Lee Nelson

Lee Nelson, M.D. (born January 19, 1943) is a retired New Zealand doctor and now a professional poker player, based in Auckland. He was born in the United States

Nelson is a regular on the Australasian poker tournament circuit, having won two events at the 2005 Crown Australian Poker Championship.

In April 2005, Nelson won the PartyPoker World Open in Maidstone, Kent, England, winning the $400,000 first prize after defeating “Gentleman” Liam Flood in the final heads-up confrontation. He also made the semi-finals of the VC Cup that year whilst in England.

In January 2006, Nelson won the main event of the Crown Australian Poker Championship, taking home AUD$1,295,800

As of 2007, Nelson’s total live tournament winnings exceed $2,000,000.

He also represents PokerStars as one of the poker professionals on their “Team PokerStars“.

Nelson is also the co-author (with Blair Rodman) of the poker strategy book Kill Phil: The Fast Track to Success in No-Limit Hold ‘em Poker Tournaments (ISBN 0-929712-24-2)

Nelson’s hobbies include meditation, nutrition, walking, swimming and yoga.

Nelson co-hosts Joker Poker with Mike Goldman on Network 10 in Australia and also co-hosts the New Zealand version on TV3. Nelson provides expert commentary and explanations of poker rules and strategy to viewers.