Phil Ivey has been referred to as the greatest poker contender in the world by most of the top professionals. Phil was born in Riverside, CA and moved to Jersey before his first birthday. His grandfather taught Phil penny-ante 5-Card Stud poker. From that point on, he was hooked on poker and wanted to learn whatever he could about the game. Phil routinely would tell his grandparents that he was going to be a professional poker player. Phil did not let the detrimental feedback from other people annihilate his ambition of becoming one of the best poker players in the world.
Phil began playing seriously after getting a false ID with the name of Jerome. He practiced his abilities at the poker rooms of Atlantic City. The first number of years for him were a learning period and winning wasn’t a normal outcome at the time. Phil became known at the 2000 WSOP when he achieved 2 final tables and came away with his first WSOP bracelet, in a two dollar, 500 Pot-Limit Omaha match. At the final table he defeated quite a few of the well known professionals which includes "Amarillo Slim" Preston, David "Devilfish" Ulliot, and Phil Hellmuth, Jr.
He decided to take his game to the successive level and moved out west to Las Vegas. He continues to participate in in "The Big Game" at the Bellagio with the greatest players on the planet. Ivey credits his success to hard work and an undying love for the game of poker. He states that he is picking up skills every single day and is quite humble about his accomplishments. Phil admits to making blunders in each game of poker and constantly aspires to get better.
Despite the fact that Phil has won some big tournaments, he prefers winning cash games on a regular basis.