Phil Ivey has been referred to as the best poker competitor on the globe by many of the top-ranked pros. He was born in Riverside, CA and moved to New Jersey before reaching turning one. His grandpa taught him penny-ante Five-Card Stud poker. From that point on, he was hooked on poker and wanted to pickup every little thing he possibly could about the game. He routinely would tell his grandparents that he was planning on being a professional poker player. He didn’t let the detrimental feedback from other people annihilate his ambition of becoming one of the greatest poker competitors in the world.
He started playing seriously after acquiring a false ID with the name of Jerome. He practiced his game at the poker rooms of Atlantic City. The beginning number of years for Phil were a learning opportunity and winning wasn’t a common outcome at the time. He made his mark at the 2000 WSOP where he made 2 final tables and won his first World Series of Poker bracelet, in a two dollar, 500 Pot-Limit Omaha game. At the closing 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 next level and headed out west to Vegas. He continues to participate in in "The Big Game" at the Bellagio with the best players in the world. Ivey credits his success to discipline and an eternal love for the game of poker. Phil states that he’s learning every single day and is quite abashed about his accomplishments. He admits to making mistakes in each session of poker and always strives to get better.
Despite the fact that Phil has won some large tournaments, he likes winning money games on a normal basis.