Who is Phil Ivey?
One of the young stars of poker, Phil Ivey is known for his ability to play 7-2 offsuit, the worst hand in poker, as if it was pocket Aces, the best hand in poker.
This young poker phenom gained his competitive personality, like most poker stars, while still a child. At the age of eight, he would play penny-ante five card stud with his grandfather. However, his grandfather cheated, trying to teach Phil about the dangers of gambling. Phil Ivey completely ignored his grandfather’s lessons, telling everybody that he would be a professional gambler some day.
Phil Ivey’s Childhood
Phil Ivey lived in New Jersey, so at the age of eighteen, Phil obtained a fake ID so that he could gamble in Atlantic City. He lost quite a bit early on, but continued to learn and improve his game. At the age of twenty, Phil moved to Atlantic City and continued his learning experience.
An Early Start Beginning With The WSOP
After turning 21, Phil Ivey proved himself to the poker world in a big way. In 2000, he made it to two final tables and won his first bracelet at the World Series of Poker in a $2,500 pot limit Omaha tournament. He had to survive a final table filled with power to win, power such as Amarillo Slim, Phil Hellmuth, and the Devilfish.
Buoyed by this success, began playing in high stakes games and became a feared poker player. In 2002, Phil Ivey had a stunning year at the World Series of Poker, winning three bracelets, a feat matched only by Phil Hellmuth and Ted Forrest. He won these three bracelets in Seven-Card Stud, Stud Hi/Lo, and SHOE (a game featuring Stud, Hold ’em, Omaha, and Stud Hi/Lo). Winning in SHOE particularly showcased Phil Ivey’s exceptional abilities at all poker games.
In 2005 Phil Ivey won his 5th WSOP bracelet playing in a $5,000 pot-limit Omaha tournament. Phil has also won the Monte Carlo Millions tournament and The FullTiltPoker.Net Invitational Live from Monte Carlo. This brought in $1.6 million total in just a few days.
WPT and Ace-Queen
Phil has made it to 6 World Poker Tour final tables, but has never won. Several times at the WPT, he has been knocked out while holding Ace-Queen. These heartbreaks have been frustrating for Phil Ivey, but as a professional poker player, he knows that he should still play Ace-Queen the exact same way.
Play With Phil Ivey
Phil Ivey lives in Las Vegas with his wife, and is a regular at the $4,000/$8,000 games in the Bellagio. He is frequently seen playing with Doyle Brunson, Chip Reese, Jennifer Harman and other big names in poker. He has also joked about coming home crushed after losing thousands of dollars, then having to comfort his wife who lost while playing penny-ante games online.
Phil was sponsored by FullTilt Poker and played there frequently. If you look to the right, you can see what his usual avatar looked like. He also had an avatar that didn’t have the headphones as well.
Phil Ivey has won 7 WSOP bracelets and is still young. Who knows how many more bracelets Ivey will win in his career?