Phil Ivey has been branded as the greatest poker player on the planet by quite a few of the top professionals. Phil was born in Riverside, CA and moved to NJ before his first birthday. His papa introduced him to one cent-ante Five-Card Stud poker. From that point on, Phil was addicted to poker and wanted to pickup every little thing he could about poker. Phil would tell his elders that he was going to be a professional poker player. He did not let the negative feedback from others destroy his dream of becoming one of the strongest poker competitors on the planet.

He started playing seriously after getting a fake ID with the name of Jerome. He sharpened his skills at the casinos in Atlantic City. The initial number of years for him were a teaching experience and coming away with a win wasn’t a normal thing at the time. He made his mark at the 2000 WSOP where he achieved two final tables and won his 1st WSOP bracelet, in a two dollar, 500 Pot-Limit Omaha match. At the last table he defeated quite a few of the better 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 moved out west to Las Vegas. He continues to play in "The Big Game" at the Bellagio with the best players in the world. Ivey credits his achievements to dedication and a continuing passion for the game of poker. He says that he’s learning every day and is very abashed about his accomplishments. He knows he makes errors in each game of poker and always strives to improve.

Despite the fact that Ivey has won some big-time tournaments, he likes destroying money games on a regular basis.