Phil Ivey has been branded as the greatest poker competitor in the world by quite a few of the top-ranked professionals. He was born in Riverside, CA and moved to Jersey before reaching turning 1. His grandfather taught him one cent-ante Five-Card Stud poker. From that point on, Phil was hooked on poker and wanted to discover whatever he could about poker. He routinely told his elders that he was planning on being a professional poker player. Phil didn’t let the negative comments from other people kill his ambition of becoming one of the best poker players on the planet.
Phil began playing intently after acquiring a fake ID by the name of Jerome. He honed his techniques at the poker rooms of Atlantic City. The initial number of years for him were a teaching period and winning was not a normal thing at the time. Phil became known at the 2000 WSOP where he achieved two final tables and came away with his first WSOP bracelet, in a two dollar, 500 Pot-Limit Omaha event. At the final table he destroyed quite a few of the better known professionals including but not limited to "Amarillo Slim" Preston, David "Devilfish" Ulliot, and Phil Hellmuth, Jr.
Phil decided to take his skills to the successive level and headed out west to Sin City. Phil continues to compete in in "The Big Game" at the Bellagio with the best players on the planet. Phil credits his achievements to discipline and an eternal passion for the game of poker. He says that he is picking up skills every day and is very abashed about his success. He knows he makes errors every single game of poker and constantly strives to get better.
Even though Ivey has come first in some big tournaments, he prefers destroying cash games on a normal basis.