Phil Galfond

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Residence:		New York City
Birthdate:		1985
Career Highlights:		18th place in the 2006 WSOP Circuit Jack Binion ($22,895) 70th place in the 2008 WTP Five Star World Poker Classic ($39,570) 1st place in the 2008 WSOP $5k Pot Limit Omaha ($817,781) $1.7 million won in one day in online cash on Full Tilt
Affiliated Poker Room(s):		NA
Personal Website:		Bluefirepoker.com
Products:		Blue Fire Poker

Phil Galfond

Phil Galfond is a quiet unassuming figure at the live tables, so those who have shared the felt with him may be surprised to hear that he regularly dominates the nosebleed stakes online. On Full Tilt Poker, where he is known as “OMGClayAiken”, he is a regular in the biggest games around, and is often sited as one of the top 10 online cash players in the world.

Although he is well know to legions of internet railbirds, TV viewers and live players first got a real taste of him at the 2008 World Series of Poker. At the final table of the $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha w/ Rebuys, he found himself up against Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, John Juanda, Johnny Chan, and David Benyamine. There were a combined 28 WSOP titles lined up against him, but he knocked them all down on his way towards his first ever bracelet.

In a post-tournament interview he revealed that he was unfazed by the mass of talent arrayed against him. The 23 year old said that he had played with most of them online and that he felt he had more Pot Limit Omaha experience than 2/3rds of the final table. He also made a brief appearance on High Stakes Poker, but was uncharacteristically tight. He later explained that he played only the last 2 hours of one day and was saving his big stack for the following full session. However, at the last minute he was informed that he was to be replaced due to a lack of entertainment value. Despite his disappointment, he still managed to pick up $20,000 in the short time he was in the game.

His other live tournament highlights include a 70th place finish in the $25,000 No Limit Hold ‘em Championship for $39,570 and 18th place in the 2006 WSOP Circuit event in Tunica for $22,895. He has 6 WSOP cashes and 1 WPT cash in total, and has live tournament earnings of $1 million.

Galfond’s bread and butter is the online cash scene. He belongs to a group of extreme high stakes players who exchange hundreds of thousands of dollars every day. He is found playing the $200/$400 game on Full Tilt most days of the week, competing with the likes of Phil Ivey, Gus Hansen, Tom Dwan, and Ilari "Ziigmund" Zahamies. His tournament earnings are dwarfed by his cash game takings. He even managed to make a profit of $1.7 million in one single day.

His off-beat nickname “OMGClayAiken” was apparently chosen as a reaction to the cocky boastful screen-names displayed by a large number of online grinders. He is also a regular poster on the famous 2 + 2 forums under the username jman28. Much of Phil’s expert advice can now be found at his training site Bluefirepoker.com. Along with a cadre of online grinders, Phil has put together a package of training videos designed to drastically improve the game of online pros.

Common Misspellings: Phil Galphond, Phil Gallfond, Phil Galfonde

Learn more about Phil Galfond at Blue Fire Poker.

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