Phil Ivey has been referred to as the number one poker contender on the globe by quite a few of the top-ranked professionals. He was born in Riverside, CA and moved to Jersey before reaching the age of one. His grandpa taught Phil one cent-ante 5-Card Stud poker. From then on on, Phil was hooked on poker and wanted to pickup everything he could about poker. Phil routinely would tell his parents that he wanted to be a professional poker player. Phil did not allow the detrimental comments from others destroy his ambition of being one of the strongest poker competitors in the world.
Phil started playing seriously after getting a fake ID by the name of Jerome. He honed his abilities at the poker rooms of Atlantic City. The first number of years for Phil were a teaching experience and winning wasn’t a regular thing at the time. He became known at the 2000 WSOP when he achieved 2 final tables and won his 1st World Series of Poker bracelet, in a two dollar, 500 Pot-Limit Omaha game. At the closing table he defeated many of the better known pros including "Amarillo Slim" Preston, David "Devilfish" Ulliot, and Phil Hellmuth, Jr.
He decided to take his skills to the next level and moved out west to Las Vegas. He continues to compete in in "The Big Game" at the Bellagio with the greatest players on the planet. Ivey credits his success to discipline and an undying love for poker. He says that he’s picking up skills every day and is quite abashed about his accomplishments. He admits to making errors in each game of poker and always aspires to improve.
Even though Phil has won some large tournaments, he prefers winning money games on a normal basis.