phil gordon

[MrEye 0]

I guess I would have gotten a little passionate about those circumstances he went through, thats why im trying really hard not to pass judgement on the guy.

I'm not passing judgement on whether or not I like him or if he plays good or bad, but passionate is different than just flat out angry, especially when you're the only aggressor at the table. I have to think he was doing it for image, otherwise there is no excuse.

I think it was passion. I mean he laughed pretty heartedly when the guy pulled out his cell phone to "phone a friend" and later he pulled out the binoculars to see Suzy's hand. He was having fun when it required it and serious when it called for it. I guess I'll I agree he might have been a little over the top with the stares, but I didn't take it that badly. He did get up and congratulate every player that was eliminated.Just my 2 cents.

[jayistheman 0]

yeah... anyway.and when the one kid was all in with Q 10 or something... he said "this is your pot!" he was almost rooting for his opponent on the flop... the guy turned the flush, but it gave gordon 2 pair.... he looked to be enjoying himself.

[Suited_Up 2]

I dunno, I noticed that too... He seemed completely fine after he busted someone... and I would too... but the staring and slamming chips and throwing down cards... Too much I think.

[MrEye 0]

I dunno, I noticed that too... He seemed completely fine after he busted someone... and I would too... but the staring and slamming chips and throwing down cards... Too much I think.

You're probably right. Like I said, a bit too much.

[CoolHandLaw 0]

I like to think that Phil Gordon is one of the more jovial guys on tour right now, even off tour for that matter. Who else can get away with bringing a pair of binoculars to the final table to lighten the mood? (WPT Shooting Stars) Who else brings a card showing hand rankings to the table and slam down on the table right in front of Phil H when he busts him for a massive pot (In Aruba).Oh Oh, and what about dumping water on himself playing heads up against Juha Hellpi (sp?) haha. He's an intense man, but like its been stated before, its in the heat of the moment and if you dont have that competitive bone in your body then you must hate poker. It's like having sex with making the the 'Big O' face. If you don't make one, then you dont enjoy sex.I think his stare down is more of a read...information gathering, and a "F U man, i'm gonna come back and haunt you!"

[MilesZS 0]

Phil Gordon was a pro player long before Celebrity Poker, just to clear that up. I think some people think he's pro BECAUSE of Celebrity Poker, but that's not true. Celebrity Poker bought his analyzing abilities because he's a quick calculator, and because he actually is a very good-natured gentleman. I think in that event everyone watched last night that Mr. Gordon was mad at himself more than anything. I do this from time to time, I get pissed at myself if I make a wrong play in any game or sport, and people mistake it for being pissed at them. He did take a couple bad beats as well, so he wasn't in the greatest of moods before he folded his 99. And if you want to know if he's any good, did you watch!? Maybe it was just me, but I thought that a couple of his plays were brilliant. The all-in on the K3 was the perfect play. He knew that, no matter how aggressive his reputation, no one would expect him to go all-in with hardly even a draw to the best hand, and Masoud had made that pot large and appetizing. I liked Phil Gordon before, but after seeing that rerun, I actually like him better now. I could do without Dave Foley and Phil's slightly homoerotic off-subject chats on Celebrity Poker, but hey... it's alright, everyone knows there's something wrong with Foley. (this is a 'just joking' situation, for those of you ready to flame me.)

[CrazyEyez 0]

I watched that final table last night as well, and i wasn't impressed. Phil went in with a huge chip lead and wasn't playing well until the 68vsAK hand. He looked nervous to me.I didn't think the hand he won on was very good either. Two guys all-in and you call with A6. He had 3 outs, he got lucky.

[Solodell 0]

Maybe he was a little frustrated....if I remember correctly he started out with a HUGE chip lead, then was losing chips left and right, I think he even lost the chip lead at one point (not sure about that). Anyway, he must've been playing really well before that to amass that lead, so he must've been doing something right. if only the poker on Celeb Poker was soo bad. Funny, I remember seeing him say somewhere that the poker on first season of Celeb was basically unwatchable....

[Suited_Up 2]

I also think he's a good player, especially after seeing that.... I'll let this issue go for now... but on another note... I noticed on Celebrity Poker Showdown, he gets a little frustrated with some of the plays. Like I just saw the one with Lacey Chabert... and she's like... Should I have been more agressive... and he just says "Yeah"... and kind of has this look on his face... and she's like..."I didn't get any good cards"... and he has the same look and almost whispers "It doesn't matter". Kinda funny.

[Chaserjim 0]

I also think he's a good player, especially after seeing that.... I'll let this issue go for now... but on another note... I noticed on Celebrity Poker Showdown, he gets a little frustrated with some of the plays.  Like I just saw the one with Lacey Chabert... and she's like... Should I have been more agressive... and he just says "Yeah"... and kind of has this look on his face... and she's like..."I didn't get any good cards"... and he has the same look and almost whispers "It doesn't matter".  Kinda funny.

