WSOP Beginnings
So, in 1970, the first ever WSOP was held at the Horseshoe Casino, with all the legends of the Texas circuit in attendance. Around 30 players met, played cash games of various formats, and in the end, the players chose the best among themselves - the most versatile player and the first WSOP champion was Johnny Moss.
A year later, Benny guessed that for the sake of publicity and fame, the WSOP had to turn into a tournament, and well, it became the free-for-all it is to this day. The tournament brings competition, drama and spectator interest, much like other sports. The buy-in back then was set at $5,000 and the winner was supposed to take it all. "We only played the tournament then with six of us. Me, Johnny Moss, Puggy Pearson, Sailor Roberts, Jack Straus and Jimmy Casela. Moss was considered by many to be the best player in the NLH, which he proved by winning this tournament for $30,000."
A year later, the buy-in was increased to $10,000, but only 8 players played the tournament. But the series was noticed by national television and suddenly the private tournament became a sensation. "I could have won the tournament that year, I was really close. I was chipleader in the last three games, but since there were journalists everywhere and I didn't crave media fame, we agreed that I would win the tournament. That's what happened, and since Slim enjoyed the attention of the cameras and the media, poker couldn't have asked for better publicity."
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The Birth of Texas Dolly and the Legendary T2 Hand
Doyle attended every WSOP, always coming out on top, but as the winner took it all, he always walked away empty-handed. "That's just what tournaments are about, you can play great all the time and all it takes is one bad hand and it's over. In 1975 Moss had his third title and I knew I was very good. I was eager to finally win, I knew I deserved it. I had to prove it to my friends and especially to Louise."
And so came 1976, when, after six unsuccessful attempts, Doyle threw himself fully into the game. There were 22 players in the tournament, and Doyle left everyone behind after beating Jesse Alt in heads-up play with the legendary . "On the turn T I hit a second pair and went all in. Jesse had been thinking for a long time, after 23 hours of play it was obvious that he had had enough and was getting tired. Finally, after many minutes, he called and turned over . I knew I was the underdog 1:11, but I was aware that if I lost, I would still have a third of my chips left. The tension in the room was palpable as everyone waited impatiently for the dealer, who.....to the table laid out ! I had been waiting for this moment for a very long time."
Doyle's wife, who hadn't shown much affection for Doyle's hobby since the beginning of their relationship, secretly hoped that the record $220,000 win would give the family peace of mind and financial freedom so that Doyle could find a "normal" job. But nothing like that happened; as a world champion, Doyle was fully committed to the game and knew he was on top of his game.
"The championship title was just confirmation for me that I was one of the best". The very next year, 34 players took part in the WSOP Championship, including newcomers like Cadillac Jack, Amarillo Slim and Gary Bones. It was with Bones that Doyle made it all the way to heads-up play, where he did something unprecedented - he defended his title one year in a row, and moreover, won again with the same hand. "Yes, on the flop my opponent hit with two pair, I had again . I got in for free from the big blind, and after my opponent also checked the flop, I got a free turn . Suddenly he was all in and a call, showdown and river just sealed the deal of a lifetime. I have achieved something unique!"
Super/System
About a year after the second win, the idea of writing a book on poker strategy was born in Doyle's head. No such book existed yet, and since the financially secure Doyle needed a new challenge in his life, he started writing. "I wanted the book to be really unique and to give the reader as much as possible. That's why I enlisted the help of friends - Mike Caro was the best draw game player at the time, so he helped me with that discipline. Bobby Baldwin and Chip Reese were experts in 7-card stud, and David Sklansky helped me with the high-low 7-card split. My job was to focus on holdem, and then put all the information into a coherent form."
Doyle devoted all of his time and energy to this book and didn't appear at the poker table at all for over a year. He ran into a problem after he finished the first version - publishers weren't interested in such a format. "I decided to start my own publishing company, called it B&G Publishing, and the whole thing cost me $400,000. I called the book 'How I Made a Million Dollars Playing Poker' and I sold it for $100, which was a big sum at the time. But I saw it as a good investment for anyone who was serious about poker."
After the first edition, which had a print run of 5,000, Doyle decided to change the book's title to Super/System and reduce the price to $50. At that price, it sold for many years and quite quickly became a must-have reference book for every poker player...
