 Phil Gordon, born in 1970 is a Gemini from El Paso, Texas. He learned to play poker from his aunt when he and his sister would visit her for summer breaks in South Carolina. He entered college at only 15 on a National Merit Scholarship and had graduated with a degree in computer science by the age of 20 from Georgia Tech. After working for a few years and receiving a piece of the $95 million in cash and stocks from his company, Netsys Technologies, Inc., he set out to travel the world. His journey took him to South America, where he built a raft from balsa wood and floated up the Amazon River, and to Uganda, where he tracked gorillas.
Once he got around to playing poker, he was well prepared, placing 4th in the 2001 WSOP championship event. In the 2002 WSOP, he went on to make two final tables, finishing 6th place in a Pot-Limit Hold ‘em event and 3rd place in Omaha Eights-or-Better. That same year, he was invited by Ultimate Bet to play in a WPT event in Aruba, where he took 1st place and a $250K cash prize. In 2003, Gordon served as Binion’s live Internet broadcaster for the WSOP, giving daily reports on news radio and morning shows, which prepared him for a career in poker broadcasting, as he would eventually host NBC/Bravo’s Celebrity Poker Showdown. He continues to win poker tournaments and has also written three books about poker. He is also an advocate for cancer research and raises money for the cause via his “Bad Beat on Cancer” initiative.
His books include, The Real Deal, Phil Gordon’s Little Green Book: Lessons and Teaching in No-Limit Texas Hold ‘em, and Phil Gordon’s Little Blue Book: More Lessons and Hand Analysis in No-Limit Hold ‘em. These books are excellent resources, by the way, for a poker player of any skill level. He’s a funny and intelligent writer, to say the least.
Gordon now lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, where many poker pros end up. In his lifetime, he’s accumulated more than $1 million in official tournament winnings, but his cashes have undoubtedly risen above this number in total; however, he has yet to earn a WSOP bracelet. His career isn’t over yet, though, as he is very successful in all his many endeavors and is quite the entertainer, as well as poker player.
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