Phil Ivey has been branded as the number one poker player in the world by quite a few of the top professionals. He was born in Riverside, CA and relocated to New Jersey before reaching the age of one. His papa showed him to one cent-ante Five-Card Stud poker. From then on on, Phil was hooked on poker and wanted to discover everything he could about poker. Phil routinely told his parents that he wanted to be a professional poker player. He did not permit the negative comments from other people destroy his ambition of becoming one of the greatest poker players on the planet.

Phil started competing seriously after getting a fake ID with the name of Jerome. He honed his game at the casinos in 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. He made his mark at the 2000 World Series of Poker where he achieved two final tables and came away with his 1st WSOP bracelet, in a $2, five hundred Pot-Limit Omaha game. At the last table he destroyed many of the well known pros including "Amarillo Slim" Preston, David "Devilfish" Ulliot, and Phil Hellmuth, Jr.

He made a decision to take his skills to the next level and moved out west to 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 eternal love for the game of poker. Phil states that he’s learning every day and is quite abashed about his accomplishments. He admits to making mistakes in each game of poker and constantly strives to get better.

Despite the fact that Phil has won some large tournaments, he likes winning money games on a regular basis.