In poker lore, the best stories tend to begin with jackpot wins, steady nerves, or the occasional threat of murder. Doyle Brunson has all those tall tales-and we’ll get to them in due time. He has won millions while bluffing, stared down killers in parking lots, and pried his chips-quite literally-from the hands of death.

But this saga doesn’t start there. Instead, it starts with Brunson in retreat.

It was May 1972 at Binion’s Horseshoe, in downtown Las Vegas. Tables were jammed together in an improvised poker room to seat eight players who had each bought in at $10,000 for a chance to win the third annual World Series of Poker.