Phil Gordon has a cooler life than anybody you know.

After graduating from Georgia Tech with a degree in computer science in 1991, Gordon joined Netsys Technologies, a California software company that later sold for $79 million - a sale that helped fund the start of Gordon's career as a professional poker player.

In his first World Series of Poker tournament in Las Vegas in 2001, Gordon finished fourth and earned $400,000. Not long afterward, he and another poker buddy embarked on a yearlong RV tour of America through its sporting events, visiting the Super Bowl, the Kentucky Derby, the Indy 500, and the Final Four, among scores of other stops.

The road trip raised $100,000 for the Cancer Prevention and Research Foundation, and Gordon still raises money for cancer research - donating all his winnings from online poker to charity.

Now 36, Gordon - who has won more than $2 million in live poker tournaments - is trying to become the world's foremost poker teacher with a line of books and DVDs through the educational media company he founded, Expert Insight.

"Even the biggest tournaments I've won, even making final table at the World Series of Poker, nothing can compare at all to the feeling I got when I walked into bookstore and saw my book on the shelf in a bookstore for the first time," Gordon said.

He'll be in Council Bluffs putting on an intense 1-hour poker seminar on Feb. 3.


Q and A with Gordon

Q. You graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in computer science and then went on to work for Netsys Technologies. Are there skills from your days in computing that you use today in poker?

A. Yes and no. There's not a whole lot of overlap. But computer science and computer programing generally requires critical thinking and process. Every time it's my turn to bet, I run a little script through my head. In computer programing, you have to think the same way.

Q. Do you see poker more as a game of mathematics or a game of intuition?

A. Poker is 20 percent mathematics, 70 percent psychology, and 10 percent brass balls. I have the mathematics nailed. I have very high confidence in my mathematical ability at the table. The psychology part I'm still learning more every day. And I definitely have the brass balls.

Q. One of the reasons poker has become so popular is that feeling that any average Joe off the street could win and become a millionaire. What are the chances that one of these average Joes from Iowa will be at the final table during the World Series of Poker event in Council Bluffs?

A. There are going to be 10 people at the final table, and there's not a lot of pros who will make that trip (to Iowa). My guess is there's going to be lots of people from Council Bluffs and the surrounding area at the final table. If 200 people are entered in the event, 10 make the final table. So you enter an event like that and you're a 1 out of 20 average to make the final table. With my experience and track record I'm maybe 1 in 8, but no better than that.

Q. When a well-known poker player like yourself is playing against the average Joes, do they try to hone in on the famous guy? Does that make things more difficult?

A. There are two people you see. There are the people who go after you at every opportunity, or the people who stay away from you because they're afraid to take chips. I prefer the latter. ... It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. When you're seen playing poker on TV, people playing against you tend to fold too much. It allows the best players in world to dominate the table. It's not so much their physical presence as their perceived dominance that gets them to the final table. ... I can't go anywhere and be unknown now. I'll certainly look around the table to see players reluctant to go in on a hand with me. You can sense that reluctance.

Q. You've worked on artificial intelligence for the government, you were a National Merit Scholarship finalist, you traveled around the world for five years. You're a well-rounded, intelligent guy. Do you see your poker career leading to other things, or do you want to stay as a professional poker player for a long time?

A. The thing is, (poker legend) Doyle Brunson is fond of saying it takes a minute to learn and a lifetime to master. I'm always trying to get better, playing online, talking to players, talking to the world's greatest players. I know there are weaknesses in my game, and I'm working on them constantly. Sometimes I get a little impatient (at the poker table). I can get myself into bad situations. I get my money into the pot in bad spots. But I don't want to give away too much because I don't want people to be targeting those weaknesses!

Q. Do you think this poker boom is going to last? Do you think it's going to be a permanent part of the American culture?

A. I think it already is. Five years ago before poker was televised, I'd tell people I'm a pro poker player and they'd say I'm out of my mind. Now you're signing autographs. Every weekend there's a $10,000 buy-in (tournament), and they're all around world. It's in Australia, it's coming to Southeast Asia. The coverage on ESPN is unrivaled. I don't think it's going away.

Q. What game do you think is most similar to poker? Chess?

A. It's certainly not like chess. Chess is game of complete information. The entire scope of your position is weighed out before you. You know where your opponent's pieces are, and they know where yours are. A poker game has incomplete information. You can speculate what your opponent has, but it's only speculation. In my mind a very similar game is backgammon. You don't know what's coming on dice. And it's also a little bit like bridge.

Q. Is poker a game of luck?

A. In the short term, it's a game of luck. If I play you on one hand, we're about 50-50. If we play 10 hands, I'll take all the money in your pocket. If we play 100 hands, I'll have your car. 1,000 hands and I'd own your house. But the great thing about the game is anyone truly can win. Over the short term, anything can happen. Most experienced players can get lucky. That's part (of the) game. If bad players didn't win, it wouldn't be such a popular game.

Q. When you're playing in tournaments against these average Joes, what do you see as the most common poker errors?

A. I think people play too passively. You want to be the person who bets and raises and not the person that checks and calls. If you knew exactly what hole cards I had, calling a bet would almost never be correct. If you have the best hand you should be raising. If you don't have the best hand you should be folding. I think raise or fold. I like to raise first because it'll get me into an aggressive mind-set. There are only two mistakes you can make at the poker table: not putting chips in the pot when you have the best shot, and putting too many chips in the pot when you don't have the best shot. ... When I bet into you, I give you chance to make both mistakes.

Q. At your first World Series of Poker event in 2001, you finished fourth and won $400,000. Did your life change immediately?

A. It didn't. I already had money from my previous stuff. But it made me realize I could compete with the best in the world in game I love.

Q. Your total live tournament winnings exceed $2.3 million. Do you think this "dream life" will keep on going until you're done with it?

A. No. But no doubt in my mind I'll still be playing poker. I'm the CEO of Expert Insight (an educational media company that publishes Gordon's poker books). We have 15 employees, and we're growing rapidly. But I really love teaching the game more than I like playing the game. I hope to continue to do television. It helps me teach what I know to the masses in a quick and fun manner. It really is a great game, and it can bring you a great amount of satisfaction, joy and money if you're good at it. I know I'm not the best player in world, but I think I could be the best teacher in the world.