Phil Gordon

• Nickname: Tiltboy
• Facebook: Phil-Gordon-poker-player
• Twitter: @PhilNoLimits
• Website: www.philnolimits.com
• Birthdate: 6th July 1970
• Birthplace: El Paso, Texas
• Residence: Newport, Washington
• Biggest Win: $600,000
• Total Winnings: $2,786,896
• Sponsored by: Ex Full Tilt Poker

Phil Gordon’s nickname is Tiltboy. Not because of past 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.

Phil was a child prodigy, he skipped a year at school and 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 $95 million. Phil took his share and went on holiday.

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 focused 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 among 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’. To date the organisation has raised 3.8 million dollars.

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, he has other tournament triumphs to his name including topping a WSOP Ante Up For Africa Charity event in 2010.

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’, his handily color-coded box set ‘Phil Gordon’s Little Books’ and his Little Gold Book: Advanced Lessons for Mastering Poker 2.0 that was released in 2011.

Gordon retired from poker at the end of 2011, he founded Jawfish Games and serves as CEO and Chairman of the Board. He plays the piano, golf, beach volleyball and backgammon and has won two professional bridge competitions. He lives on a ranch with his wife, their two young boys and numerous animals.

Last updated July 2013