Phil Ivey has been referred to as the number one poker contender in the world by quite a few of the top-ranked professionals. Phil Ivey was born in Riverside, CA and moved to New Jersey before his first birthday. His papa showed him to one cent-ante 5-Card Stud poker. From then on on, Phil was addicted to poker and wanted to discover everything he possibly could about the game. He routinely told his grandparents that he was going to be a professional poker player. Phil didn’t allow the adverse comments from others kill his goal of becoming one of the greatest poker players on the planet.
Phil started competing seriously after getting a false ID with the name of Jerome. He practiced his skills at the casinos of Atlantic City. The beginning number of years for Phil were a learning period and coming away with a win was not a normal thing at the time. Phil 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, five hundred Pot-Limit Omaha game. At the final table he defeated a number 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 successive level and headed out west to Sin City. Phil continues to participate in in "The Big Game" at the Bellagio with the greatest players in the world. Phil credits his achievements to hard work and an undying passion for poker. He says that he’s learning every day and is quite abashed about his accomplishments. Phil knows he makes blunders every single session of poker and always strives to get better.
Even though Phil has won some large tournaments, he prefers destroying money games on a regular basis.