Phil Ivey has been referred to as the greatest poker player on the planet by most of the top-ranked pros. He was born in Riverside, CA and moved to Jersey before reaching the age of one. His grandfather taught Phil penny-ante Five-Card Stud poker. From that point on, Phil was hooked on poker and wanted to learn everything he could about poker. Phil routinely would tell his grandparents 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 playing intently after acquiring a fake ID by the name of Jerome. He practiced his game at the poker rooms of Atlantic City. The beginning number of years for Phil were a teaching period and coming away with a win was not a regular thing at the time. Phil made his mark at the 2000 World Series of Poker where he achieved 2 final tables and came away with his 1st World Series of Poker bracelet, in a two dollar, 500 Pot-Limit Omaha event. At the last table he destroyed a number of the well known pros including but not limited to "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 Vegas. Phil continues to participate in in "The Big Game" at the Bellagio with the best players in the world. Ivey credits his success to dedication and an eternal love for the game of poker. Phil states that he is picking up skills every single day and is quite humble about his success. He admits to making errors in each session of poker and always strives to improve.
Despite the fact that Phil has won some large tournaments, he prefers winning money games on a regular basis.
