Today’s Successful Pros Forge Their Own Paths

by John Wenzel 

In our quest to have something for everyone within the confines of these pages, I am always amazed not just by the number of world-class players we feature, but about how different these players are from one another. Different yes, but ALL successful. 

For example, Amit Makhija, who answers readers’ questions this month (page 22), is a very young pro who has already hit the big time and is a new member of the Brunson 10. Former WSOP champ Huck Seed, who is profiled by Michael Kaplan (page 26), is an “old pro” who you could argue is just hitting his prime.
 

Other notables in this month’s cast of characters are the legendary Nick the Greek, Kenna James, new Hall of Famer Mike Sexton and Ilari “Ziigmund” Sahamies. A disparate group, to be sure – but all formidable on the felt. 

What all this brings to mind for me can be summed up in a recent conversation I had with the godfather himself, Doyle Brunson.  

Doyle spoke at length about choosing his new “Brunson 10” – the group of young guns that will help him represent DoylesRoom.com. He said all applicants were asked this question: “Who do you pattern your play after?” And he reported that everyone who has been accepted into the Brunson 10 has had the same answer: “Nobody.”

That’s right: “Nobody.” They didn’t kiss Doyle’s butt by saying “Doyle Brunson.” No, these are players who have forged their own paths and they will live or die with them. They have found a style that works for them – an approach that suits their personality, temperament and mindset. Their methods are not the same, but they are similar in that each player is comfortable with how he plays, and of course comfortable with the money that is pouring in.  

As Doyle put it: “They have their own style. They’ve figured out how they want to play. There are different ways of playing and what may be successful for one guy might not be successful for another guy. So each one of them has figured out how they have the best results.” 

The other thing they have in common, according to Doyle, is that they resemble “strong, silent types.” These are not “showboats” mugging for the cameras to get face time, or self-promoters more interested in themselves than the game. These are players who don’t need to brag about how good they are, because other people are saying it for them. They let their skills do the talking. 

The Brunson 10 might not be Doyle clones – after all, he is primarily a live cash-game player – but it is obvious they are very much like the master in other ways. Check out next issue for more on my conversation with Texas Dolly.