|
 The
best;
that
is
the
only
thing
Phil
Ivey aspires
to
be.
Phil
Ivey
has
become
a
mainstay
in
the
poker
spotlight
for
quite
a
few
years,
and
I
would
not
plan
on
him
going
anywhere.
When
Phil
Ivey
sits
down
at
a
table,
there
is
an
immense
amount
of
respect,
and
usually
fear
exhibited
by
his
opponents.
This
respect
has
been
earned
by
Ivey’s
commitment
to
the
game,
constantly
becoming
a
better
player.
Ivey
was born
in California,
and raised
in New
Jersey.
While
still
in high
school,
Ivey was
playing
in back
room poker
games.
At 18,
Ivey was
working
a job
only to
fuel his
poker
game and
to purchase
a fake
ID so
he could
play at
the casino.
Jerome
Graham,
as hi
ID stated,
spent
so much
time in
the Atlantic
City poker
rooms
that players
and casino
workers
began
to call
him “No
Home Jerome”.
Ivey’s
start
in poker
was not
all fame
and fortune.
Early
on, Ivey
was not
a winning
player
at all,
in fact
he was
just the
opposite.
Ivey pursued
the game
with a
relentless
passion,
and finely
things
began
to look
brighter.
Ivey became
a winning
local
player,
and by
24 he
was ready
to take
the jump
into big
time poker.
In 2000
Phil Ivey
played
in his
first
World
Series
of Poker,
and has
only moved
forward.
That
year he
finished
in fifth
place
in the
$2k No
Limit
Hold Em
tournament.
He then
went on
to play
in the
$2500
Pot Limit
Omaha.
The 24
year old
made the
final
table
of that
tournament
too, and
outlasted
big names
like Phil
Hellmuth
and David
Ulliot
to take
home his
first
WSOP bracelet.
2002
earned
Ivey three
more bracelets,
this time
in S.H.O.E
(A mix
of limit
stud,
limit
hold em,
limit
Omaha,
and limit
Omaha
split.
This tied
Phil Ivey
with Ted
Forrest
and Phil
Hellmuth
for the
most bracelets
in a series.
In 2005,
Ivey took
down bracelet
number
5, again
in Pot
Limit
Omaha.
The following
year he
finished
second
in the
Omaha
split
event,
and finished
in third
place
of the
$50k H.O.R.S.E
event,
widely
recognized
as the
player’s
championship.
Ivey has
done well
on the
WPT circuit
as well,
making
six final
table
appearances.
Ivey
is one
of the
most cool
and calculated
players
in the
game.
His eyes
dart around,
soaking
in every
piece
of information
available.
When someone
is at
the level
of Phil
Ivey,
you would
expect
them to
exude
cockiness,
but not
Phil.
He is
a player
who likes
to let
his actions
and cards
do the
talking.
Ivey
is as
much a
gambler
as he
is a poker
player,
and he
is always
looking
to play
at the
highest
stakes,
no matter
what the
game.
He also
is a huge
sports
bettor,
and has
been rumored
to win
and lose
a million
dollars
playing
craps
in a night.
A regular
at the “Big
Game” in
Las Vegas,
Ivey was
also the
big winner
as part
of “The
Corporation” and
he battled
with billionaire
Andy Beal,
coming
out on
top, winning
more than
$16 million
in cash.
Ivey’s
relentless
quest
to be
the best
there
is can
be summarized
by his
answer
to the
question
of how
many bracelets
he hopes
to win
in his
career.
The answer?
Thirty.
He is
extremely
quiet,
and confidant
with his
answer.
Ivey can
be found
playing
the biggest
games
available
at Full
Tilt Poker.
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