Phil Galfond, known as “OMGClayAiken” and “Jman” online, is a nose-bleed stakes cash game expert who also occasionally plays the juiciest tournaments, on both the real and cyber felt. Galfond’s biggest live accomplishment to date is his victory in the 2008 WSOP $5000 Pot-Limit Omaha Rebuy event, which earned him $818K. Perhaps more impressive than the near million-dollar score are the players he beat to get it; the final table featured the likes of Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, John Juanda, Kirill Gerasimov, and David Benyamine. His second biggest cash came at the World Poker Tour Sixth Annual Five Star World Poker Classic, where he finished 70th for $39K. All told, Galfind has over $1 million in live tournament earnings.
Following his WSOP victory, Galfond talked about what it meant to him in an interview with PokerListings: “I felt that I had already proven myself winning in the toughest games online, for a long time now, but I hadn’t really proven myself yet,” he said. “For me it means that I’ve proven myself to everybody else.”
Due to his reputation as a high-limit player, Phil Galfond has appeared on GSN’s “High Stakes Poker” with friend and fellow player Tom “durrrr” Dwan. He has also been a regular contributor to Bluff Magazine since 2007.
In early 2009, Galfond launched BlueFirePoker.com, an online poker training site. He currently serves as lead inscructor and content manager.
Recognized as an extremely intelligent player, Galfond is said to have taken courses in logic, psychology and Bayesian probability strictly to enhance his poker game. It’s this kind of dedication and focus that has impressed both poker fans and pros alike, making Phil Galfond one of the most widely respected players in the game today.
