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Paul Phillips has been playing in big poker tournaments since the late
1990s, after making a lot of money the height of the dot-com boom by selling
stock he earned from his job as Chief Technical Officer for a company called
Go2Net.com. Knowing exactly when to get out of a hand is a business skill that
has translated well at the poker tables for Phillips: since 1999 he has won
over $2.2 million in tournaments throughout the United States and Europe. Of
those wins, 11 have been in tournaments featuring games other than
no-limit hold'em. That an intellectual like Phillips would enjoy games as diverse as
lowball draw, pot-limit
Omaha, and
seven card stud hi-lo is no real surprise.
Neither is his outspokenness, given his background as a frequent contributor
to the rec.gambling.poker newsgroup on the internet.
The times before poker and TV got together were quite different from today,
where nearly every professional has his own web presence and poker strategy
posts abound on websites dedicated to the game. The rec.gambling.poker
newsgroup, or RGP as it is frequently abbreviated, was once the shining light
of poker knowledge on the internet. Much like the atmosphere of website
message boards can be, the tone of newsgroup discussions is often harsh -
people who never have to face one another say things they might otherwise hold
back, and "flame wars" frequently develop. Paul has been posting to RGP for
some time, and has gained a reputation there as a respected poker mind. Along
the way, he's also earned the enmity of others who don't appreciate his
sometimes bristly style (or his complex opinion on
Phil Hellmuth).
In recent years Paul has continued to post to RGP but has also maintained
his personal LiveJournal.
Reading Phillips' site is infinitely entertaining to anyone who isn't put off
by his style. He chooses to write about topics all over the map; one day you
might read a discussion of how much equity he held in a particular triple-draw
lowball hand, and the very next post might focus on how to build your own DVR
for recording television. He interacts frequently with commenters on his site,
who range from star-struck television viewers to other serious players, and
never holds anything back. His philosophy is that on his site, he can say
whatever he wants - and there's rarely a spot where he doesn't want to say
something of interest.
Anyone who reads Phillips' writing regularly won't be surprised when they see
him in action. His deep thinking about the game and desire for intellectual
stimulation have spurred him on to a great deal of success. He's cashed in 7
WSOP events since 1999 and made 3 WPT final tables the last three years. The
most impressive of those WPT finishes was when he won the 2003 Bellagio
Five-Diamond World Poker Classic, fending off a final table that included
Chip
Jett, Mel Judah,
Gus Hansen, and Dewey Tomko. He finished 2nd on the money
list in 2003 after going on the sort of tournament run that most players dream
about, a feat even made even more impressive when placed against the backdrop
of his "semi-retirement" the previous year. Because money isn't a motivator
for a rich man, winning was all Paul wanted - and in 2002, making lots of
final tables only to come up short time and again made him want to quit. His
impressive run in late 2003 continued into the next year, when he made a run
at WSOP Player of the Year honors.
When Paul Phillips isn't busy writing or playing in
big buy-in tournaments,
chances are he's finding some way or another to toy with Phil Hellmuth. When
the two played at the National Heads-Up Poker Championship in 2005 - a match
that inspired a
CardPlayer article from the former WSOP champ - Paul showed up wearing
a Hellmuth hockey jersey with pocket nines (Hellmuth's winning WSOP hand from
1989) on the back. On his site he has written many times about his fascination
with the unintentional comedy of poker's self-professed boy genius, and in
fact has proclaimed himself Hellmuth's watchdog. Anyone who thinks this is out
of malice would probably be surprised to learn that one of the players
Phillips admires the most for his skill is none other than Phil Hellmuth.
There are few players as interesting on as many levels as Paul Phillips. His
presence in the game today, and in the
online poker community as well, is a
welcome one.
Paul Phillips Official Site
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