Phil Ivey

Phillip Dennis Ivey Jr. (born February 1, 1977) is an American professional poker player who has won eleven World Series of Poker bracelets, one World Poker Tour title, and appeared at nine World Poker Tour final tables. Ivey is regarded by numerous poker observers and contemporaries as the best all-around player in the world. In 2017, he was elected to the Poker Hall of Fame. He is also an ambassador for WPT Global.

Background

Ivey first began to develop his poker skills by playing against co-workers at a New Brunswick, New Jersey, telemarketing firm in the late 1990s. He was introduced to the game by playing five-card stud with his grandfather as a child. One of his nicknames, "No Home Jerome", stems from the fake ID card he secured to play poker in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in his teenage years. He was given the nickname "The Phenom". His other nickname is "the Tiger Woods of Poker".

Poker

Live poker

World Series of Poker

Ivey's first breakthrough at the WSOP came in 2000, when he won a Pot Limit Omaha event for his first career bracelet. In winning the tournament, Ivey was the first person to defeat Amarillo Slim heads-up at a WSOP final table. Ivey's tournament accomplishments include winning three bracelets at the 2002 World Series of Poker, tying Phil Hellmuth Jr, Ted Forrest, and Puggy Pearson for most World Series tournament wins in a single year (Jeff Lisandro and George Danzer have since tied the record). He won a Pot Limit Omaha event once again in 2005 for $635,603.