Born in Riverside, California in 1976 but transplanted to Roselle, New Jersey shortly thereafter, Phil Ivey was introduced to poker at a young age.
In 2000, at the age of 24, he took the leap to the big boy circuit. In a $2,000 No-Limit Texas Hold’em, he finished fifth. In a $2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha, he sat at the final table with poker legends Amarillo Slim Preston, David “Devilfish” Ulliott, and Phil Hellmuth and he walked away with his first bracelet.
In 2002, he won three more WSOP bracelets and in three different games: Seven-Card Stud, Stud Hi-Lo and S.H.O.E.
He took his fifth bracelet in a Pot-Limit Omaha event in 2005, which put him almost halfway to the standing record of 11, and he was not yet 30-years-old.
In 2006, he almost took his total up to seven, placing second in an Omaha Hi-Lo event and third in the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event, cashing in at just over $800,000.
Ivey likes prop bets, shooting dice and playing golf. But mainly he just likes Playing Poker.
“I’m not a prodigy…I just work at what I do…I work at poker very hard. And I’m always thinking about how I can get better at it.”
