Phil Ivey has been branded as the greatest poker player on the globe by many of the top professionals. He was born in Riverside, CA and relocated to New Jersey before his first birthday. His papa taught him penny-ante Five-Card Stud poker. From that point on, he was addicted to poker and wanted to pickup every little thing he could about the game. He would tell his elders that he was going to be a professional poker player. He did not allow the adverse comments from other people destroy his dream of being one of the strongest poker players in the world.
Phil started playing seriously after getting a fake ID with the name of Jerome. He honed his techniques at the casinos of Atlantic City. The beginning number of years for Phil were a teaching experience and coming away with a win wasn’t a normal thing at the time. He became known at the 2000 WSOP where he made two final tables and came away with his first World Series of Poker bracelet, in a two dollar, 500 Pot-Limit Omaha event. At the last table he defeated quite a few of the better known pros including "Amarillo Slim" Preston, David "Devilfish" Ulliot, and Phil Hellmuth, Jr.
He decided to take his skills to the successive level and headed out west to Sin City. Phil continues to compete in in "The Big Game" at the Bellagio with the greatest players on the planet. Phil credits his achievements to hard work and a continuing passion for poker. He states that he’s learning every single day and is very abashed about his success. Phil knows he makes mistakes every single session of poker and always aspires to improve.
Even though Ivey has come first in some big tournaments, he prefers destroying cash games on a normal basis.
