Todd Brunson, son of the legendary poker player Doyle Brunson, is himself a professional poker player, having followed in his father’s footsteps. However, his long road to fortune is not what one might suspect, considering his notable lineage.

Born August7, 1969 in El Paso, Texas as Todd Alijondro Brunson, his father did not teach Todd the game of poker when he was young. As Todd Brunson grew older and went off to study law at Texas Tech University, he took it upon himself to learn how to play poker. While his skills did not come from his father as a mentor, they must have been carried in the family genetics, because on his own, Todd Brunson was playing poker well enough to drop out of college his senior year and become a professional poker player. This decision came about when, at the age of 21, Todd Brunson won his first major victory at the Diamond Jim Brady tournament, worth $200,000.

In his early days of poker play, Todd earned the nickname “Darkhorse” for coming into a poker tournament as an irrelevant underdog. After outlasting most of the players, including Chip Reese, the title was bestowed upon the young poker pro, and has stuck ever since.

Young Brunson was earning 4- and 5-digit cashes in live poker tournaments from 1991 to 2000 before he ever saw his next 6-digit payoff in a live poker tournament. His greatest victory during these years had been a 2nd place finish at the Jack Binion World Poker Open worth $31,792. Later in the same poker series, however, Todd went heads-up against Ronnie Williams in the Main Event (April 2000), but fell shy of a 1st place victory. He did earn his first sizable paycheck in quite some time, though, taking home $119,310.

Todd Brunson continued to cash consistently in live poker tournaments over the next several years, including his first final table take down at the Bellagio in a PL Hold’em tournament. Brunson earned $27,280 for his skilled efforts.

On June 25, 2004, Todd Brunson earned his second 1st place victory, along with his second 6-digit prize of $158,861 for eliminating the field at the Festa al Lago II NL Hold’em poker tournament.

In 2005, Todd Brunson finally gained the respect and admiration he so long deserved, claiming the coveted gold Bracelet and pocketing $255,945 for a 1st place finish at the 2005 WSOP in a Limit Omaha Hi/Lo event.

In 2006, Todd won the Poker Superstars 2 quarter-finalist Freeroll tournament after defeating Ted Forrest in heads-up play for a whopping $500,000. Todd Brunson’s success has continued, cashing multiple times every year in various live poker tournaments. Brunson just recently placed 292nd in Event #2 of the 2008 WSOP for $3,486.

All told, Todd Brunson has earned more than $3 million in poker tournament cashes, though his most lucrative victories have come from cash games. According to the 2005 poker book, ‘The Professor, the Banker and the Suicide King’, Todd Brunson pocketed more than $13.5 million in two days playing heads-up $50k/$100k Limit Hold’em.

Todd often quips at his father, criticizing his poker play even during a tournament. Doyle was quoted with the affectionate response, “I know, Todd. I’m the idiot who sired a genius.” According to Todd, his father always calls after a big tournament to ask how young Brunson did in the event. If he won, the response is always the same, “I played, didn’t I?”

Todd “Darkhorse” Brunson can also be found playing online poker at PokerStars under the username “Sam Grizzle”.