Phil Ivey has been branded as the number one poker player on the globe by most of the top-ranked pros. Phil was born in Riverside, CA and relocated to NJ before reaching the age of 1. His grandpa taught Phil one cent-ante Five-Card Stud poker. From then on on, he was addicted to poker and wanted to learn anything he possibly could about the game. He would tell his elders that he wanted to be a professional poker player. Phil didn’t let the adverse comments from other people annihilate his dream of being one of the strongest poker competitors on the planet.
Phil started competing seriously after getting a false ID with the name of Jerome. He practiced his abilities at the poker rooms in Atlantic City. The beginning number of years for him were a teaching opportunity and winning 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 1st WSOP bracelet, in a two dollar, 500 Pot-Limit Omaha match. At the last table he destroyed quite a few of the well known professionals including but not limited to "Amarillo Slim" Preston, David "Devilfish" Ulliot, and Phil Hellmuth, Jr.
He made a decision to take his game to the successive level and headed out west to Sin City. Phil continues to compete in in "The Big Game" at the Bellagio with the greatest players in the world. Ivey credits his success to discipline and a continuing passion for poker. He states that he’s picking up skills every single day and is quite humble about his achievements. He knows he makes mistakes in each session of poker and constantly strives to improve.
Although Ivey has come first in some big-time tournaments, he prefers destroying cash games on a regular basis.
