Rhetorical Analysis of Phil Galfond Poker Blog

Photo by: Phil Galfond Blog website

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Photo by: Supl0v Poker

Phil Galfond: Casual Poker / Life Advice

By: William Hargett

English 101

Dr. Daniel Lupton



For my first major blog post, I have decided to create a rhetorical analysis of a popular poker blog site, Phil Galfond’s poker blog (philgalfond.com). Authored by renowned poker pro Phil Galfond, this blog is targeted towards beginner to intermediate poker players. The blog not only delves into poker strategy, but also shares personal experiences that demonstrate how the game has affected his lifestyle. Galfond uses casual and sometimes humorous diction to help the readers relate to his content. A simple and easy to follow website format combined with Galfond’s anecdotes also contributes to the rhetorical success of the blog. Using both a extensive comment page and by allowing users to submit questions that he responds to on the blog, it is evident that Galfond truly values connecting with his readers.



Galfond’s diction is a crucial element in his rhetorical strategy. He utilizes informal and comical diction to connect with his readers and seem more credible, and therefore, become more relatable. For example, Galfond begins each blog post with “Hey Guys.” Galfond also implemented some humor into the blog with his contact and bio page. The contact page on the blog reads that if you need to get in contact with him for some reason, then you should “try to find someone who knows me.” Additionally, in the post titled “Poker and your life,” Galfond is discussing life choices related to poker. He asks humorously, “Do you think you have what it takes to be a very good poker player? Great! That means you're a person.” He uses this humorous intro to go into personal traits required to be a good poker player, such as humility. The bio page is also interesting, as it opens with “I feel like anyone who’s made it here knows plenty about me and my poker career.” I found this particularly interesting considering that I am a casual poker fan who stumbled onto this blog having absolutely no idea who Phil Galfond was. Other aspects of Galfond’s diction on the blog include what could be interpreted as self-centered. Galfond states in his bio page, “Outside of poker, I like lots of things. Read my blog sometime, and maybe you'll hear about them.” These parts of the blog may be conveyed as boastful but are most likely implemented in the blog to show that the author is confident and congenial.




Galfond’s format furthers his connection with his readers. With only three sub-tabs (“Blog” “About Phil” “Contact”), the site is very easy to navigate. It also shows a menu of all of the recent posts with previews, which provides links to see the full articles. This allows the reader to quickly gauge interest in a large amounts of articles. The relatively plain format of the articles, with text and only picture or video, also demonstrates to the simplistic feel of the blog. The subtitle of the blog, “pro poker player. person,” is another example of how Galfond tries to connect with his readers. Galfond is acknowledging his poker prowess while also trying to emphasize as more than simply a poker player.




Galfond’s personal experiences are the backbone of the entire blog. His very sophisticated and experienced poker expertise provides credibility with readers. There is a complete section of the blog labeled “personal,” where Galfond explains parts of his private life to the reader in order to be perceived as more of an average person or a friend, as opposed to a guy on an online poker blog who only provides instructions. Galfond has essentially dominated both the online and table games in his career, and he stresses in the more intimate sections of his blog that you should maintain a wholesome life balance. He provides all kinds of advice such as how poker affects your relationships and your education. For example, he includes a section concerning dropping out of college. He advises that “I would almost always recommend that someone plays poker on the side of their main job/education until they can be certain that they are very successful at it, and that they still love to play.” Galfond’s advice concerning relationships and poker is “Spend time with people you enjoy, people you love. Be good to everyone, but especially the people most important to you. That is where your happiness will come from in the long run.” After each blog post, the comment section is typically full with remarks and questions. Galfond also reaches his readers by encouraging these question submissions to him. He addresses some of these questions personally in his blogs and through other mediums. This is another example of how he reaches his readers by becoming more than just a source of internet poker knowledge.




I chose to do my rhetorical analysis on this blog because I have had a passion for poker since a very young age. I hope that one day that my blog’s clarity and originality compare to Phil Galfond’s. That is all for my first big blog post! Thanks for reading!