Phil Gordon

Phil Gordon Profile
	Nickname: Tiltboy Full Tilt Username: Phil Gordon Web: www.fulltiltpoker.com Birthdate: June 6th 1970 Birthplace: El Paso, Texas, U.S. Lives: Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Tournaments Won: 1 WSOP Bracelets: 0 Total Winnings: $1,167,079

Phil Gordon’s nickname is Tiltboy. Not because of his affiliation to the Full Tilt Poker website but because he is the most famous of a group of friends and poker players who call themselves ‘the Tiltboys.’ However, Gordon is best known as the host of NBC’s ‘Celebrity Poker Showdown.’ As a television pundit, Phil was invited onto ‘Poker After Dark’ in an edition that pitted TV commentators and poker analysts against each other. Gordon was sitting next to fellow Full Tilt Poker Pro, Howard Lederer and both players were short-stacked, receiving the sort of cards even a poker novice would know to fold. Lederer finally got a hand worth betting on when Gordon piped up, ‘I ran into your mum yesterday,’ before going on to explain he had met Lederer’s mother in the casino where she was playing poker.

Lederer didn’t let it put him off his hand and he took the small pot, all the time vehemently denying it was possible for Gordon to have met his mother in a casino. Gordon expanded by saying she had introduced herself as Howard’s mother and having met her before, knew it was her. Lederer could not believe it and the poker game began to take a back seat as the saga of Lederer’s mother unfolded. Lederer suggested it may have been his stepmother that Gordon met but still thought it sounded an unlikely story and Gordon almost began to doubt it himself. With no action for the pair in the poker game they decide to bet $1000 on the whereabouts of the Lederer matriarch and the TV floor manager went to find a phone to see if Phil’s story could be corroborated.

When Lederer then mentioned his mother’s name, Simone, all uncertainty was swept from Gordon’s mind. ‘I know it was Simone,’ he said, adding ‘back up the truck and get in on some action boys,’ which encouraged the player to his right, Robert Williamson to join in this strange proposition bet. When Howard phoned Simone, she said she hadn’t been in Las Vegas or met Phil Gordon and all at the table bar Williamson and Gordon fell into fits of laughter. ‘I’m not losing my mind,’ Gordon protested but no one else at the table seemed sure. To some extent this is indicative of Phil Gordon, a man who definitely inhabits the poker world but whose flights of fancy often take him to unexpected and unusual places.

Phil was a child prodigy, who skipped a year at school and had earned a degree in computer science by the time he was twenty. His first job involved working on artificial intelligence projects for the military before he took up an offer from Netsys Technologies to become their first employee. He worked for three years as their lead software engineer before receiving a massive payout when the company was bought up by Cisco for $95million. Phil took his share and went on holiday. But Gordon is anything but ordinary and this was no ordinary holiday as he set off around the world in search of adventure. His five year journey took him to more than fifty countries and included tracking gorillas in Uganda, rafting along the Amazon, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, following the Peruvian Inca trails and swimming with Great White sharks in the seas around Zanzibar. When he returned to the U.S. he settled in Nevada and became attracted to the glitz of the Las Vegas gambling world. In 2000, he entered two World Series of Poker events and finished in the money but it was in the following year that he made his name in the poker world when he came fourth in the WSOP main event, winning almost $400,000 in the process. Two final table finishes followed the year after.

Phil had been taught how to play poker by his Aunt Lin when he was just seven years old and after she passed away due to liver cancer, he embarked on another journey during 2003 and 2004. Travelling in a Monster RV, he and his friend, poker pro Rafe Furst, set out on a tour that would take them to 140 major sporting events in a trip they entitled the ‘Ultimate Sports Adventure.’ Their travels focussed on raising funds for the ‘Cancer Research and Prevention Organization,’ a charity that Phil has promoted and made regular donations to ever since. Of course, the pair included the WSOP amongst the sporting events they attended and although in the main event Gordon went out on the second day, he had his first commentary experience at the tournament for the host casino, Binion’s, on their live internet broadcast. He also managed to convince over sixty players to donate 1% of their winnings to a fund he set up called ‘Putting a Bad Beat on Cancer.’ In 2004, at the end of his road trip he was able to celebrate his finest poker hour by securing his first tournament win in the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Stars No Limit Hold’em event. Since then, despite his regular appearances at the WSOP it remains his only tournament triumph so far.

Phil’s U.S. national celebrity status is due to his analysis and commentary on ‘Celebrity Poker Showdown’ where he proved to be a popular presenter for seven seasons. He has also commentated on ESPN’s live coverage of the WSOP in 2006 and 2007 and the show ‘Pro-Am Equalizer.’ As well as this, he can be viewed hamming it up and revealing the ‘thoughts of the pros’ in his instructional DVD ‘Final Table Poker.’ Further advice on the game can be garnered from his book, ‘The Real Deal’ or his handily colour-coded box set ‘Phil Gordon’s Little Books.’ Outside of poker he plays piano, golf and has won two professional Bridge competitions.

Despite having lived a life that most could only dream about, Phil remains an amiable man who is happiest just being one of the guys or more specifically one of the Tiltboys. The Tiltboys are Phil’s close group of friends who regularly meet to play poker and cause mischief. On occasion, the Tiltboys become the Tiltgirls and dressing in drag, try to gain entry into women’s poker tournaments. This is perhaps hardest for Phil who at 6’9” doesn’t fool anyone. Despite this, the group of friends have managed to infiltrate two tournaments though only because of the casino manager’s and their opponents’ good humour. That and the fact that their woeful performances have meant Phil and the Tiltboys have not managed a single cash finish in women’s tournaments between them.  

You can play online poker with Phil Gordon at Full Tilt Poker. Check out our Full Tilt Referral Code FTPGOLD for a sign-up bonus of 100% up to $600 plus private freerolls to live events like WSOP, Aussie Million and WPT plus cash freerolls throughout the year.

You can play online poker with Phil Gordon at Full Tilt Poker.

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