Phil Ivey has been branded as the number one poker player in the world by quite a few of the top pros. He was born in Riverside, CA and moved to New Jersey before reaching turning 1. His grandfather taught Phil penny-ante 5-Card Stud poker. From then on on, he was hooked on poker and wished to discover anything he possibly could about the game. He routinely would tell his parents that he was planning on being a professional poker player. He didn’t allow the negative feedback from others destroy his goal of becoming one of the strongest poker competitors in the world.
He started playing seriously after getting a fake ID with the name of Jerome. He sharpened his game at the casinos of Atlantic City. The first number of years for Phil were a teaching opportunity and coming away with a win was not a common thing at the time. Phil made his mark at the 2000 WSOP when he made 2 final tables and came away with his first World Series of Poker bracelet, in a two dollar, 500 Pot-Limit Omaha event. At the closing table he destroyed many of the well known pros including "Amarillo Slim" Preston, David "Devilfish" Ulliot, and Phil Hellmuth, Jr.
He made a decision to take his game to the next level and headed out west to Las Vegas. Phil continues to play in "The Big Game" at the Bellagio with the greatest players in the world. Ivey credits his achievements to discipline and an eternal passion for the game of poker. He says that he’s picking up skills every single day and is quite abashed about his accomplishments. Phil knows he makes errors every single session of poker and constantly strives to get better.
Despite the fact that Phil has come first in some big-time tournaments, he prefers destroying cash games on a normal basis.