Phil Ivey

Phil Ivey is one of the greatest poker players in the tournament circuit today, although his was only thirty years old in 2006. Phil grew up in Atlantic City, New Jersey and developed his incredible powers of concentration as a child playing video games. He decided at an early age to become a professional poker player and honed his skills at local card rooms in Atlantic City, playing cards for 12 to 14 hours every day. Even today, after a string of wins on the professional poker circuit, Ivy admits that he feels he needs work in several aspects of his game, and he is constantly working to improve his skills at the poker table.

Ivey holds five World Series of Poker bracelets. The first was won at the age of 23 in the $2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha event. To win this game, he had to beat out Phil Hellmuth, Amarillo Slim, Devilfish Ulliott and several other top names in the game. This early win established Ivey’s reputation as an outstanding young player. Ivey won three more bracelets in 2003 to tie a WSOP record for the most bracelets won by a player in a single year. The only other two players who had won three bracelets in a single year were Ted Forrest and Phil Hellmuth. What is even more remarkable, these three bracelets were won in a single 20-day period. In this short period, Ivey won a bracelet in the $1,500 Seven-card Stud event, the $2,500 Seven-card Stud Hi/Lo event, and the $2,000 S.H.O.E. event. Ivey came close to winning his fifth career WsoP bracelet in 2003 when he finished in 10th place at the Main Event. Finally, in 2005, he won the Pot Limit Omaha event and his fifth World of Series of Poker bracelet.

Ivey won $500,000 in his first televised live poker tournament, which took place at the Turning Stone Casino in upstate New York. He has appeared at five TV tables on the World Poker tour. Ivey also finished first place in the 2005 Monte Carlo Millions game. As of 2007, his total live tournament winnings exceed $7,400,000.