Phil Ivey has been labeled as the best poker contender in the world by many of the top pros. Phil was born in Riverside, CA and moved to NJ before his first birthday. His grandpa taught him one cent-ante Five-Card Stud poker. From then on on, he was hooked on poker and wanted to pickup everything he could about the game. Phil routinely told his grandparents that he wanted to be a professional poker player. Phil didn’t allow the negative comments from other people annihilate his goal of being one of the greatest poker players on the planet.
Phil started competing seriously after getting a fake ID by the name of Jerome. He practiced his game at the poker rooms of Atlantic City. The first number of years for Phil were a teaching period and winning wasn’t a common thing at the time. Phil made his mark at the 2000 World Series of Poker where he achieved 2 final tables and won his first WSOP bracelet, in a two dollar, five hundred Pot-Limit Omaha event. At the last table he defeated quite a few of the well known professionals including but not limited to "Amarillo Slim" Preston, David "Devilfish" Ulliot, and Phil Hellmuth, Jr.
Phil made a decision to take his skills to the next level and moved out west to Sin City. Phil continues to participate in in "The Big Game" at the Bellagio with the greatest players on the planet. Ivey credits his achievements to dedication and an undying love for poker. He says that he’s picking up skills every day and is very humble about his achievements. Phil admits to making mistakes every single game of poker and always strives to improve.
Despite the fact that Ivey has come first in some big-time tournaments, he favors winning cash games on a normal basis.
