Phil Ivey has been labeled as the best poker contender on the planet by quite a few of the top-ranked pros. He was born in Riverside, CA and moved to New Jersey before his first birthday. His papa introduced him to penny-ante Five-Card Stud poker. From that point on, Phil was hooked on poker and wanted to learn everything he possibly could about the game. He would tell his parents that he wanted to be a professional poker player. Phil didn’t permit the negative comments from other people destroy his ambition of becoming one of the greatest poker players on the planet.
He began playing seriously after getting a false ID with the name of Jerome. He honed his techniques at the casinos of Atlantic City. The initial few years for Phil were a learning experience and coming away with a win wasn’t a common outcome at the time. He became known at the 2000 WSOP where he made 2 final tables and won his first WSOP bracelet, in a $2, 500 Pot-Limit Omaha match. At the final table he defeated many of the well known professionals including but not limited to "Amarillo Slim" Preston, David "Devilfish" Ulliot, and Phil Hellmuth, Jr.
He decided to take his game to the successive level and moved out west to Las Vegas. He continues to participate in in "The Big Game" at the Bellagio with the best players on the planet. Phil credits his success to discipline and an immeasurable passion for poker. He states that he is picking up skills every day and is incredibly humble about his success. He knows he makes mistakes in each session of poker and always aspires to improve.
Despite the fact that Ivey has come first in some large tournaments, he prefers winning money games on a normal basis.