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Paul Phillips (poker player)
Encyclopedia
Paul Phillips is an American
entrepreneur and poker
player.
web server while attending the University of California, San Diego
, but no longer maintains it. In 1994, one of his colleagues at college
discovered he had an interest in blackjack
and subsequently introduced him to poker.
In 1996 he became Chief Technical Officer for Go2Net. This success is the basis of his nickname Dot-com
.
Currently Phillips is heavily involved in the development of the Scala compiler and standard library. He is co-founder of Typesafe, a company specializing in the production and support of the open-source platform Typesafe, for enterprise software development based upon Scala and Akka.
(WSOP) in the early 2000s due to comments he made about the way in which the Horseshoe
split entry money between players and casino
employees. Despite being reinstated as a competitor in late 2001, he only played one event in 2002 (placing 2nd to John Juanda
in the $1,500 triple draw
lowball Ace to Five
event).
Despite choosing not to play in the WSOP, Phillips finished 2nd in the 2003 Tournament Poker Money List.
In 2004 he made three WSOP final tables (one in Omaha hi-lo split and two in no limit
hold'em.)
He spoke out against the inclusion of Phil Hellmuth Jr
, Doyle "Texas Dolly" Brunson
and Johnny "Oriental Express" Chan
in the 2005 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions
, and subsequently became the subject of message board flame wars
.
Phillips has played in both of the first two National Heads-Up Poker Championship
s, losing in second round play both years.
As of 2010, his total live tournament winnings exceed $2,300,000. However, Phillips has no tournament cashes since 2005.
In an April 27, 2009, article in The New Yorker
on neuroenhancement, Phillips was quoted at length discussing his use of prescription drugs such as Adderall
and Provigil to improve his focus and concentration during tournament play.
to Bend, Oregon
.
Phillips is also active amongst internet
bulletin boards and regularly plays tournament Scrabble
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
entrepreneur and poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
player.
Programming
Phillips wrote the BoaBoa (web server)
Boa is an open-source, small-footprint web server that is suitable for embedded applications. Originally written by Paul Phillips, it is now maintained by Larry Doolittle and Jon Nelson.Slashdot and Fotolog use Boa to serve images....
web server while attending the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
, but no longer maintains it. In 1994, one of his colleagues at college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
discovered he had an interest in blackjack
Blackjack
Blackjack, also known as Twenty-one or Vingt-et-un , is the most widely played casino banking game in the world...
and subsequently introduced him to poker.
In 1996 he became Chief Technical Officer for Go2Net. This success is the basis of his nickname Dot-com
Dot-com company
A dot-com company, or simply a dot-com , is a company that does most of its business on the Internet, usually through a website that uses the popular top-level domain, ".com" .While the term can refer to present-day companies, it is also used specifically to refer to companies with...
.
Currently Phillips is heavily involved in the development of the Scala compiler and standard library. He is co-founder of Typesafe, a company specializing in the production and support of the open-source platform Typesafe, for enterprise software development based upon Scala and Akka.
Poker
Phillips is known as a controversial figure in the poker world. He was banned from competing in the World Series of PokerWorld Series of Poker
The World Series of Poker is a world-renowned series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2005, sponsored by Harrah's Entertainment...
(WSOP) in the early 2000s due to comments he made about the way in which the Horseshoe
Binion's Horseshoe
Binion's Horseshoe, also known as the Horseshoe Casino or simply The Horseshoe, was a hotel and casino located in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada on what is now the Fremont Street Experience. The casino was named for its founder, Benny Binion and had 366 rooms, three restaurants and a rooftop pool.The...
split entry money between players and casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
employees. Despite being reinstated as a competitor in late 2001, he only played one event in 2002 (placing 2nd to John Juanda
John Juanda
Johnson "John" Juanda is a Chinese Indonesian professional poker player based in Marina del Rey, California. Juanda lives in Los Angeles.-Personal life:...
in the $1,500 triple draw
Draw (poker)
A poker player is drawing if they have a hand that is incomplete and needs further cards to become valuable. The hand itself is called a draw or drawing hand. For example, in seven-card stud, if four of a player's first five cards are all spades, but the hand is otherwise weak, they are drawing to...
lowball Ace to Five
Lowball (poker)
Some forms of poker, often called lowball, sometimes called low poker, reward poor poker hands . There are four common variations on this idea, differing in whether aces are treated as high cards or low cards, and whether or not straights and flushes are used. The methods are:* Ace-to-five low:...
event).
