Phil Ivey has been branded as the greatest poker contender in the world by quite a few of the top professionals. Phil Ivey was born in Riverside, CA and moved to Jersey before his first birthday. His papa introduced him to one cent-ante Five-Card Stud poker. From then on on, Phil was hooked on poker and wished to pickup every little thing he possibly could about poker. Phil would tell his grandparents that he was going to be a professional poker player. Phil did not let the negative feedback from others annihilate his ambition of becoming one of the greatest poker competitors on the planet.
He started playing seriously after acquiring a fake ID with the name of Jerome. He honed his game at the poker rooms in Atlantic City. The initial number of years for him were a teaching period and coming away with a win wasn’t a regular outcome at the time. Phil made his mark at the 2000 World Series of Poker where he achieved 2 final tables and came away with his first World Series of Poker bracelet, in a $2, 500 Pot-Limit Omaha event. At the last table he destroyed a number of the well known professionals which includes "Amarillo Slim" Preston, David "Devilfish" Ulliot, and Phil Hellmuth, Jr.
Phil decided to take his skills to the next level and moved out west to Vegas. He continues to compete in in "The Big Game" at the Bellagio with the best players in the world. Ivey credits his achievements to hard work and a continuing passion for poker. Phil states that he is picking up skills every day and is very humble about his accomplishments. He knows he makes blunders in each game of poker and constantly aspires to get better.
Although Phil has come first in some large tournaments, he favors winning money games on a normal basis.