Phil Ivey has been referred to as the greatest poker contender on the planet by many of the top-ranked professionals. Phil Ivey was born in Riverside, CA and relocated to Jersey before his first birthday. His grandfather taught him penny-ante 5-Card Stud poker. From then on on, Phil was addicted to poker and wished to pickup anything he possibly could about poker. He routinely would tell his elders that he wanted to be a professional poker player. He did not let the negative feedback from other people kill his goal of being one of the strongest poker competitors on the planet.
Phil began competing intently after acquiring a fake ID by the name of Jerome. He practiced his techniques at the casinos in Atlantic City. The beginning number of years for Phil were a teaching opportunity and coming away with a win wasn’t a regular outcome at the time. He became known at the 2000 WSOP when he achieved two final tables and came away with his first WSOP bracelet, in a $2, five hundred Pot-Limit Omaha game. At the final table he defeated 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 game to the next level and moved out west to Las Vegas. He continues to compete in in "The Big Game" at the Bellagio with the best players in the world. Phil credits his achievements to hard work and an eternal love for the game of poker. He states that he is learning every single day and is very humble about his achievements. He admits to making errors in each session of poker and constantly strives to improve.
Even though Ivey has come first in some big-time tournaments, he prefers destroying money games on a normal basis.