What’s the mistake that you spent the most time thinking about afterward?

Phil Gordon: A-6 of diamonds at the World Series of Poker. It was 2001, the championship event. There were only four players left: me, Stan Shrier, Dewey Tomko and Carlos Mortensen.
I was second in chips with 1.2 million, Stan and Dewey both had 500,000 or so, and Carlos had the rest, about three-point-something million. I was under the gun, Stan was in the small blind, Dewey was in the big blind, and the blinds were like 25,000 and 50,000, and I moved all-in for 1.2 million, which was a very big mistake. Carlos had pocket queens and called me in a shot, knocked me out in fourth. It still bothers me. I literally dream about the hand at least once a week.

Who’s the player you just can’t get a read on?

Phil Gordon: John Juanda. For some reason, he is the toughest player I play against on a regular basis. He’s capable of changing speeds at any moment. He just has my telephone number. I just don’t understand it. Every time we’re in a pot and I call him, he turns over the nuts. And every time we’re in a pot and I fold, he turns over a complete bluff. I just don’t get it. I just want to pull my hair out, what little I have left.

For entertainment value, which player do you most look forward to having at your table?

Phil Gordon: In terms of someone from Hollywood, Kevin Nealson from Saturday Night Live. He’s one of the funniest guys in the world. I’ve played with him a couple of times, and he’s just incredibly, incredibly funny. And a decent player to boot.

In the world of professional poker, I’d probably want to have Mike The Mouth (Matusow) at the table. Though he is loud and obnoxious, he’s loud and obnoxious in an endearing way. The first time that I was at a table with Mike was the 2001 World Series – he busted out sixth in that tournament – and we’ve been good friends ever since. He was just as talkative and just as obnoxious at the final table as he has been at all the other ones he’s been at, but for some reason I don’t find what he does nearly as offensive or tiring as Phil Hellmuth’s act.

Why are people named Phil so darned good at poker?

Phil Gordon: Well, “Phillip” is Greek for “lover of horses”. A love of horses naturally leads you to the track at an early age, you learn to gamble at the track, and as soon as you learn to gamble it’s a very quick transition from gambling at the track to gambling around the poker table.

If you’re USA-based, like Phil, you can play some great online at Bookmaker Poker or BetOnline Poker.