Phil Ivey has been branded as the greatest poker contender in the world by many of the top-ranked professionals. Phil was born in Riverside, CA and moved to Jersey before his first birthday. His grandpa introduced him to penny-ante 5-Card Stud poker. From that point on, Phil was hooked on poker and wished to discover anything he possibly could about the game. Phil routinely told his parents that he was planning on being a professional poker player. Phil did not allow the detrimental comments from others kill his goal of being one of the strongest poker competitors in the world.
He started competing seriously after getting a fake ID with the name of Jerome. He sharpened his game at the casinos of Atlantic City. The beginning number of years for Phil were a learning opportunity and winning was not a regular outcome at the time. He became known at the 2000 World Series of Poker where he achieved 2 final tables and won his first WSOP bracelet, in a $2, five hundred Pot-Limit Omaha event. At the last table he defeated a number of the well known professionals including "Amarillo Slim" Preston, David "Devilfish" Ulliot, and Phil Hellmuth, Jr.
He decided to take his game to the successive level and headed out west to Vegas. Phil continues to play in "The Big Game" at the Bellagio with the best players on the planet. Ivey credits his achievements to hard work and an eternal love for poker. He says that he is picking up skills every day and is very abashed about his achievements. Phil knows he makes errors every single session of poker and always strives to improve.
Even though Ivey has won some large tournaments, he likes destroying cash games on a normal basis.