Phil Ivey

February 6, 2008

Phil Ivey was introduced to poker by his grandfather who loved playing Phil in penny-ante Five-Card Stud. He was just eight-years old and his grandfather would cheat by pulling cards from the bottom of the deck to teach Phil about the dangers of gambling.

Instead of scaring him away, this introduction to poker started to pull Phil in to the game. Ever since he was a young teenager in Roselle, New Jersey he told school mates, teachers, and his family that he wanted to be a professional gambler. At the tender age of 16, he sat in on the poker game hosted by a friend’s father and beat the game soundly. This is when he started looking to play more and more poker to make his money.

He got a fake ID at age 18 and started hitting the casinos in Atlantic City. He lost more than he won, but learned from his mistakes and quickly developed a mastery of all the different versions of poker from Limit, No-Limit, Stud, Omaha, and tournament play. At 20, he ended up moving to Atlantic City and got his start in playing poker professionally.

When Phil turned 21 he wanted to prove he was one of the best players in the world. He went to Las Vegas and competed in the World Series of Poker where he made two final tables and a World Series of Poker bracelet in $2400 Pot-Limit Omaha. He outlasted and outwitted Amarillo Slim and Phil Helmuth to win his title.

Ivey then began playing the high-stakes cash games in Vegas and was soon one of the game’s most feared players. 2002 was his breakthrough year when he won three World Series of Poker bracelets in three different games. Seven-Card Stud, Stud Hi/Lo, and Shoe (rotation of the games Stud, Hold ‘em, Omaha, and Stud Hi/Lo) wins proved that he was an all-around master of the game of poker.

Now that Ivey has made the move to Las Vegas and plays a lot at the Bellagio where he shares a table in the high-limit area with Doyle Brunson, Chip Reese, and Jennifer Harman. He is well respected by his opponents no matter what the stakes or the game.

You can find out more about Phil Ivey and his tournament schedule by visiting his home page.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Phil Ivey

Random Posts

Latest Headlines

Comments

Handicappers

Odds

Sections

Archives

Related Sites

Admin