Phil Gordon (poker player)

**Phil Gordon**
	File:Philgordon.jpg; Phil Gordon in the World Poker Tour Bay 101 Shooting Stars of Poker event
Nickname(s)	Tiltboy
Hometown	Las Vegas, Nevada
	World Series of Poker
Bracelet(s)	None
Money finishes	14
Highest ITM main event finish	4th (2001)
	World Poker Tour
Titles	1
Final tables	2
Money Finishes	2

This article is about the professional poker player Phil Gordon, not Phil Gordon, mayor of Phoenix, Arizona.

Phil "Tiltboy" Gordon (born July 6, 1970) is an American professional poker player, based in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Before poker

Before starting his poker career, he graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in computer science in 1991. After stints working at Santa Cruz Operation and Lockheed, Gordon joined start-up Netsys Technologies as their first hired employee. In 1996 Netsys was acquired by Cisco Systems, and in 1997 he retired from the high-tech industry to travel the world.

Poker playing

He first entered the World Series of Poker (WSOP) $10,000 no limit hold'em main event in 2001 and finished 4th, winning $400,000 and a spot on the Travel Channel documentary ("Inside the World Series of Poker").

He had two WSOP final table appearances at the 2002, and won the Pro Division of the World Poker Tour (WPT) inaugural tournament in Aruba, before losing to the amateur division's winner Juha Helppi.

In March 2004, he knocked out two players at once (one of whom was Chris Moneymaker) to win the WPT's "Bay 101 Shooting Stars" tournament.

In July 2004, Gordon helped design an online poker cardroom, Full Tilt Poker, where he can be found playing frequently.

As of 2006, Gordon's total live tournament winnings exceed $1,000,000.

Outside the Felt

Gordon is the Founder and CEO of Expert Insight, an educational media company that produces instructional DVDs for different areas of expertise, including poker, blackjack, and golf.

Poker journalism

Gordon is one of the original Tiltboys, a group of northern California poker players.

In 2003 he provided commentary of the WSOP Championship Event for Binion's live Internet broadcast, as well as daily reports for a national radio audience.

He is also the author of three books on poker, including Poker: The Real Deal and Phil Gordon's Little Green Book: Lessons and Teachings in No Limit Hold 'em. He has released a DVD, Final Table Poker.

He was a commentator on Bravo's show Celebrity Poker Showdown, before stepping down in 2006 and being replaced by fellow poker professional Phil Hellmuth.

Gordon has written for poker magazines, and writes a regular column and hosts a radio show, The Poker Edge, for ESPN.com.

Cancer Research

Gordon was taught poker by a woman who died of liver cancer. As such, he has been keen to carry out fundraising as a Board Member of the Cancer Research and Prevention Organization, a charity he has supported since he and fellow poker pro, Rafe Furst, embarked on their Ultimate Sports Adventure tour in 2003-04.

He has raised funds by:

selling a tip booklet he wrote for Celebrity Poker Showdown contestants
forming the grassroots "Bad Beat on Cancer" initiative at the 2003 World Series of Poker. Supporters of the initiative included eventual winner Chris Moneymaker
setting up a $200 entry Roshambo tournament at the 2005 World Series of Poker, with the first prize being a buy-in to the main event, and all profits going to the charity
hosting a celebrity poker tournament one day prior to Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston.

Trivia

Gordon is 6'9" (2.06 meters) tall.
Gordon is featured in the reality dating show Blind Date. Like many of the people appearing in the show, he was known only by his first name.

External links