Shuffle up and deal

Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2005 | 9:15 a.m.

Event: The World Poker Tour's Doyle Brunson North American Poker Championship

Dates: Today through Friday

Place: Bellagio

Entry fee: $10,000

At stake: Winner receives the first-place prize money and an entry into the WPT World Championship at Bellagio in April

Prize pool: To be determined based on the number of entrants. Last year's event attracted 312 players for a prize pool of $3.03 million

1. THE TOUR

Now in its fourth season, the World Poker Tour consists of 16 tournaments filmed at sites throughout the world and televised on a tape-delay basis at 9 p.m. Wednesdays on the Travel Channel, Cox cable channel 66. The season culminates with the WPT World Championship, scheduled for April 18-24 at the Bellagio. Buy-ins for the tournaments range from $5,000 to $15,000, except for the championship, which carries a $25,000 entry fee. Last year's championship event at the Bellagio was won by Tuan Le, who bested a record field of 452 players to win the top prize of more than $2.8 million.

2. THE EVENT

Last year's Doyle Brunson North American Poker Championship had the largest prize pool of any inaugural poker tournament -- more than $3 million. Brunson, the World Series of Poker winner in 1976 and 1977 and a WPT champion, said he felt privileged to lend his name to the event. "I guess I've been around so long, they just decided to name it for me," Brunson said in his distinctive drawl. "It is kind of an honor." This year's tournament caps two weeks of smaller, preliminary events. The game is no-limit Texas hold 'em. It is open to professional and amateur poker players, and spectators are welcome.

3. THE NAMESAKE

Brunson, who has called Las Vegas home for more than 30 years, was born in the small West Texas town of Longworth in 1933. Before embarking on one of the most successful gambling careers in American history, he earned a master's degree in administrative education from Hardin-Simmons College in Abilene. In an unconventional way, he put that degree to good use -- by educating millions of poker players through his instructional book "Super/System," published in 1978 and revised this year.

4. DEFENDING CHAMP

Carlos Mortensen, a professional player from Spain, who now lives in Las Vegas, won the $1 million top prize in last year's Brunson tournament. "Your chances always depend on how many players are in it," Mortensen said. "But I am very motivated to play my best game." In last year's final hand, Mortensen called a large bet by Thang Pham, and his king-10 held up against Pham's king-8. "The best hand is always the last one," Mortensen said.

5. HOME ADVANTAGE?

Even with all of his accomplishments in poker, at age 72 Brunson continues to play in the highest-stakes cash games in the world, often at Bellagio's poker room. If there is such a thing as home-field advantage in poker, Brunson surely has it for this week's tournament. "I think there is a certain advantage to be able to stay at your home and work in the environment that you're most comfortable in," he said.