Phil Ivey has been referred to as the best poker player in the world by many of the top professionals. Phil was born in Riverside, CA and moved to New Jersey before his first birthday. His grandfather introduced him to one cent-ante 5-Card Stud poker. From then on on, Phil was hooked on poker and wanted to discover every little thing he possibly could about poker. He routinely would tell his parents that he wanted to be a professional poker player. Phil didn’t permit the detrimental comments from others destroy his dream of being one of the strongest poker players on the planet.
He began playing seriously after getting a fake ID by the name of Jerome. He practiced his techniques at the poker rooms in Atlantic City. The first number of years for Phil were a learning period and winning wasn’t a common thing at the time. Phil became known at the 2000 WSOP when he achieved 2 final tables and won his first World Series of Poker bracelet, in a $2, five hundred Pot-Limit Omaha match. At the last table he destroyed a number of the well known pros including "Amarillo Slim" Preston, David "Devilfish" Ulliot, and Phil Hellmuth, Jr.
He decided to take his game to the successive level and headed out west to Las Vegas. Phil continues to play in "The Big Game" at the Bellagio with the best players on the planet. Ivey credits his success to dedication and a continuing love for poker. Phil says that he is picking up skills every single day and is incredibly humble about his achievements. Phil knows he makes mistakes every single session of poker and constantly strives to get better.
Despite the fact that Ivey has come first in some big-time tournaments, he likes winning cash games on a normal basis.