Phil Ivey has been labeled as the greatest poker competitor on the globe by many of the top-ranked pros. Phil was born in Riverside, CA and relocated to NJ before reaching the age of 1. His grandfather taught him one cent-ante Five-Card Stud poker. From that point on, he was hooked on poker and wanted to discover every little thing he could about the game. Phil routinely told his parents that he was going to be a professional poker player. Phil did not let the negative comments from others annihilate his goal of becoming one of the strongest poker players in the world.
He began competing seriously after acquiring a fake ID by the name of Jerome. He sharpened his skills at the casinos of Atlantic City. The initial number of years for him were a teaching period and winning wasn’t a common thing at the time. He became known at the 2000 World Series of Poker when he achieved 2 final tables and won his first World Series of Poker bracelet, in a $2, five hundred Pot-Limit Omaha event. At the final table he defeated quite a few of the well known pros including but not limited to "Amarillo Slim" Preston, David "Devilfish" Ulliot, and Phil Hellmuth, Jr.
He made a decision to take his skills to the next level and headed out west to Vegas. He continues to compete in in "The Big Game" at the Bellagio with the greatest players in the world. Ivey credits his success to hard work and a continuing passion for the game of poker. He states that he is picking up skills every day and is quite abashed about his accomplishments. He admits to making mistakes every single session of poker and constantly aspires to get better.
Despite the fact that Ivey has come first in some large tournaments, he prefers winning cash games on a normal basis.