It’s not every day that the PocketFives.com Podcastwelcomes an icon of the game to the airwaves. Doyle Brunson (pictured at right), the namesake of the popular Cake Poker Network site DoylesRoom, joins us this week on the PocketFives.com Podcast sponsored by Carbon Poker. “Texas Dolly,” as he’s known to many, is the owner of 10 World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets, tied for the second most all-time with Johnny Chan. He’s a back-to-back Main Event winner and this week fields questions from you, the PocketFives.com community. Also joining the show is Jeff jeffboskiSluzinski, who vaulted 24 spots in the Online Poker Rankings this week to #39 worldwide.

Brunson took down the 1976 and 1977 WSOP Main Events. In fact, his first six WSOP in the money finishes were all for bracelets and he owns 10 overall, just one shy of Phil Hellmuth‘s (pictured at left) record of 11 pieces of hardware. On whether today’s aggressive style of play means that it may be beneficial for players to sit back and tighten up, Brunson told the PocketFives.com Podcast, “If someone is going to be a total maniac and refuse to let someone be more aggressive than they are, they’re defeating the purpose. The object of the game is to win the money. The way the players at the table play dictates the way you play.”
Today’s rising stars in the live and online poker worlds have a bevy of resources to draw from, including Brunson’s legendary “Super System.” Poker forums like PocketFives.com have attracted the masses and training sites have popped up offering top-tier instruction. Brunson gave his take on the best way to learn the game: “I think you should use all of the tools you can – the books, the internet, and the computer programs. However, there’s no substitute for playing. The more you play, the better you’ll be.”

A listener asked Brunson who he thought the luckiest player was right now that the “internet kids would know.” The poker legend’s answer may surprise you: “Phil Ivey. Besides being such a good player, maybe the best, I think he’s also been on a tremendous lucky streak. Not to take anything away from his game, but that was the first name that came to mind.” Ivey is a member of the 2009 WSOP November Nine and will own the seventh largest chip stack when play resumes in three months. He’s already won a pair of bracelets during the 2009 WSOP.

Jeff jeffboskiSluzinski (pictured at right) has been on a tear as of late. He rose dramatically in this week’s release of the Rankings, moving from #63 in the world to #39. To open August, he won both the Nightly Hundred Grand and Wednesday Quarter Million on PokerStars for a combined $95,000. He told the PocketFives.com Podcast, “Ever since I stopped being backed, it’s been quite a roller coaster. I’ve been playing good and running good. Things have been going well.”

Sluzinski has been on both sides of the backing equation and gave his take on how being funded affected his game: “The biggest thing it helped me do was devalue money. It helped me look at [things in] the long-run.” In the first nine days of August, he piled up $123,000 in tournaments that are tracked for the Rankings in 66 qualifying cashes, an impressive average of over seven per day. As a result, he owns the 22nd best PLB score on PocketFives.com and the 40th best Pro Poll tally.

What keeps Sluzinski focused? What helps him combat adversity on the virtual felts? Sluzinski explained, “When things go bad, it hurts. However, I always just look at it as I’m lucky to be in this position where I can do it for a living. I’m grateful that I can just open up more tournaments and try to win those.” He also dove into his passion for bowling, his min-raising strategy pre-flop, tips to combat burnout, and the biggest leak in his game.

Check out the rest of this week’s PocketFives.com Podcastfeaturing Doyle Brunson and Jeff jeffboskiSluzinski.

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