Phil Ivey has been labeled as the number one poker contender in the world by many of the top-ranked pros. Phil Ivey was born in Riverside, CA and relocated to New Jersey before reaching turning one. His grandfather taught Phil one cent-ante Five-Card Stud poker. From that point on, he was hooked on poker and wanted to learn whatever he could about poker. He would tell his parents that he was planning on being a professional poker player. Phil didn’t allow the detrimental feedback from others destroy his dream of becoming one of the greatest poker competitors in the world.
He started playing seriously after getting a fake ID by the name of Jerome. He sharpened his abilities at the casinos in Atlantic City. The initial number of years for him were a teaching period and coming away with a win wasn’t a normal thing at the time. He made his mark at the 2000 WSOP when he made two final tables and won his first World Series of Poker bracelet, in a two dollar, 500 Pot-Limit Omaha game. At the last 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 next 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 achievements to discipline and an immeasurable passion for poker. Phil says that he is picking up skills every day and is quite abashed about his accomplishments. He admits to making errors in each session of poker and always strives to improve.
Despite the fact that Phil has won some big-time tournaments, he favors winning money games on a regular basis.