Phil Ivey has been referred to as the number one poker contender on the planet by quite a few of the top pros. Phil was born in Riverside, CA and moved to Jersey before his first birthday. His grandpa taught him penny-ante 5-Card Stud poker. From then on on, Phil was hooked on poker and wished to pickup everything he could about poker. He routinely told his grandparents that he wanted to be a professional poker player. He didn’t allow the detrimental feedback from other people destroy his goal of being one of the greatest poker players in the world.
Phil began playing seriously after getting a false ID with the name of Jerome. He practiced his techniques at the casinos in Atlantic City. The beginning number of years for Phil were a teaching period and coming away with a win wasn’t a normal outcome at the time. He became known at the 2000 World Series of Poker where he achieved 2 final tables and came away with his 1st WSOP bracelet, in a two dollar, 500 Pot-Limit Omaha match. At the closing table he destroyed a number of the well known professionals including "Amarillo Slim" Preston, David "Devilfish" Ulliot, and Phil Hellmuth, Jr.
He decided to take his game to the next level and moved out west to Las Vegas. Phil continues to compete in in "The Big Game" at the Bellagio with the greatest players in the world. Phil credits his success to hard work and an undying love for the game of poker. Phil says that he is learning every single day and is quite abashed about his success. He knows he makes mistakes in each game of poker and constantly strives to get better.
Despite the fact that Ivey has won some big-time tournaments, he likes winning cash games on a normal basis.