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Documented hands · 1976–1977
The starting hand became famous because of its place in poker history.
What happened
The WSOP archive records Brunson winning the 1976 and 1977 final hands with 10–2, against Jesse Alto and Gary Berland respectively.
Two memorable outcomes create a nickname; they do not create a complete preflop strategy. To assess a decision, we would need the betting, positions, stacks, opponent’s range and cards available at that moment. A list of final hands cannot supply all of those inputs.
What the case teaches
Separate three objects: the starting cards, the strongest five-card hand at showdown, and the decision made before the later cards were known. They can tell very different stories. As an unrelated illustration, 10–2 on a board of 10–10–2–7–A makes a full house; on A–K–Q–8–3 it does not. Neither board is presented as the historical final-hand board. This comparison shows why a nickname cannot stand in for context.
Should beginners play 10–2 because Brunson won with it?
The two wins are not a starting-hand recommendation. Position, price, stack depth and opponents matter far more than the nickname.
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Sources
Source pages checked 5 October 2026. Historical results refer to the dates stated; examples marked hypothetical are Casino101 calculations.
