1976 World Series of Poker - Recap

Fourteen players remained after day two of the 1976 World Series of Poker. One of them was the “Texas Dolly” Doyle Brunson. Brunson was the only member of his three man road team to not win the world championship. Amarillo Slim Preston and “Sailor” Roberts had already won theirs and Brunson might have felt a little excluded. You see Doyle had always measured his success as a poker player by how much money he had won, not by titles or tournaments. “Since I felt the need to be there anyway, I kept pondering how to win,” said Doyle in “All-In: The (Almost) Entirely True Story of the World Series of Poker.”

The Texans were still a strong presence in the field of fourteen, two of them former world champions, “Sailor” Roberts and Johnny Moss. Another of the Texans was named Jesse Alto. He was born in Mexico, grew up in Israel, and settled in Texas. Alto was a car dealer, but his true love was poker. Alto was a true grinder, able to play long periods of time without rest. He was also a true steamer, unable to control his emotions when the cards didn’t fall his way. Brunson knew this, and waited for disaster to strike when action was head’s-up for the championship.

Alto had lost a lot some close pots in succession, and Doyle felt he had to srike while the iron was hot when he was dealt 10s2s. Alto bet pre-flop and Doyle called. The flop was dealt AhJs10h, which gave Alto two pair with AsJh in the hole. Alto led out with a bet, but it wasn’t large enough to force out Doyle, who called. The turn card was the 2c and Doyle moved all-in. Alto called and the river card was dealt, the 10d hit the board and Brunson was a world champion. He received $220,000 and a gold bracelet. A poker patriarch was born.