Phil Ivey has been labeled as the greatest poker contender on the globe by many of the top professionals. Phil Ivey was born in Riverside, CA and moved to New Jersey before his first birthday. His grandpa showed him to penny-ante 5-Card Stud poker. From then on on, he was hooked on poker and wanted to pickup whatever he could about the game. He would tell his grandparents that he wanted to be a professional poker player. Phil didn’t allow the detrimental feedback from other people annihilate his goal of being one of the strongest poker competitors in the world.
He began competing intently after acquiring a fake ID by the name of Jerome. He practiced his techniques at the casinos in Atlantic City. The initial number of years for him were a learning period and coming away with a win was not a common thing at the time. Phil became known at the 2000 World Series of Poker where he achieved two final tables and won his first WSOP bracelet, in a $2, 500 Pot-Limit Omaha game. At the last table he defeated quite a few of the well known pros including but not limited to "Amarillo Slim" Preston, David "Devilfish" Ulliot, and Phil Hellmuth, Jr.
Phil decided to take his game to the next level and moved out west to Sin City. Phil continues to participate in in "The Big Game" at the Bellagio with the best players on the planet. Ivey credits his achievements to dedication and an eternal love for the game of poker. Phil says that he’s picking up skills every single day and is quite humble about his accomplishments. He admits to making errors in each game of poker and always strives to improve.
Although Ivey has come first in some large tournaments, he prefers winning cash games on a normal basis.
