Phil Gordon - Poker Player

Biography

Philip Stewart Gordon is an American professional poker player, commentator, author, and tech entrepreneur. He co-founded the cancer charity fundraiser Bad Beat on Cancer, encouraging players to donate 1% of their winnings.

Background

Phil Gordon was born in El Paso, Texas, but spent his formative years in Stone Mountain, Georgia. He attended Georgia Tech at 15 while still in high school. At the end of 11th grade, he was awarded the National Merit Scholarship. He later dropped out of high school and attended Georgia Tech full-time.

In 1991, Gordon graduated from Georgia Tech with a B.S. in computer science. He later joined the start-up Netsys Technologies, which Cisco Systems later acquired. In 1997, he retired to play poker and travel.

Phil Gordon's Poker Career

World Series of Poker

In 2001, Phil Gordon entered the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event and finished fourth, winning $400,000. In 2002, he made two WSOP final tables and finished sixth in the $2,000 Pot Limit hold 'em event and third in the $2,500 Omaha Hi/Lo Split event. He finished third in the 2005 WSOP and third in the $1,500 No Limit Texas Hold 'em Shootout event.

In 2010, he won the WSOP Ante Up For Africa event and donated $129,086 to the charity.

World Poker Tour

In 2004, Gordon knocked out two players and won the WPT's Bay 101 Shooting Stars tournament. In 2002, he won the professional division of the UltimateBet Aruba tournament and later lost it to Juha Helppi.

Other Events

In 2006, he won the Full Tilt Poker Championship at Red Rock and took $600,000 home. He finished 16th at the 2007 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship tournament and won $25,000.

Online Poker

He was a team member of the Tiltboys, who designed the software used by Full Tilt Poker.

Other Ventures

Commentary

Gordon is a well-known commentator on poker broadcasts. Most notable ones include a commentator on Bravo's Celebrity Poker Showdown for seven seasons. In 2023, he commented on the WSOP Championship Event for Binion's live Internet broadcast. He was a daily reporter for a national radio audience and worked as a commentator for ESPN’s live pay-per-view broadcast.

Author

Gordon has written and published five books on poker, including Poker: The Real Deal and Phil Gordon's Little Green Book: Lessons and Teachings in No Limit Hold 'em. He also worked for poker magazines, wrote a regular column, and hosted a podcast, The Poker Edge, for ESPN.com.

Phil Gordon Net Worth

Phil Gordon has a total live earnings of $2,788,367.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many bracelets has Phil Gordon won?

Phil Gordon has not won a World Series of Poker (WSOP).