Phil Ivey has been referred to as the best poker competitor on the planet by many of the top-ranked professionals. He was born in Riverside, CA and relocated to NJ before his first birthday. His grandfather taught Phil penny-ante Five-Card Stud poker. From that point on, he was hooked on poker and wished to learn anything he could about the game. He routinely told his parents that he was going to be a professional poker player. He didn’t allow the negative feedback from other people annihilate his ambition of becoming one of the greatest poker competitors on the planet.
He started playing seriously after getting a false ID by the name of Jerome. He honed his techniques at the casinos in Atlantic City. The beginning number of years for him were a teaching period and winning wasn’t a normal thing at the time. He made his mark at the 2000 World Series of Poker when he achieved 2 final tables and won his 1st World Series of Poker bracelet, in a $2, 500 Pot-Limit Omaha match. At the final table he destroyed 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 Las Vegas. He continues to participate in in "The Big Game" at the Bellagio with the greatest players on the planet. Phil credits his success to dedication and an eternal passion for poker. Phil states that he is picking up skills every single day and is quite abashed about his success. He knows he makes mistakes every single game of poker and constantly aspires to improve.
Despite the fact that Ivey has come first in some big-time tournaments, he favors winning money games on a normal basis.