LOL

[Rob-L 0]

Has he ever won a WSOP or prior WPT before lat night?

Yes - in the first season of the WPT there was an event in Aruba. They had a pro table and an amateur table. Phil won the pro table. Juha Helpi won the amateur table. Then they played each other heads up and Phil lost to the amateur.He also took 4th in the 2001 WSOP final event. And in 2002 had two final table appearances in a couple of WSOP tourneys.Phil is also the author of a poker book that has received some good reviews.He's a great player. Just because they don't show up on TV doesn't mean they're no good.If you were to go by the first season of the WPT you wouldn't think Daniel was that great because he didn't get a lot of air time. And we all know Daniel kicks ***.

[MilesZS 0]

haha, yeah, that thing with Lacey cracked me up... god damn she's hot ... or as my friends would correct me "No, she's cute dude. Not hot, cute. That's not 'hot'." I think he has a really hard time on Celebrity Poker. He can't stand some of the things they do. There's usually one or two 'ok' players, but in the Lacey Chabert episode the quality was worse than what I had seen previously, I thought. Anyways, back to Phil. You mentioned that these hands are spread out, which to me is a clue that maybe Phil didn't act 'angry' the entire time. There were certainly many clips of him being jovial and friendly, and there wasn't anyone that seemed upset with him, so I would venture to say his competitiveness came out on the big hands. He did lose the chip lead, but it wasn't because he got his money in as a dog, it was because he got drawn out on the river by Masoud. That's why he bluffed the K3 all in, because by taking that pot from Masoud he became the chip leader by a great deal once more. The last hand: He had them both covered, and I think he knew that if it came down to a heads up competition with him still in it, he would have a huge advantage. His style and table presence would have probably been enough to win him that heads up, so he thought he'd just get in there with an Ace when it was only three-handed, with a great possibility of drawing out against the other two. Not necessarily a great play, but a gamble -- and good for TV .

[JRD007 0]

I think the number one characteristic that makes him a good player is that the money doesn't matter. With his competitive nature, winning is everything. There aren't many people who can say the same (but DN is one), and that gives him an edge.

[jogsxyz 0]

Clearly Phil Gordon is a good player. But is he a great player? Don't think so. Last night's TV final was played over two years ago. Don't remember Gordon winning an event since. Gordon doesn't even peek at his two hole cards in the correct way. It gives away that he is not a seasoned poker player.

[MrEye 0]

I also think he's a good player, especially after seeing that.... I'll let this issue go for now... but on another note... I noticed on Celebrity Poker Showdown, he gets a little frustrated with some of the plays.  Like I just saw the one with Lacey Chabert... and she's like... Should I have been more agressive... and he just says "Yeah"... and kind of has this look on his face... and she's like..."I didn't get any good cards"... and he has the same look and almost whispers "It doesn't matter".  Kinda funny.

Ha! That was good. He paused for a second like he couldn't believe she said that.

[Swift_Psycho 1]

"I watched that final table last night as well, and i wasn't impressed. Phil went in with a huge chip lead and wasn't playing well until the 68vsAK hand. He looked nervous to me. I didn't think the hand he won on was very good either. Two guys all-in and you call with A6. He had 3 outs, he got lucky."Just to clarify, he had A-7 (though that's really unimportant). And truthfully, he's just one of those players that believes in getting your money in with the best hand. When Masoud moved in from the button with 10-6, Phil called his 230,000 bet instantly with A-7 because he felt it was the best hand. Moneymaker moved in with J-J for 225,000 more. I think Moneymaker saying before he looked at his cards, "If I don't have aces, I'm folding" hurt him because he became all hesitant after seeing he had jacks. If he had aces, no doubt Moneymaker wouldn't have bothered with asking who would get second place money if they both went out on the hand. I think Phil actually put Moneymaker on the mid-pocket pair that he had and felt his ace was live. If that's the case, he had to call the 225,000 more considering the size of the pot. So, to sum up, calling with the A-7 against Masoud's all-in was a marginal call I think, but calling Moneymaker's re-raise was absolutely necessary after committing that many chips if he put Moneymaker on the hand that he had. You may call it luck, but it was mathematically a good call.

[The Ace of Jades 0]

Phil Gordon isn't just a professional poker player and host of celebrity poker. He's also an author, Poker: The Real Deal (my first poker book), and tilt boy extroidonair.He's a pretty smart guy, if you've ever seen him around cards, you could see this last night when he called someones al in, he'll just spout the odds. It's crazy. I think this WPT win is the first big title he's had, not sure about that though.If you check out www.tiltboys.com you can see him in excellent form. Great stories about him and his friends goin to Vegas and betting on everything from the over/under on the golf game to who's bag would come out first at the air port to the over/under on who loses the circle game the most. And through it all doing their best to get every one else on tilt, not to mention each other.You can see him play on Full Tilt, I've unfortuantly yet to catch him on there.

