Doyle Brunson, poker champion known as “Texas Dolly,” dies at age 89

“As a postgraduate guide to the intricacies of high-level, high-stakes poker, the work has no equal,” wrote English poet Al Alvarez, covering the 1981 World Series of Poker for The New Yorker. “The grammar is shaky here and there, the punctuation baroque, but the voice is clear and the message is clear: aggression, constant aggression.”

Mr. Brunson was inducted into the World Series of Poker Hall of Fame in 1988.

After steady growth, poker had its cultural moment in 1998 with the release of the movie “Roders,” in which Matt Damon’s poker-playing character recites Brunson’s maxims while wielding a copy of “Super System”. That same year, late night poker and cable television became popular, and Mr. Brunson became a well-known figure.

Mr. Brunson was competitive into his later years, winning a legends event on the World Poker Tour in 2004 and $1.2 million. In 2005, he won a hold’em event for his 10th World Series title.

A few days earlier, his son Todd, also a professional player, had captured an event, making them the first father and son to each win at the World Series. Mr. Brunson made it to day four of the 2013 Poker Players Championship, although he admitted the game was taking its toll.

“Sometimes when I’m playing for a few days I get into a position where I’m uncomfortable,” he said. “My leg, let’s say, is starting to hurt a little. But I don’t change position. I’ll sit there and let it hurt, just as a reminder to let myself play well.

Mr. Brunson thought his legacy would be “the fact that I’ve played at the highest level longer than anyone ever,” he said in 2003. “I mean, I’ve been playing at the highest level – the biggest games I could find – ever since I was 23 years old.

But he wouldn’t milk his age for sympathy.

“Would I like to win the World Series again for the old guys?” he said in 2002. “No, I’d like to win it for old Doyle.”