Despite choosing not to play in the WSOP, Phillips finished 2nd in the 2003 Tournament Poker Money List.
In 2004 he made three WSOP final tables (one in Omaha hi-lo split and two in no limit
Betting (poker)
In the game of poker, the play largely centers on the act of betting, and as such, a protocol has been developed to speed up play, lessen confusion, and increase security while playing...
hold'em.)
He spoke out against the inclusion of Phil Hellmuth Jr
Phil Hellmuth
Phil Hellmuth is an American professional poker player. He is best known for holding a record 11 World Series of Poker bracelets, for winning the Main Event of the 1989 World Series of Poker and for his temperamental, "poker brat" personality...
, Doyle "Texas Dolly" Brunson
Doyle Brunson
Doyle F. Brunson is an American professional poker player who has played professionally for over 50 years. He is the first two-time World Series of Poker main event champion to win consecutively, a Poker Hall of Fame inductee, and the author of several books on poker.Brunson is the first player to...
and Johnny "Oriental Express" Chan
Johnny Chan (poker player)
Johnny Chan rather than his Chinese birth name. born in Guangzhou, China in 1957) is a Chinese American professional poker player. He has won 10 World Series of Poker bracelets, including 1987 and 1988 World Series of Poker main events consecutively....
in the 2005 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions
World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions
The World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions is an invitational freeroll poker event. Wins in this event do not count as official WSOP bracelets, but the winner receives a large trophy in the shape of the official World Series of Poker logo. In 2010, the WSOP Tournament of Champions returned...
, and subsequently became the subject of message board flame wars
Flaming
Flaming, also known as bashing, is hostile and insulting interaction between Internet users. Flaming usually occurs in the social context of an Internet forum, Internet Relay Chat , Usenet, by e-mail, game servers such as Xbox Live or Playstation Network, and on video-sharing websites...
.
Phillips has played in both of the first two National Heads-Up Poker Championship
National Heads-Up Poker Championship
-2006:- 2007 :-2008:In additional to the poker professionals, several poker-playing celebrities from other fields were invited: Gabe Kaplan, Don Cheadle, Jennifer Tilly, Shannon Elizabeth, Jason Alexander and Orel Hershiser. Also invited was Alisha Kunze of Greensburg, Indiana, who won her seat...
s, losing in second round play both years.
As of 2010, his total live tournament winnings exceed $2,300,000. However, Phillips has no tournament cashes since 2005.
In an April 27, 2009, article in The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
on neuroenhancement, Phillips was quoted at length discussing his use of prescription drugs such as Adderall
Adderall
Adderall is a brand name of amphetamine salts–based medication used for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and narcolepsy. It is a brand-name psychostimulant medication composed of racemic amphetamine aspartate monohydrate, racemic amphetamine sulfate, dextroamphetamine saccharide, and...
and Provigil to improve his focus and concentration during tournament play.
Personal life
Phillips is married with two daughters, and has not played as many poker tournaments since 2005 to spend more time with his family. Phillips and his family recently relocated from ColoradoColorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
to Bend, Oregon
Bend, Oregon
Bend is a city in and the county seat of Deschutes County, Oregon, United States, and the principal city of the Bend, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area. Bend is Central Oregon's largest city, and, despite its modest size, is the de facto metropolis of the region, owing to the low population...
.
Phillips is also active amongst internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
bulletin boards and regularly plays tournament Scrabble
Scrabble
Scrabble is a word game in which two to four players score points by forming words from individual lettered tiles on a game board marked with a 15-by-15 grid. The words are formed across and down in crossword fashion and must appear in a standard dictionary. Official reference works provide a list...
.
External links
- Paul Phillips's weblog on livejournalLiveJournalLiveJournal is a virtual community where Internet users can keep a blog, journal or diary. LiveJournal is also the name of the free and open source server software that was designed to run the LiveJournal virtual community....
- Paul Phillips's personal website
- PokerLizard.com Interview
- World Poker Tour Profile