Phil Ivey has been branded as the number one poker competitor in the world by many of the top pros. He was born in Riverside, CA and moved to NJ before reaching turning one. His grandpa taught him penny-ante 5-Card Stud poker. From then on on, Phil was addicted to poker and wished to pickup every little thing he possibly could about the game. He routinely would tell his elders that he wanted to be a professional poker player. Phil didn’t allow the negative comments from other people kill his goal of becoming one of the strongest poker competitors on the planet.
Phil started competing seriously after acquiring a fake ID by the name of Jerome. He honed his skills at the casinos of Atlantic City. The initial number of years for him were a learning period and winning wasn’t a normal thing at the time. Phil made his mark at the 2000 World Series of Poker where he achieved two final tables and came away with 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 which includes "Amarillo Slim" Preston, David "Devilfish" Ulliot, and Phil Hellmuth, Jr.
He decided to take his game to the next level and moved out west to Sin City. He continues to play in "The Big Game" at the Bellagio with the best players in the world. Ivey credits his success to hard work and an undying love for poker. He states that he’s learning every single day and is quite humble about his achievements. He knows he makes blunders in each session of poker and always strives to improve.
Despite the fact that Phil has won some big-time tournaments, he likes destroying cash games on a regular basis.
