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Doyle Brunson’s Autobiography Now Available
Poker Legend Tells All From Five Decades as a Gambler
By Justin Marchand

“I’ve still got mixed feelings about writing this book,” Doyle Brunson commented in his blog.

After reading The Godfather of Poker, poker fans won’t have similar problems with mixed feelings.

Instead, they’ll be glad that the game’s living legend chose not to hold back and, with sharp detail, went ahead and dealt out a book rich in narrative and stories that encapsulate his pioneering poker life and contributions.

While some poker biographies are short on meat, Brunson’s is packed with vivid recollections of the people, events, and places that have shaped his high-stakes life. It not only covers Brunson’s own life, but also traces the birth of the high-stakes poker world.

The book takes the reader from Brunson’s boyhood home of Longworth, Texas, to Fort Worth’s Exchange Avenue, where “shootings, knife fights, and fistfights happened every day.” It then goes further, to the back roads of the Texas poker circuit, where Brunson, Johnny Moss, Sailor Roberts, and Amarillo Slim Preston earned their fame before arriving in Las Vegas years ago.

As Brunson leads you along his life journey, he introduces you to a cast of colorful characters, the world-class con men and gangsters who dominated the high-stakes world he frequented. Minnesota Fats, Bill Boyd, Archie Karas, Jimmy Chagra, Titanic Thompson, Tony Spilotro, Lefty Rosenthal, Benny Binion, Puggy Pearson, Stu Ungar, and Chip Reese, just to name a few, are all legends whom Brunson rubbed shoulders with. And the stories that Brunson shares from these assorted personalities make The Godfather of Poker a hard book to put down.

Readers also get a peek into Brunson’s personal life and the tragedies he’s faced, including the death of his first-born child and a freak injury that ruined his opportunity for a career in professional sports. Throughout the book, he chronicles how he’s survived the years, going from being broke to betting $1.6 million on a round of golf.

Near the end of the book, Brunson writes, “I’ve come to realize that life’s experiences are ours to keep and cherish.”

Thankfully, because Brunson chose to share his experiences, the previously oral-only history of poker’s Wild West days now exists in written form for everyone to cherish.

The Godfather of Poker: Doyle Brunson
An autobiography with Mike Cochran
384 pages; illustrated; hardbound; Cardoza Publishing; $26.95.

World Series of Poker Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack Resigns
Harrah’s Has No Immediate Plans to Appoint a New Commissioner
By Stephen A. Murphy

Jeffrey Pollack, the man who has been the organizational face of the World Series of Poker since 2006, has resigned from his post as World Series of Poker commissioner. There are no plans to immediately replace Pollack, according to Harrah’s officials.

Since 2006, the overall number of participants in the World Series has increased each year. Under Pollack’s reign, the organization emphasized the international aspect of the WSOP. In 2009, players from 115 different countries participated in at least one WSOP event.

The move comes six months after Harrah’s created a new division, Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment, to oversee online and international operations for the World Series of Poker. Harrah’s selected former PartyGaming executive Mitch Garber to become the CEO of HIE, while Pollack served as the president of the new subsidiary.

Pollack has been at the forefront of most of the major changes at the WSOP for the past few years, from the creation of the delayed final table and the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event to the formation of the Players Advisory Council and the new bracelet ceremonies held at the Rio.

Patrik Antonius Wins Largest Online Pot in Poker History
“Isildur1” Comes Out on the Losing End of Pot-Limit Omaha Coin Flip
By Julio Rodriguez

On Nov. 21, poker history was made.

“Isildur1,” a high-stakes player from Sweden, seemingly came out of nowhere to challenge some of the best in the game. In less than a month, he won nearly $6 million on FullTilt.com from the likes of Tom Dwan, Phil Galfond, Brian Townsend, Cole South, and others. But it seemed as though two players finally found an answer to the problem that was the mysterious Swede, and those two players were none other than Phil Ivey and Patrik Antonius.

In what would turn out to be an epic battle, Isildur1 took on both players simultaneously over eight tables of $500-$1,000 action, mostly in pot-limit Omaha. After nearly 4,500 hands of action, Isildur1 had lost roughly $3.3 million to the two pros, with $1.2 million going to Ivey and $2.1 million heading to Antonius.

The insane marathon session featured five of the seven largest pots in online poker history, and broke a record that had been set just four days prior, when Antonius came out ahead in a massive coin flip for $1,356,947.

In the record-breaking hand, Isildur1 raised to $3,000 from the small blind, and Antonius reraised to $9,000. Isildur1 reraised to $27,000, and Antonius five-bet to $81,000. Isildur1 made the call, and the two players saw a flop of 5 4 2.

Antonius continued with a bet of $93,000, and Isildur1 raised to $435,000, committing himself to the pot. Antonius put him all in for his last $162,474. Isildur1 made the call, and the showdown commenced.

Antonius showed the A K K 3 for the flopped wheel and two backdoor-flush draws, but Isildur1 was drawing very live with his 9 8 7 6 wrap. According to the CardPlayer.com Omaha Odds Calculator, the pot would go to Antonius 54.5 percent of the time, and Isildur1 would come out on top 45.5 percent of the time.

Fate was on the Finn’s side, as the turn and river brought the 5 and 9, and the wheel held up to give Antonius the pot.

Card Player Cruises Features Elegance and Poker
September 2010 Cruise to be Aboard Oasis of the Seas
By Stephen A. Murphy

It is the newest and largest ship in the world. At 220,000 tons, it can accommodate 5,400 people. The amenities are unprecedented — from a skating rink to a miniature golf course, from a rock-climbing facility to a Broadway musical. It basically is a world in and of itself. And now, you can be a part of that world.

Card Player Cruises recently announced that its September 2010 cruise would be aboard the Oasis of the Seas, the much-heralded cruise ship. And, of course, if you tire of the many activities that the cruise offers, you can always enjoy the poker room, where they will spread any game at any limit if there is enough interest.

“Cruising is the greatest and most affordable vacation you can take,” said Linda Johnson, a Card Player Cruises partner. “Where else can you get a room, all you can eat, nonstop entertainment, a fitness center, and Las Vegas-style shows for about $100 a day?”

Card Player Cruises will host the following five trips in 2010:

Western Caribbean (March 7, for seven days) — The round-trip cruise departs from Galveston, Texas, and stops in Roatan, Honduras; Costa Maya, Mexico; and Cozumel, Mexico. Prices start at $688.

Mediterranean (May 15, for 12 days) — The round-trip cruise departs from Barcelona, Spain, and stops in Monte Carlo, Florence, Pisa, Rome, Naples, and Capri, with overnight stays in Venice, Dubrovnik, and Corfu. Prices start at $1,719.

Alaska (Aug. 27, for seven nights) — The round-trip cruise departs from Seattle, Washington, and stops in Juneau, Skagway, and Victoria, BC. Prices start at $809.

Eastern Caribbean (Sept. 25, for seven nights) — The round-trip cruise departs from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and stops in St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and Nassau. Prices start at $859.

Mexican Riviera (Dec. 5, for seven nights) — The round-trip cruise departs from Long Beach, California, and stops in Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo San Lucas. Prices start at $709.

For more information, call (888) 999-4880, or go to www.cardplayercruises.com.