Phil Ivey has been branded as the number one poker player in the world by quite a few of the top-ranked professionals. He was born in Riverside, CA and moved to Jersey before his first birthday. His grandfather taught Phil one cent-ante 5-Card Stud poker. From that point on, Phil was addicted to poker and wished to discover anything he possibly could about poker. He routinely would tell his grandparents that he wanted to be a professional poker player. He didn’t let the negative feedback from others kill his ambition of being one of the strongest poker players in the world.
Phil started playing intently after getting a false ID with the name of Jerome. He honed his skills at the casinos in Atlantic City. The initial number of years for him were a teaching period and winning was not a normal outcome at the time. He made his mark at the 2000 WSOP where he achieved 2 final tables and won his first WSOP bracelet, in a $2, five hundred Pot-Limit Omaha event. At the final table he destroyed quite a few of the better known professionals including "Amarillo Slim" Preston, David "Devilfish" Ulliot, and Phil Hellmuth, Jr.
Phil made a decision to take his skills to the successive level and headed out west to Sin City. He continues to compete in in "The Big Game" at the Bellagio with the best players on the planet. Ivey credits his success to hard work and an eternal passion for poker. He says that he is learning every day and is quite humble about his accomplishments. He knows he makes blunders every single game of poker and always aspires to improve.
Although Phil has come first in some large tournaments, he favors winning money games on a normal basis.
