The Wisdom of Doyle

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October 5th, 2017
Back The Wisdom of Doyle

I like being around smart people. When I am trying to learn something, I want my teacher to be the best. It helps eliminate problems and places you in the driver's seat when push comes to shove.

Members of this website are probably aware that I often use quotes from Doyle Brunson. Doyle's strategy never grows old. Like good wine, it mellows with age. You can adapt what he says and apply it to your own situation and strategies.

Doyle is a perfectionist when it comes to playing those small suited connectors. He will play them before the flop, even if he is facing one or two raises. Once during an interview he admitted he plays suited connectors 'like they're pocket aces or kings, that's how much I think of them.'

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It gets even better than that. Brunson wants his raising opponent to have a high pair like aces or kings. And he especially likes sit if his foe slow-plays the hand. Slow-playing a big pocket pair is something Doyle rarely does. An opponent's slow play gives him the opportunity to see the flop and get a turn. And if Doyle can do that, he can often break an opponent.

In the 1977 World Series of Poker, Brunson found himself looking at the 7-6 of clubs. The blinds were $300 and $600 and the ante was $200. There were two raises in the pot for $2,900 and $8,400. Doyle called both of them and the flop came 5-7-7, followed by A-4.

When the hand was over -- Brunson won it with his trip 7s -- he discovered one of the other players had pocket kings. The pot totaled $142,500. It kept building up and Brunson won the WSOP.

He will play any two cards to a straight flush and will raise with them in late position.

'The beautiful thing is if you get no help, you can toss them away quickly,' he declares. But if you can get into the pot with such a hand and only need to commit five to 10 percent of your chips, it's a worthwhile play.

When Brunson wins a pot, he always plays the next hand and he will raise with it. He likes raising with suited connectors in late position because he feels he won't be re-raised. He wants to be in the lead and to take control of the pot. When he is able to take charge, that often means a win.

If he misses the flop in a raised pot, he gives up the pot. It's no contest, says Brunson.

If he is in a small game where the players average having $500 to $600, he will raise the pot $100 with suited connectors. But if another player goes all-in , Brunson will fold his hand. It just isn't worth the risk to win just a few hundred. It's a very different game if Brunson and the other raiser both have $25,000 in front of them. That is when he prefers to take a chance.

If he called a raise with 8-7 suited the flop comes A-A-K, Doyle will not contest the pot and will give it to the raiser. But if he raised with the cards and the same flop came, Doyle will come out betting. If something frightening comes on the flop like Q-J-10 of spades, Doyle won't bet. He will check and if two checks in a row happen, he will come out with a wager.

'I need to maintain the aggressive image I have created,' he said. 'I want my opponents to get into the habit of throwing away their cards. A check raise will beat me, but I pick up more pots than I lose.'

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