Phil Gordon

Name:Phil Gordon

Nickname: Tiltboy

Born: July 6, 1970

Resides:Las Vegas, NV

Affiliation: Full Tilt Poker

WSOP Bracelets: 0

WPT Championships: 1

Phil “Tiltboy” Gordon

Phil Gordon did not originally intend to become a professional poker player. His extreme intelligence and chosen career path led him to become a millionaire before ever entering the professional poker circuit. Since then he has earned himself more than $1.6 million in tournament cashes and authored a number of books on the subject of professional poker and winning poker strategies.

In 1991, Phil Gordon graduated from Georgia Tech, earning a degree in Computer Science. Phil spent a short period of time working for Santa Cruz Operations and Lockheed before becoming the first hired employee of start-up company Netsys Technologies. Cisco Systems acquired Netsys Technologies in 1996, turning Phil Gordon into an instant millionaire.

In 1997, before Phil Gordon had even reached the ripe age of 30, he retired from the world of technology to travel the world and play professional poker. It wasn’t until 2001 that Phil made a name for himself, finishing 4th in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event.

Phil Gordon earned his first major tournament cash in May of 2000, finishing 14th place in WSOP Event #16, Limit Omaha Hi/Lo, and 26th in Event #18, Pot Limit Hold’em, earning $4,400 and $3,600 respectively. The next year, Phil made his way into his first 2001 WSOP World Championship Main Event, a No Limit Hold’em match, where he finished in 4th place and pocketed $399,610.

The 2002 WSOP saw Phil Gordon finishing in two final tables, taking 6th place in a $2,000 Pot Limit Hold’em event and 3rd place in $2,500 Omaha Hi/Lo Split. Gordon cashed three more times in the 2005 WSOP, earning $66,055 for an 8th place finish in Event #7, No Limit Hold’em; $4,970 for finishing in 27th place of Event #11, Pot Limit Hold’em, and $75,350 for a 3rd place win at Event #16, Texas Hold’em Shootout.

Phil Gordon cashed another four times in the 2006 WSOP, and again in the 2007 WSOP, the highest being a 4th place finish in the No Limit Hold’em Championship at Harrah’s New Orleans Poker Tournament, a WSOP Circuit Event.

Phil Gordon Gets WPT Win in Grand Style

Phil Gordon made history at the World Poker Tour (WPT) 2004 Bay 101 Shooting Star Tournament by sending two players to the rail in a single hand to win 1st place in the WPT No Limit Hold’em event, earning Phil $360,000.

Gordon took down the 2006 Full Tilt Poker Championship at Red Rock on Thanksgiving Day, beating out Roland De Wolfe in a heads-up showdown. This 1st place finish earned Phil his biggest single cash prize to date, $600,000.

In 2007, Gordon entered the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship. He defeated both Scotty Nguyen and Jamie Gold, champion of the 2006 WSOP Main Event, to advance through the tournament, but came up short of the final table. Gordon finished in 16th place, pocketing a purse of $25,000.

Phil Gordon the Author

Phil Gordon has penned a number of books related to playing professional poker. His first publication, “Poker: The Real Deal” sold more than 100,000 copies within the first 4 months. Phil pushed the envelope with the release of his next book, titled “The Little Green Book of No-Limit Hold’em”, which to this day is regarded as a definitive no-limit hold’em strategy guide. Phil contributed to the book “Tales From the Tiltboys”, authored by Team Full Tilt members Phil Gordon and Kim Scheinberg.

Phil Gordon’s works were made available in a box set in late October of 2006. ‘Phil Gordon’s Poker Box Set’, which has received phenomenal reviews from readers and poker enthusiasts, includes “Phil Gordon’s Little Green Book”, “Phil Gordon’s Little Blue Book” and “Phil Gordon’s Little Black Book”, which is actually a renamed version of his first published works, “Poker: The Real Deal”.

In addition to his authored books, Phil Gordon also produced a poker strategy DVD, “Expert Insight: Final Table Poker”. Phil hosts a podcast for ESPN.com titled “The Poker Edge”, airing since April of 2006. He also writes a regular column for ESPN.com.

Phil Gordon has made many appearances as a commentator for various poker programs. His most notable commentating was a seven-year stint, on Bravo’s “Celebrity Poker Showdown”. Gordon stepped down from his position in 2006. Gordon also provided commentary for Binion’s live Internet broadcast of the 2003 WSOP Championship Event, along with daily, national radio reports.

In 2006 and 2007, Phil Gordon was a commentator for ESPN during the live pay-per-view broadcast of the WSOP Main Event Championships. ESPN’s “Pro-Am Poker Equalizer”, first aired in January of 2006, also saw Phil Gordon providing lead expert commentary.

Phil Gordon and the CRFP

At a young age, Phil’s aunt taught him to play the game of poker, before her life was claimed by cancer. Gordon has put a great deal of effort into fundraising for the Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation (CRFP), a charity organization of which Phil Gordon is a Board Member.

Phil has facilitated multiple charity events, including $200 buy-in tournaments awarding entry to the WSOP Main Event and Celebrity Poker Tournaments. Gordon has also sold tip booklets to raise funds, as well as donating private lessons and autographed books for donations of $500 and $50 respectively (available at the CRFP web site). All proceeds went to the Cancer Research and Prevention foundation.

Poker Tournament Wins

No Limit Hold’em FullTiltPoker.Net Championship

2004 $5,000 WPT No Limit Hold’em Championship Bay 101 Shooting Stars