM OF THE DAY: “The only person you are with your entire life is yourself. Be alive while you are alive!”

I can’t believe the interest the Brunson 10 is getting. For the ones who aren’t familiar with this, DoylesRoom is in the process of selecting 10 of the most qualified online poker players to sign up and represent us. The requirements are pretty simple. Not only do the members of the 10 have to be good players, they have to be well mannered and personable. I’m not ready to pass the torch quite yet, but these guys will be the future of DoylesRoom. We have signed three of the 10 already: Amit Makhija, Alec Torelli and Zach Clark. Two more will be signed this month and two more in October. They need three remaining players to finish the 10. If any of you young internet players are interested, join the already long list of prospects at DoylesRoom. Contact will@dbpn.com. These players don’t want to be just another pro at the bigger sites. With DoylesRoom, they will get better exposure. I can’t wait to meet all of them.

The Brunson house has four new pets. A stray cat had kittens up on our rock waterfall and they have made their home in the bushes and trees surrounding the pool. In spite of ourselves, Louise and I are growing attached to them and put food up on the rocks. We can’t make house pets out of them because Casper, my toy poodle, has a fit everytime he sees them and chases them off. It’s too bad, the cats are cute and we love animals.

I’ve been working on my autobiography for the last week. We started this book five years ago, then stopped. At my family’s urging, we finished it and it will be in the stores the first week of November. I still have my reservations about putting this out.

This will be my last blog for 3-4 weeks. I’m going to Budapest for an affiliate convention then to Nottingham, then to Birmingham, then London. I guess I’ll play the WSOP Europe while I’m there plus the Caesar’s Cup and English Open. I come back to Vegas in early Oct. and go to Montana for Todd’s tournament. Then in the middle of Oct., I go to Abilene, Texas where my University is inducting me into their athletic Hall of Fame. It’s about time, after snubbing me for 40 years because I chose to be a gambler. I guess times do change. Then, in early November I go to Orlando for the High Stakes Entertainment poker-golf school. You should go if possible. Check it out on www.pokergolfacademy.com.

Here I am, three-quarters of a century old and traveling the world like some kid. I’ve always suspected I might be a little crazy and this confirms it. When I get back from Orlando, the farthest I’m going is the city limits of Las Vegas. Uh-oh, maybe Montana.

-DB