[Saint Joel 0]

no problem.... but in all honesty, werent u impressed by what you saw last night?  i cant recall any mistakes that he made off the top of my head...  his agression was relentless, and sometimes he got caught... but imagine the number of pots he was picking up in the hands that werent shown.

i dont really remember any big mistakes he made, but should have lost a lot of chips on that hand that he bluffed that other guy (who was about he equal in chips) out of. if that guy sensed weakness he really should have moved allin on phils bet on the turn instead of just calling, with his open ended straight and flush draws, phil woulda folded and been left with like 300000 i think, he was playing with pretty much no competition, everyone else either made some mistakes, or didnt have the chips to do anything,

[TheIceman05 0]

Gordon doesn't even peek at his two hole cards in the correct way.  It gives away that he is not a seasoned poker player.

You're right. I'm pretty sure all of us are very confused. Phil Gordon's just a rank amateur. The reason he carries that hand-chart around is because he needs help reading his hands. Once, I was playing with him at the Taj. I showed two pair, and he flipped his hand over triumphantly and said, "Small Straight."(rolling my eyes)Ice

[KDawgCometh 2]

people comment on all of the amateurs at the table, but remember that the shooting star tourny has tons of good pros in it every year. This tourny has been around for a while and its not like the bounty heads are the only good players.

[digitalmonkey 929]

So, has anyone read his book? If so, is it any good?

[JFarrell20 1]

I saw the re-run again last night and I though Gordon acted like a real snotty, condescending jerk. He almost made Moneymaker cry."OH, I KNEW you were making a move on me. Mousoud doesn't call, I call you in a HEARTBEAT". Who the F cares, Phil? You got screwed by position... deal with it.Then he throws his hands in the air when the board would have made him trips. Then the board makes Masoud a straight and he's all quiet...F-in brat.learn some manners Phil. You're on TV. Moneymaker wasn't "making a move" with AQ suited. He moved all in to isolate, you moron.Then Phil ends up winning and he grabs both guys and talks to them like they're 6 years old, "You guys both played fabulously, be proud of yourselves". Give me a break, Phil. No one's buying it!But to answer the original post. yeah he looks like a player to me.

[KDawgCometh 2]

So, has anyone read his book?  If so, is it any good?

its a fun read, not very srtategy heavy, but it is entertaining

[MilesZS 0]

You guys will jump on someone's back for anything, won't ya? Had he sat there quietly and not said a word all night:Good lord, this guy is boring, he has not competitive bone, he should be excited, blah blah.It's like you guys forgot that people get real caught up in their emotions in games like that. Hellmuth, Arieh, I can't even remember how many people have acted so much worse than Gordon supposedly did, and they did it on a more consistent basis. Like I said, I guarantee you Phil was not happy with his play at the final table, and it came off as him being an ass to everyone else. Guaranteed. I am about ready to just sit on Full Tilt so I can get a quote from him or something. I have this problem, especially when I play tennis. I get pissed at myself for missing an easy shot for the point, and I start cussing and what-not. Then the friend I'm playing is like "jeez, what is your problem?" "I'm not mad at you, I'm mad at myself for missing that shit."It happens people. Phil's a classy guy, and I didn't really think his actions on that rerun were so horrible. In fact, when he did get a bit loud and upset, everyone looked at him like they had no idea what was going on. Why? Because he was very mild mannered the rest of the time. Michael Jordan is classy, no one will deny that. I clearly remember a game when Reggie Miller and him got into it, physically, and I believe both were ejected.Look what you did, you guys made me write a long-ass post.

[techlava 0]

I saw the re-run again last night and I though Gordon acted like a real snotty, condescending jerk.  He almost made Moneymaker cry."OH, I KNEW you were making a move on me.  Mousoud doesn't call, I call you in a HEARTBEAT".  Who the F cares, Phil?  You got screwed by position... deal with it.Then he throws his hands in the air when the board would have made him trips.  Then the board makes Masoud a straight and he's all quiet...F-in brat.learn some manners Phil.  You're on TV.  Moneymaker wasn't "making a move" with AQ suited.  He moved all in to isolate, you moron.Then Phil ends up winning and he grabs both guys and talks to them like they're 6 years old, "You guys both played fabulously, be proud of yourselves".  Give me a break, Phil.  No one's buying it!But to answer the original post.  yeah he looks like a player to me.

This reminds me of all the posts about Josh Arieah's conduct during the WSOP. I don't think it's our job to judge a person's character from what we see on TV, which btw is only a fraction of the time the players spent at the tournament. I've played with Phil on Full Tilt, and he has always been courteous and competitive at the same time. One thing to keep in mind about Phil, he probably has more money then all the top names in poker combined, so his motivation for playing poker is simply the competition and pride.