Phil Ivey has been labeled as the number one poker contender on the planet by quite a few of the top pros. Phil was born in Riverside, CA and relocated to Jersey before his first birthday. His grandpa taught him penny-ante Five-Card Stud poker. From then on on, Phil was hooked on poker and wished to discover anything he could about poker. Phil routinely told his parents that he wanted to be a professional poker player. He did not allow the adverse comments from other people destroy his goal of becoming one of the strongest poker players in the world.
Phil started competing intently after acquiring a false ID by the name of Jerome. He honed his abilities at the poker rooms of Atlantic City. The first number of years for him were a learning experience and coming away with a win wasn’t a common thing at the time. Phil became known at the 2000 World Series of Poker where he made two final tables and won his first World Series of Poker bracelet, in a two dollar, 500 Pot-Limit Omaha game. At the last table he defeated quite a few of the well known pros including "Amarillo Slim" Preston, David "Devilfish" Ulliot, and Phil Hellmuth, Jr.
Phil made a decision to take his skills to the successive level and moved out west to Vegas. He continues to participate in in "The Big Game" at the Bellagio with the best players in the world. Ivey credits his achievements to hard work and a continuing passion for poker. Phil states that he’s learning every day and is incredibly abashed about his success. He admits to making errors every single session of poker and constantly aspires to get better.
Even though Phil has won some big-time tournaments, he favors winning money games on a regular basis.
