Brunson 10

The ESPN.com show “Inside Deal” recently made its return and featured a story about the race among some poker players to become part of the prestigious “Brunson 10”. The Brunson 10 represents pro poker players for the site Doyle’s Room (www.doylesroom.com), the namesake of longtime pro poker player Doyle Brunson.

There are four online poker stars vying for a slot on the Brunson 10, a group of pro poker players that – in a reversal of the usual method of finding pro players for a site – are handpicked by Brunson himself. Dan “djk123” Kelly said he is excited by the possibility of being on the prestigious team.

“I like the idea of the Brunson 10,” said Kelly, a former No. 1 player on the poker rankings site PocketFives.com, “I know pretty much all the guys who are in it, I am friends with them, and I think it would be really cool to be a part of it.”

Whichever of the players that Brunson is watching finish at the top of the leader board after the ongoing 2010 WSOP will be picked for the 7th spot on the team.

Also vying for a spot on the team are David “Doc Sands” Sands and Faraz “The Toilet” Jaka, who made a final table at the PokerStars North American Poker Tour recently. Jaka has been a pro for other sites in the past, namely PokerStars and UB.com, and is enjoying his current run for a spot on the Brunson 10.

“I met Pamela Brunson at a couple of other events and she really liked my game and how I was playing,” Jaka told “Inside Deal”. “I heard about what the site was trying to do with the Brunson 10 and loved the idea of being able to represent Doyle. He’s the one guy in the poker world that no one has a bad thing to say about.”