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1977 World Series of Poker
The 1977 World Series of Poker was the eighth annual World Series of Poker. It was held at Binnions Horseshoe. The number of preliminary events increased to 12, up from seven the previous year.
One of the most notable additions to the preliminary events was the $100 Ladies Seven Card Stud. The event was won by Jackie McDaniels, making her the first ever WSOP champion in a ladies only event. It was also the smallest buy-in with the smallest prize pool of any event in the history of the tournament. McDaniels walked away with a cash prize of $5,580.
The big winner from the preliminary events was Bobby Baldwin. He won both the $10,000 Deuce to Seven Draw and the $5,000 Seven Card Stud, landing him cash prizes of $80,000 and $44,000 respectively. Baldwin was in his late twenties at the time of the tournament, which was relatively young by poker standards in those days.
Doyle Brunson was the second-biggest winner from the preliminary events. He won the $1,000 Seven Card Stud Split tournament which was good enough for a cash prize of $62,500. Unheralded Louis Hunsucker earned the third-most money from the preliminary events. He won $34,200 in the $1,500 No Limit Holdem tournament.
From 1975 to 1976, the number of participants in the Main Event increased from 21 to 22. That number increased substantially in 1977. There were 34 players who agreed to pay $10,000 to play in the No Limit Holdem Main Event at the 1977 World Series of Poker. Just six years earlier, at the inaugural Main Event, there were six entrants in the Main Event. With all 34 players paying the $10,000 entrance fee into the tournament, the prize for first place was at a hefty $340,000. No money was awarded to second- and third-place finishers.
The amount of players slowly dwindled down until there were three players left: Doyle Brunson, Gary Berland, and Milo Jacobson. When Jacobson was eliminated, Doyle Brunson had just one more adversary to take care of in his quest to become the first person to repeat as Main Event champion (Johnny Moss won the first two WSOPs, but there was no Main Event when he won the first one in 1970).
His opponent, Gary “Bones” Berland, was a tremendous poker player and Brunson could not afford to take him lightly. He stuck around on the poker scene for a long time, ending up with five WSOP bracelets and a third-place finish at the 1986 Main Event.
In one of the most amazing coincidences in poker history, Brunson was dealt a ten-deuce. Just one year earlier, Brunson had won the 1976 Main Event with the same hand. Brunson called Berlands all in bid after the turn card when he had a pair of 2s and a pair of 10s. The river card was a 10, giving Brunson the same 10s over 2s full house that won him the Main Event one year earlier.
Brunson won the mammoth cash prize of $340,000 and secured himself a spot in poker history as one of the greatest to ever play. In the decades since he won the 1976 and 1977 WSOP, the ten-deuce hand is still known as “the Doyle Brunson.”
1976 World Series of Poker
The 1976 World Series of Poker was the seventh annual World Series of Poker. It was held at Binnions Horseshoe in May of 1976. There were seven preliminary events, up from four the previous year, and a $10,000 buy-in no-limit Texas Hold ‘Em Main Event.
The preliminary events included $2,500 No Limit Holdem, $1,000 No Limit Holdem, $5,000 Deuce to Seven Draw with Rebuys, $1,000 Ace to Five Draw, $1,000 Seven Card Stud Split, $500 Seven Card Stud, and $5,000 Seven Card Stud.
The big winners of the preliminary events were Howard Andrew and Doyle Brunson. Andrew won both the $2,500 No Limit Holdem and the $1,000 No Limit Holdem tournaments for a combined total of $51,600. Doyle Brunson walked away from the $5,000 Deuce to Seven Draw with Rebuys as the winner of an $80,250 cash prize.
Poker legend Johnny Moss had an impact on the WSOP yet again. The 3-time world champion won the $500 Seven Card Stud for a cash prize of $13,000. He struggled in the Main Event though. It was played on his 69th birthday, and the aging legend was out of the tournament after two hours. He was the third man out.
Brunson wasnt done after the preliminary events. He was one of 22 players to participate in the Main Event, up from 21 in 1975. All but 3 of the 22 were full-time gamblers and 13 of them were Texans. Each player needed $10,000 to enter the tournament, and when the players stock was gone, so was he. The last man standing would end up with all the cash $220,000 to be exact.
Brunson had been a staple of the WSOP since its inception. His two friends, Thomas “Amarillo Slim” Preston and Brian “Sailor” Roberts, had both won the Main Event, but Brunson had yet to win it.
After 20 players were eliminated, Brunson was left in the final two along with Jesse Alto. Alto was one of the three players in the Main Event who wasnt a full-time gambler. At first, Alto held the chip lead, but the experienced Brunson knew it was only a matter of time before he started to let his emotions get the best of him.
Brunson ended up winning the tournament on a very unlikely hand. Eventually, Brunson was dealt a 10 of spades and a 2 of spades. Prior the river card being flipped, Brunson had a pair of 10s and a pair of 2s. Alto, however, had a pair of aces and a pair of jacks. With Alto all in, the river card was flipped to reveal another 10. Brunson had miraculously pulled off a 10s over 2s full house to win the tournament and $220,000.
The ten-deuce hand would later come to be known as “the Doyle Brunson.” Reportedly, it didnt take long for Alto to get back to playing cards. He is rumored to have been playing in a new game of Texas Holdem just a half hour later. “Why not?” he asked. “I came to play. That game is over.”