High-stakes gambler Doyle "Texas Dolly" Brunson (1933-) was born on this day in Longworth, Texas. An all-state basketball player in high school, he found his passion for playing poker in college.

Considered by many to be the best and boldest no-limit and Texas Hold'em player of all time, Brunson once said: "When a man's got something heavy on his mind besides poker, he's got no business playing."

Against all odds, Brunson cheated death in 1961. Diagnosed with melanoma, a serious form of skin cancer, he survived through what he called "a miraculous recovery that they still can't explain."

Amazingly, Brunson won two World Series of Poker titles back-to-back in the 1970s with that same hand--a full house of tens and deuces. The "10-2" hand has been nicknamed, "a Doyle Brunson."

In '71 he published Super Systems, a sensation which became the ultimate poker Bible, giving amateurs an insight into professional strategy. Brunson changed the game forever.

"To be a successful gambler you have to have a complete disregard for money," he said.

Inducted into the Las Vegas Poker Hall of Fame in 1986, Brunson has helped promote gambling as a respectable profession. He observed: "Everyone gets lucky once in a while, but no one is consistently lucky."

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