Phil Ivey has been branded as the number one poker competitor in the world by many of the top-ranked professionals. Phil Ivey was born in Riverside, CA and relocated to NJ before reaching the age of one. His grandfather introduced him to penny-ante Five-Card Stud poker. From then on on, he was hooked on poker and wanted to learn everything he could about the game. He routinely would tell his parents that he wanted to be a professional poker player. He did not allow the detrimental feedback from other people kill his goal of becoming one of the strongest poker players on the planet.
Phil began playing intently after getting a fake ID with the name of Jerome. He sharpened his skills at the casinos of Atlantic City. The initial number of years for Phil were a learning period and winning wasn’t a normal thing at the time. Phil became known at the 2000 WSOP when he made two final tables and came away with his first WSOP bracelet, in a two dollar, five hundred Pot-Limit Omaha match. At the final table he defeated a number of the better known professionals including but not limited to "Amarillo Slim" Preston, David "Devilfish" Ulliot, and Phil Hellmuth, Jr.
He decided to take his skills to the successive level and headed out west to Sin City. He continues to compete in in "The Big Game" at the Bellagio with the best players in the world. Phil credits his success to hard work and an eternal passion for poker. Phil says that he’s picking up skills every day and is quite humble about his achievements. Phil admits to making errors in each game of poker and constantly aspires to get better.
Even though Phil has won some big tournaments, he prefers winning cash games on a regular basis.