Phil Ivey has been referred to as the number one poker competitor on the globe by many of the top-ranked pros. He was born in Riverside, CA and moved to Jersey before reaching the age of 1. His grandfather introduced him to one cent-ante Five-Card Stud poker. From that point on, he was addicted to poker and wanted to discover anything he could about poker. He would tell his parents that he was going to be a professional poker player. Phil didn’t allow the detrimental feedback from other people annihilate his ambition of becoming one of the best poker players in the world.
Phil started playing intently after acquiring a fake ID by the name of Jerome. He sharpened his game at the casinos of Atlantic City. The initial number of years for Phil were a teaching opportunity and coming away with a win wasn’t a common thing at the time. Phil became known at the 2000 WSOP where he achieved 2 final tables and came away with his first WSOP bracelet, in a two dollar, 500 Pot-Limit Omaha match. At the final table he destroyed quite a few of the well known pros including "Amarillo Slim" Preston, David "Devilfish" Ulliot, and Phil Hellmuth, Jr.
He made a decision to take his skills to the next level and moved out west to Vegas. Phil continues to compete in in "The Big Game" at the Bellagio with the best players on the planet. Ivey credits his success to hard work and an eternal love for the game of poker. Phil states that he is picking up skills every single day and is incredibly humble about his achievements. He admits to making errors in each session of poker and always strives to improve.
Despite the fact that Phil has come first in some big-time tournaments, he likes winning cash games on a regular basis.
