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: “In the valley of the blind, the one eyed man is king.”

The Celebrity Apprentice is over. What a joke! If Donald Trump was really hiring someone, who do you think he would pick? I think that when Joan Rivers threatened to not come back, Trump assured her she would be the winner. That’s just my opinion, but they certainly got great ratings for the show. I thought it was impossible for anyone to outtalk Annie, but Joan started screaming everytime Annie tried to say anything and Trump allowed it. As to the remark about Annie’s friends being in the Mafia, I’m from Texas and we have possums, raccoons and skunks. There is no such animal as Mafia down there. I like everyone on the show (even Melissa) except the winner. But it goes back to the old saying, “That’s why they make chocolate and vanilla.”

The month before the WSOP is the slowest time of the year for poker. Everyone is home preparing for the long grind that’s coming. It will be interesting to see how the recession affects the number of players in each event. Because of the internet poker sites sending players, I feel it won’t be down more than 10-20 percent from last year. I’ve always said the best barometer of the economy is the poker players. If they have money, the economy is ok, if they don’t, look out because hard times are coming.

I’m completely lost on what is going on in the gambling world. Since I had this sinus lift by the dentist, I’ve hardly gone out of the house. I don’t know if there is any golf action but I’m pretty sure there hasn’t been any poker games. Mostly because of boredom, I’ve been betting on the NBA playoffs with terrible results. I thought the Lakers would be the champion but now I can’t see anyone beating Cleveland. But the way I’m going you should bet against that.

We have two bounty tournaments at DoylesRoom, Doyle’s Bounty and Beat The Brunsons. It is a pleasant break to play in those every week. I don’t do too well in these tourneys but my daughter Pam is smoking. I think I probably get too impatient.

I also was supposed to go to Montana for Todd’s tournament. My face is so black and blue and sore, I’ve decided to stay home. I was really looking forward to going because that is my favorite place in the whole world. It reminds me of Texas when I was growing up. Everybody knows everybody and folks will help you in any way they can. Great place and the temperature was 44 degrees last 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: “You are never a loser unless you quit trying.”

I’ve been getting a lot of questions about the article, “100 Most Likely to Die in 2009.” It has me listed as the number 16th celebrity most likely to die this year. I got a phone call from the author, Mack Rawden, and we made a $10,000 – $1,000 bet about my demise. Naturally, I took the over, and to Mack’s credit, he said he hopes he loses. (That makes two of us.) The winnings go to the American Cancer Society. I’m planning on going out at the age of 102 in honor the 10-2 poker hand that is named after me. An interesting note is Mack has President Obama listed at number 10. The reason? Foul play.

We certainly don’t know when the Grim Reaper is going to strike. If you haven’t heard, Key Fechser, Jack Binion’s nephew, passed this week from a heart attack at the young age of 55. Key was a terrific guy, a good friend who would do anything for you, a good father and he will be missed.

I’m really pleased with the DoylesRoom poker room. We moved to a new network and we have more players in U.S. primetime than we had at our other provider. There are lots of sportsbook customers that play, which makes for looser and better games.

There have been several articles written about my son Todd’s financial problems. Todd had lots of investments and the declining economy has definitely affected them. But, who hasn’t been affected by the declining economy? I know it knocked tail feathers out of me and my various holdings. I’m not worried about Todd; he has a good head on his shoulders. As long as we can find poker games, the Brunson families should be o.k.

It’s Super Bowl time and I’m betting on Arizona +7 points. This is one of my favorite times of the year and I’m going to the Super Bowl Party at the Bellagio. I’ll take a look at all the “prop” bets that are offered and make bets that favor the Arizona players. One thing about it, the food alone will make this a memorable day. It is awesome!