Poker player

Philip Galfond

United States

Philip Galfond is an American professional poker player, known for his outstanding performance in online high-stakes cash games and for founding the 'Galfond Challenge' series. He is the founder of the poker strategy website Run It Once and is regarded as an important contributor to modern poker theory.

Career earnings: $ 3,126,76314 views

Early Life and Personal Life

Phil Galfond was born on January 16, 1985, in North Potomac, Maryland, USA. He attended Thomas Sprigg Wootton High School and later the University of Wisconsin–Madison. On May 15, 2015, he married actress Farah Fath, and in December 2018, they welcomed a son named Spencer.

Poker Career

Online Poker

Galfond is known online by the screen names "OMGClayAiken" (on Full Tilt Poker) and "MrSweets28" (on PokerStars). He has long played high-stakes cash games at $200/$400 and above, mainly No-Limit Texas Hold'em and Pot-Limit Omaha. As of May 2011, his online career net profit exceeded $8 million, making him one of the most successful online poker players in history. He chose the name "OMGClayAiken" as a contrast to the then-popular "macho" style of usernames, hoping opponents would feel embarrassed losing to him. After Black Friday in 2011, Galfond briefly moved to Vancouver, Canada, to continue playing online poker.

Live Tournaments

As of February 2020, Galfond's live tournament earnings exceeded $2.9 million. He has 32 WSOP cashes, 24 of which occurred in WSOP events, contributing approximately $2.877 million.

World Series of Poker (WSOP)

Galfond has won three WSOP gold bracelets:

Year	Event	Prize
2008	$5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha (Re-buy)	$817,781
2015	$10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Single Draw Championship	$224,383
2018	$10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship	$567,788

In 2008, he defeated Adam Hourani for the title, with a star-studded final table that included Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, John Juanda, and others. In 2015, he won the $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Single Draw Championship with 77 entrants. In 2018, he won the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Championship. His best result in the WSOP Main Event was 141st place in 2010.

World Poker Tour (WPT)

Galfond has two WPT cashes: 70th place in the $25,000 WPT World Championship in April 2008 ($39,570), and 24th place in the $10,000 WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic in December 2012 ($31,714).

Other Events

Notable results include 18th place in the 2006 WSOP Circuit event at Grand Casino Tunica ($22,895) and several WSOP Online cashes.

High-Stakes Challenges and the Galfond Challenge

In 2019, Galfond launched the "Galfond Challenge," a series of high-stakes heads-up matches against top players, which attracted significant attention from the poker community. This series became a key highlight of his later career.

Poker Education and Entrepreneurship

Galfond founded the poker training site Run It Once Training, where he also served as a coach. He also operated the real-money poker room Run It Once Poker. He shares poker strategy and insights through his free In Position newsletter, YouTube channel, and personal website.

Playing Style

Galfond is known for a tight-aggressive (TAG) foundation, adept at adjusting his strategy based on opponents, and emphasizes mathematical calculations and range analysis. In Pot-Limit Omaha, he demonstrates exceptional hand-reading skills and bet-sizing design, earning praise as "precise and aggressive."

Trivia

His online ID "OMGClayAiken" is derived from American Idol singer Clay Aiken, deliberately chosen as a "non-macho" name.
He once purchased two penthouse apartments in New York City and connected them with a slide.
His performances on Full Tilt Poker earned him multiple appearances on the GSN show High Stakes Poker.

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