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

DOYLISM OF THE DAY: “Frame every disaster with these words: In five years, will it matter?”

I’ve been getting all kinds of feedback on my blog and twitter. I guess I had better be careful what I write and twitter about. It’s hard to believe how widespread these things have become. I usually just say what’s on my mind and sometimes it isn’t received well. I supposed I’ll just say that if you dislike what I write, don’t read it.

I just got back from New Orleans where I played in a tournament for VIPs of National Table Games. They are putting out a casino game called Doyle Brunson Hold’Em. It’s a fun game and already in some southern casinos.

The people in New Orleans must watch a lot of poker shows because I was recognized everywhere I went. The highlight of my trip was the charbroiled oysters. Drago’s Seafood Restaurant is famous for fixing big Gulf oysters loaded with butter and garlic. Delicious!

I went to the dentist today and have to have a root canal on one of my teeth. Like everyone, I really dislike sitting in a chair having my teeth drilled on. Later this year, I’m going to have some implants. That will be fun

It looks like the next month or so is going to be pretty packed for me. I’m doing a commercial for the M Casino so I’m not going to have time to go back up to Montana. Then, I leave for Budapest in early September to meet folks and speak at the Budapest Affiliate Conference for DoylesRoom.com. After that, I’m off to Nottingham for the English Poker Open and then back to Birmingham for the Caesar’s Cup.  I then go to London for a televised cash game and right after that the WSOP Europe begins’ where I’ll be playing in the main event.  I’ll finally make it back home to Vegas in early October.  That’s a lot of traveling for an old man and this may be the last time I cross the big pond.

We’re going to be shooting new videos for the Brunson 10 on DoylesRoom.  I’m anxious to meet these young men.  I’m particularly glad that Chip Reese’s nephew, Zach Clark, is one of the 10.  Everywhere I went in Montana made me think of Chip and what a great friend he was.

I hear they are playing incredible high limits at Bobby’s Room at the Bellagio. I’m going to check it out now that I’m back; but if what I hear is true, these guys have gone insane. I don’t feel like losing 4 or 5 million in one night!
-DB

DOYLISM OF THE DAY: “The time to win a fight is before it starts.”

After seeing all the robberies on TV along with home invasions, I decided to get a concealed weapon permit. I’ve always kept a pistol in every vehicle I own and that is legal in Nevada. It’s also legal to have weapons in your home. With this new permit, it’s legal to carry a gun you have qualified with on your person. So my daughter Pam and I sat through a 4 hour class on what you could and could not do with a permit. Then we went shooting. I qualified with a Kimber .45 caliber automatic and a .357 magnum revolver. 53 years ago, I qualified as a marksman with a pistol at Camp Polk, LA. I blacked my bullseye out on my target, close to my shooting ability long ago. Pam also qualified with a revolver.

There is a lot of speculation about what effect the swine flu will have on the World Series of Poker. Hopefully it will be contained by then but it’s impossible to not be concerned. Personal hygiene should be observed and if anyone is sick, they should stay away from the crowds.

I’m having some dental implants Tuesday. It’s something I am really not looking forward to but I’ve got a lot of confidence in my dentist and he recommends it. I hope it doesn’t knock me out of going to Montana to Todd’s poker tournament. If I do get to go, I’ve got to take my dogs because I don’t want to leave them with the house sitter. I need a little rest before the WSOP starts and there is no place like Montana to get away from everything. Louise is still in Hawaii having trouble with her asthma.

My publisher tells me my autobiography will be out in October. I haven’t seen the finished book yet, but I have high hopes for it. I’m also putting out a revised Super System. I hear most book sales that pertain to gambling are down but my books are doing well. We also give away a lot of them on special offers at DoylesRoom.

This Twitter craze is something else. My sister called and asked what I was doing. When I told her I was tweeting on Twitter, she told me I was going crazy.

-DB

DOYLISM OF THE DAY: “Face fear straight on. Fierce storms don’t last forever.”

Just as we get ready to head for Macau, we got word our Singapore Airlines flight is 8-9 hours late.  That means spending the night in San Francisco and throwing all my interviews, book signing and the rest of the schedule out of whack.  The APT tournament will be ok because it is days away.  I wonder if the typhoon that is hitting Hong Kong had anything to do with this delay.  After all the stuff I’ve been through in my life, I don’t want it to end in an airplane crash in China.

Lakeside, Montana has a dummy they dress up in a policeman’s uniform.  Then they take a regular police car and park it on the main street in a different place each day.  They put the dummy behind the wheel and it slows traffic like you won’t believe.  I got suspicious and went over to inspect the car.  Sure enough, there was the dummy driver.  When I picked up two of my ex-basketball buddies, we drove down the main street.  I swerved over toward the dummy policeman, honked my horn, called him a dumb a-hole, shot him the finger and drove away.  My friends started yelling at me, calling me crazy and said they were going to throw us under the jail.  I didn’t tell them for a few minutes and we had a big laugh about it.

I’ve been watching the news all afternoon and it looks like Joe Biden is going to be Obama’s running mate.  I think it is a bad choice because Biden is hot headed and might screw up royally.  I think Hillary would have cinched the election if he had picked her.  But, what do I know; I was a George W. man.  If McCain picks Romney as his running mate, all the gamblers had better vote for Obama.

Congratulations to Mike and Karen Sexton, they had a baby boy.  Ty Michael Sexton was born yesterday and weighed in at 8 lbs 6 ounces.  Karen and baby are doing great.  We need another Mike Sexton in the world and we finally got him.

Daniel N. – “I would move heaven and earth to break 90 on this course.”

Caddy – “Try heaven, you’ve already moved most of the earth.”

-DB

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