Phil Ivey has been branded as the greatest poker competitor in the world by quite a few of the top-ranked professionals. Phil Ivey was born in Riverside, CA and moved to Jersey before his first birthday. His grandfather taught Phil one cent-ante 5-Card Stud poker. From that point on, he was hooked on poker and wished to pickup everything he could about poker. He routinely told his elders that he was planning on being a professional poker player. He didn’t allow the detrimental comments from other people kill his goal of being one of the strongest poker competitors on the planet.
He began playing seriously after getting a false ID with the name of Jerome. He sharpened his abilities at the poker rooms of Atlantic City. The first number of years for him were a teaching period and coming away with a win was not a normal outcome at the time. He became known at the 2000 World Series of Poker when he achieved two final tables and came away with his first WSOP bracelet, in a $2, five hundred Pot-Limit Omaha event. At the final table he destroyed many of the well known pros which includes "Amarillo Slim" Preston, David "Devilfish" Ulliot, and Phil Hellmuth, Jr.
He decided to take his skills to the next level and headed out west to Las Vegas. He continues to compete in in "The Big Game" at the Bellagio with the greatest players on the planet. Phil credits his success to dedication and an immeasurable passion for poker. Phil says that he’s picking up skills every day and is quite humble about his accomplishments. Phil knows he makes errors in each game of poker and always strives to get better.
Despite the fact that Phil has won some large tournaments, he prefers winning money games on a regular basis.