Phil Gordon:  Entrepreneur, Poker Player, Author, Philanthropist
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Going for the Gold

10/10/2011

7 Comments

 
I'm thrilled that my "Little Gold Book" is released worldwide tomorrow.  This is my fourth and last poker instructional book.  I gave it everything I had.  I had tons of help, including insights and tutoring from some of the very best in the game: Phil Galfond, Annette Oberstad, and Daniel Cates.  I also spent a great deal of time with one of the truly great "young guns" Anders Taylor.  This book, and the revamping of my game, couldn't have happened without them.

Writing is very difficult, especially when under intense stress.  Poker 2.0 (combinatorics, range analysis, combined probability, simulation, heads up displays) is complex and difficult.  Teaching to a worldwide, diverse audience of different skill sets and keeping it readable for all is more or less near impossible.  And still, I gave it my best shot.  There is something in the Gold Book for everyone -- of that, I'm sure.

I have enormous pride in my books.  I can't begin to tell you how great it makes me feel to walk the halls of the WSOP and have people come up to me and say that they loved the Black, Green and Blue books.  I've had many sessions at the table where the guy next to me was actually listening to the Green book on his iPod while I'm sitting next to him -- strange, but awesome.  There are 500,000+ copies in print as of today, and I have 12 different translations sitting on my shelf.  That is amazing and humbling.

As my "professional" poker career comes to an end, I realize that beyond the television shows, unsuccessful bracelet chase, successes and dramatic failures, I am most proud of the fact that I've helped hundreds of thousands of people understand and enjoy this great game just a little bit better.  

My results and reputation as a player won't get me into the Poker Hall of Fame -- of that I'm certain.  But, I'm equally certain that there are players out there -- perhaps you, dear reader -- that learned from my books that absolutely will end up in the hall and wearing bracelets.  That is good enough for me.

This Gold Book is for my two sons, Xander (now 3 1/2) and Zachary (almost 2).  In the dedication, I say: "With everything you do in your lives, go all-in."  And now, with the publication of this book, I'm all-in too.

October 10, 2011
Phil Gordon
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7 Comments
Brittany Frederick link
10/10/2011 01:19:33 pm

Congratulations, Phil! I saw it on the shelves at a Barnes & Noble in Costa Mesa and it looks great (just waiting for my copy from Amazon to arrive!). I was very proud to hand it to my friend and tell her, "I know the guy who wrote this book." She was suitably impressed.

Thanks again for all you've done for me over the years. I'm enjoying considerable success now and I know I wouldn't have any of it if you hadn't first taken a chance on an unproven sportswriter...all my best to you and your family!

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Phil in Richmond, VA
11/6/2011 01:56:08 pm

I can't wait to read it!

Congratulations on a long and storied career well spent.

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Mark Bowron link
2/26/2012 12:48:11 pm

Just downloaded the Gold to my Kindle a few days ago after reading the Green Book for the first time a few months ago (and loving it!)

One quick comment re figuring the probability of a suited hand in NLHE. I understand it's important for players to know how to count explicitly among the 1326 starting hands how many satisfy this-or-that criterion when the criterion is complex, but when it is just "suited hand," it's much quicker and easier to notice that given the first card dealt, there are exactly 12 other cards in the deck among the remaining 51 that will make the hand suited, so the probability has to be 12/51 (no matter what the suit of the first card is).

This reasoning is almost the same as that used to deduce the number 1326 in the first place, so it seemed to me it could have been used in the book instead of using the chart. But I'm not saying it should have been used, because after all this is a poker book, not a math book. The chart served to illustrate the usual method of counting that must be resorted to for all but the simplest of criteria.

Looking forward to reading the rest of the book!

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Joe link
4/12/2012 03:06:13 am

I started to play poker with the little green book but I've been stuck for a while. Gold book is what I needed so thank you!!

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Chief executive officer salary link
5/16/2013 05:40:15 pm

congr8s Phil for this post...!!

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Grendilon
4/27/2014 02:14:38 am

Phil, Please make an audio version of the Gold Book. I learned so much from the Green Book years ago by listening to it in my car every day during my commute. The are tons of paker boods. There are a few good poker books. There are very few good audio poker books. I think an audio version of the Gold Book could be a money maker for you.

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Tev link
3/29/2016 09:44:27 pm

Hi Phil,

I checked out the "Little Green (audio) Book" from Mesa, AZ public library last week and have been listening to it every day in my truck. It's still relevant today, I won a Texas Hold Em tournament for the first time on Monday. I've been playing this Tournament for six months with no luck. Thank you for teaching strategy and sharing your knowledge and making a legacy.

Yours Truly,

Tev Castro

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