Phil Ivey has been branded as the best poker contender on the planet by many of the top professionals. Phil was born in Riverside, CA and moved to New Jersey before reaching turning 1. His grandfather introduced him to penny-ante 5-Card Stud poker. From that point on, Phil was hooked on poker and wanted to pickup whatever he could about the game. He routinely would tell his elders that he was planning on being a professional poker player. He didn’t allow the adverse comments from others annihilate his dream of becoming one of the greatest poker players in the world.
Phil started playing seriously after getting a fake ID by the name of Jerome. He practiced his techniques at the poker rooms in Atlantic City. The beginning number of years for him were a learning period and coming away with a win was not a common outcome at the time. Phil became known at the 2000 World Series of Poker when he made two final tables and won his 1st WSOP bracelet, in a two dollar, 500 Pot-Limit Omaha game. At the closing table he defeated quite a few of the better known pros including but not limited to "Amarillo Slim" Preston, David "Devilfish" Ulliot, and Phil Hellmuth, Jr.
He decided to take his game to the next level and headed out west to Sin City. He continues to participate in in "The Big Game" at the Bellagio with the best players on the planet. Phil credits his achievements to discipline and a continuing passion for poker. Phil says that he’s picking up skills every single day and is quite humble about his accomplishments. He knows he makes mistakes in each session of poker and always aspires to get better.
Despite the fact that Ivey has come first in some big tournaments, he prefers destroying money games on a regular basis.