For years, “Doyle Brunson Dies” has been the default placeholder headline in poker media discussions about how you would handle a super-big story that every news outlet is gonna have, and every player is gonna care about.

By now y’all have presumably heard, Doyle Brunson, the Godfather of Poker, Texas Dolly, Ten-Deuce, died Sunday in a Las Vegas hospital at age 89. We all knew it was inevitable — death and taxes, right? — but in recent years we could hear the clock ticking a bit louder …

Brunson literally wrote the book on how we play the game. Sure, a lot has happened since Super/System, in theory or otherwise. But none of the players in today’s game would’ve existed without Doyle Brunson. (Some of today’s crushers weren’t even born until Brunson already had seven or eight World Series of Poker bracelets.)

His final tally, of course, was 10 bracelets, including two in the WSOP Main Event. Even though those won in 1976 and ’77 were against fields the size of an elementary school classroom, back then there was far less dead money for the taking and the players he beat were among the best in the world.

And that’s part of what made Doyle so special. The when didn’t matter — Brunson was ageless, even as he aged. He held his own year after year, session after session … at the WSOP, on the WPT, in Bobby’s Room, on High Stakes Poker, and sometimes even online. He did it all. He wrestled with the old dogs with quiet bravado and took on the young guns without fear. And even as poker evolved, he adjusted, and never stopped playing a winning game.

It’s just part of why he mattered so much — and will continue to matter — to millions in a world he immeasurably shaped.

If you haven’t voted a few times already, there’s a poll right over there ( –> ) asking you what’s your favorite poker blog by a bona fide poker pro. Daniel Negreanu is running away with it, as he probably should be. My personal fave: Doyle Brunson’s blog.

Not only do I enjoy the Doylism of the Day, but also, Big Poppa can write! In his most recent post, he explains why having backed John McCain doesn’t make him anti-poker any more than it makes him a racist:

First, I’m about as far away from being a racist as you can get. I’ve had black friends all my life, and I mean really good friends. That was back before it was “fashionable” to have blacks as friends.

Hmm, that might be a dig at anyone like me who has specifically been courting black girls, thinking interracial intercourse is about to become all the rage (just kidding LaTasjia — you’re still my #1 shorty). But seriously … check it out — not only does Doyle’s blog have other good blogstuff such as a relatively personal Flickr gallery, but also he was able to make a solid point for voting McCain in four paragrafs that neither Tom nor my dad could do in four weeks of email manifestos and belligerent phone calls. It’s the kinda writing I’ve grown to expect from Brunson, who clearly has refined his skills in the 36 years since authoring Super/System.

Another pretty good one comes from Annette 15. Even though the Michelle Wie of Poker (?) says she’s really more of a forum girl, Annette Obrestad’s blog (added to the poll by a reader) is filled with worthwhile reads from a young pro making her way through the high-stakes world, live and online. I really dug her post introducing “set mining” to me (the phrase, if not the concept), with a simple, straightforward math-based explanation of when it’s worth seeing if you’re pocket pair can trip up.

Anyhow, just a couple that I’ve found worth the clicks and eyeball time, and possibly a few votes.