Poker legend Doyle Brunson won back-to-back World Series of Poker No Limit Hold-‘em (Main Event) titles in 1976 and 1977. Both times, he eliminated his final opponent with a 10s full of 2s full house. And both times, he made that full house with a 10-2 starting hand—one of the weakest starting hands in Hold-‘em Poker, and one that has since then become known a “Doyle Brunson.”
In 2003, amateur poker player Chris Moneymaker beat out 838 competitors en route to winning the 2003 World Series of Poker (No Limit Hold-em Main Event) title, and a whopping $2.5 million payday. Earlier that year, Chris had won an entry into the $10,000 buy-in tournament by placing first in a $39 buy-in internet poker tournament.
The very next year, another amateur player—one Greg “Fossilman” Raymer—accomplished a similar feat by beating 2576 players and winning a $5 million first prize in the 2004 World Series of Poker, after having won entry into the tournament by placing first in a $160 buy-in internet tournament.
Since their wins, both Moneymaker—a former accountant—and Raymer—a former patent attorney—have abandoned their former lines of work, and become full time poker players active on the televised poker tournament circuits.
And as you can imagine, their improbable multi-million dollar wins have attracted a countless number of other people to Hold-‘em Poker, and caused many to dream of becoming poker’s next come-from-nowhere millionaire sensation.