Phil Ivey has been branded as the best poker player in the world by most of the top-ranked pros. Phil was born in Riverside, CA and relocated to Jersey before his first birthday. His grandpa showed him to penny-ante Five-Card Stud poker. From that point on, he was hooked on poker and wanted to learn everything he possibly could about the game. He routinely would tell his grandparents that he was planning on being a professional poker player. He did not allow the negative feedback from others destroy his ambition of being one of the best poker players in the world.
Phil started playing intently after getting a false ID by the name of Jerome. He honed his game at the poker rooms of Atlantic City. The first number of years for him were a teaching period and coming away with a win wasn’t a common thing at the time. Phil made his mark at the 2000 World Series of Poker where he made two final tables and won his first World Series of Poker bracelet, in a two dollar, 500 Pot-Limit Omaha event. At the final table he destroyed quite a few of the well known pros including but not limited to "Amarillo Slim" Preston, David "Devilfish" Ulliot, and Phil Hellmuth, Jr.
He decided to take his skills to the successive level and moved out west to Vegas. He continues to participate in in "The Big Game" at the Bellagio with the greatest players in the world. Phil credits his success to dedication and an undying love for the game of poker. Phil states that he’s picking up skills every single day and is quite humble about his accomplishments. Phil admits to making mistakes in each game of poker and always aspires to get better.
Despite the fact that Phil has come first in some big-time tournaments, he likes destroying money games on a regular basis.
