Phil Ivey has been labeled as the greatest poker contender on the globe by quite a few of the top-ranked professionals. Phil Ivey was born in Riverside, CA and moved to NJ before his first birthday. His grandfather taught him one cent-ante Five-Card Stud poker. From then on on, he was addicted to poker and wished to discover everything he could about the game. He would tell his grandparents that he was planning on being a professional poker player. He didn’t permit the adverse feedback from other people kill his goal of being one of the strongest poker competitors in the world.

Phil started competing seriously after getting a fake ID by the name of Jerome. He practiced his techniques at the casinos in Atlantic City. The first number of years for Phil were a learning period and coming away with a win wasn’t a normal outcome at the time. He made his mark at the 2000 WSOP when he made two final tables and won his 1st WSOP bracelet, in a two dollar, 500 Pot-Limit Omaha match. At the last table he destroyed many of the well known professionals including "Amarillo Slim" Preston, David "Devilfish" Ulliot, and Phil Hellmuth, Jr.

He decided to take his game 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 in the world. Ivey credits his success to discipline and an eternal passion for the game of poker. He says that he’s learning every day and is incredibly humble about his accomplishments. Phil knows he makes blunders in each game of poker and always strives to improve.

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