Phil Ivey has been branded as the number one poker player in the world by many of the top-ranked professionals. He was born in Riverside, CA and moved to New Jersey before reaching turning 1. His grandfather taught Phil penny-ante 5-Card Stud poker. From then on on, he was hooked on poker and wished to pickup everything he could about poker. He routinely told his parents that he wanted to be a professional poker player. Phil didn’t allow the negative feedback from others kill his goal of being one of the strongest poker players in the world.
He began playing seriously after acquiring a false ID with the name of Jerome. He honed his abilities at the casinos of Atlantic City. The beginning number of years for Phil were a learning opportunity and winning was not a common outcome at the time. Phil became known at the 2000 WSOP where he achieved 2 final tables and came away with his first WSOP bracelet, in a two dollar, five hundred Pot-Limit Omaha match. At the closing table he defeated quite a few of the better known professionals including "Amarillo Slim" Preston, David "Devilfish" Ulliot, and Phil Hellmuth, Jr.
Phil made a decision to take his game to the successive level and moved out west to Las Vegas. Phil continues to play in "The Big Game" at the Bellagio with the best players on the planet. Phil credits his success to hard work and a continuing passion for the game of poker. Phil says that he is picking up skills every single day and is very humble about his achievements. Phil knows he makes errors in each game of poker and always aspires to get better.
Even though Ivey has come first in some big-time tournaments, he likes destroying cash games on a normal basis.
