Poker in the 1970s and 1980s was still an "old school" game led by Texas road gamblers. These rounders drove across Texas and other southern states from smoky back rooms to seedy bars looking for a game with high stakes and a few suckers. Beginning in 1970, Texans like Doyle Brunson, Johnny Moss, Jack Straus, and Thomas "Amarillo Slim" Preston brought their brand of poker to fellow Texan Benny Binion's World Series of Poker and often dominated the field.
Playing poker for a living was seen as anything but glamorous, and the number of high-stakes tournaments was pretty small compared to today.