Everyone who has played poker has encountered especially memorable hands, but when one has a poker resume as long and storied as that of Doyle Brunson, we know that the events such a player has experienced will be truly remarkable. After 50 years of playing poker in the biggest games around, Brunson relates the hands he has played that he considers to be the most remarkable.
There are many skilled poker players alive today, but only a handful of these could be considered living legends. Doyle Brunson is universally considered to be first among these. His skill, the range of his experiences, and his longevity justify the celebrity status Brunson has obtained. Possibly no other poker player could have written a book such as this, and certainly nobody could have done so with nearly so much authority.
Brunson covers hands from throughout his playing career. Some of these date from his early days as a poker pro, playing in Ft. Worth, Texas. Many of them come from his formative years playing the so-called "Texas Circuit". The early years of the World Series of Poker and other tournament hands are mentioned as well. Some of these date to the early days of serious poker in Las Vegas, and some occurred very recently. We get a glimpse at a wide cross-section of Brunson's career in these stories.
Most of the hands are no-limit Texas hold'em hands, as befits the current popularity of the game and the memorable quality imbued in situations when one plays for an entire stack. Another of Brunson's favorite games, Kansas City lowball, also gets significant mention. Some other less familiar games also get some coverage. Omaha, California lowball, seven-card stud high-low, and even five-card stud get at least a passing mention.
Most of the hands discussed weigh in at a few hundred words each. Consequently, even though the book runs at about 160 pages, the actual word count is closer to what we'd expect from a book about a third as long. This makes My 50 Most Memorable Hands a very quick read, to the point that the book feels somewhat insubstantial.
Certainly, these hands all meet the title's qualification of being memorable, but there's not always a lot of poker to be learned from them. Typically, I classify poker books as either "strategy" or "entertainment" poker books, and this one has to be placed in the latter category. Still, there are certainly pearls of wisdom to be found in Doyle's stories, so I wouldn't say that the book is completely devoid of strategic concepts. Readers should realize, though, that enjoyment will be the primary reason one enjoys this book.
The poker public realizes another benefit from the publication of this book. The era of the old-time road poker players is over, and besides the recollection of the surviving players who were there, we have precious little evidence of what occurred in those times. When someone of Doyle Brunson's status recounts anything that happened during this era, those who appreciate the history of the game of poker gain something. Any of Brunson's recollections about the early days of his career are a precious part of poker history, and any attempt to preserve these experiences should be treasured.
The book is short, and the poker content is generally trivial. However, the book is entertaining and does contain some items of historical interest. The hands Brunson recounts are, indeed, memorable, although only a small number of them have anything significant to teach us about the game. The book is light and fun, so poker players looking for beach reading will probably enjoy this book as I did, but it's not required reading for anybody. Even though I finished it quickly, I did enjoy this book.
My 50 Most Memorable Hands is Doyle Brunson's story of the 50 most memorable hands of poker that he has played in his illustrious career. Each hand is short, meaning the book itself isn't even as substantive as its pages count would suggest. There is little in the way of detailed poker content, but the book is fun and it's always a treasure to hear details of Brunson's career, especially during its early days. Some readers may be disappointed by the lack of serious poker content, but I enjoyed it as light reading, and I recommend it as such.
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