The World Series expanded the roster of poker competitions to include several variations of the game, but Texas Hold’em remained the most watched and profitable event. Snyder called Branson “Texas Doy Lee” and reporters mistook him for Dolly, the moniker Texas Dolly sticking out, but not for someone who stands 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighs well over 250 pounds. There seemed to be
After moving to Las Vegas in 1973 in search of more stable gambling opportunities, Mr. Branson won the main event of a tournament widely recognized as the World Championship in 1976 and 1977, winning a winner-take-all prize of 560,000. won a dollar His 10 bracelet count in his World Series is his tie for second place behind Phil Hellmuth’s 16.
In 1978, he self-published his book, How I Made Over $1 Million in Poker, including chapters by other top pros. Later, in 2002, he was renamed “Supersystem: A Course in Power Poker” when it was picked up by B&G Publishing, and this book and its sequel, “Supersystem 2,” are still his best-selling poker manuals. .
British poet Al Alvarez, covering the 1981 World Series of Poker for The New Yorker, wrote, “Nothing compares to this work as a graduate guide to the intricacies of high-level, high-stakes poker.” I’m here. “The grammar is spotty, the punctuation baroque, but the voice is clear, the message is clear. Aggression, constant aggression.”
Mr. Branson was inducted into the World Series of Poker Hall of Fame in 1988.
After steady growth, poker reached a cultural moment in 1998 with the release of a movie. “Rounders” In it, a poker player played by Matt Damon recites Branson’s maxims with a copy of “Super System”. That same year, poker became a staple of late-night cable TV, and Mr. Branson became a household name.
