Phil Ivey
 Phil Ivey has gambler’s
blood running through his veins. Now considered to be
one of the best poker players in the world, this fellow
Southern California native moved to New Jersey when he
was still a baby. Phil credits his grandfather with
first getting him into poker, although that was hardly
Grandpa’s intent. He used to openly cheat at Five-Card
Stud to discourage his grandson from gambling but it had
the opposite effect. Growing up, he told adults that his
ambition was to become a professional gambler.
At 17, Ivey was frequenting casinos in Atlantic City and
was known to cardroom players and managers as “Jerome”
until he turned of age. That’s when he really started
making the push to play professionally. Ivey’s ambition
was to make as much money he could at the biggest games
he could win at. Hearing him talk about the game, he
doesn’t see any reason to play with a fear of losing
money. Phil doesn’t see the point in playing unless he’s
challenging himself and playing at table stakes of
$4,000/8,000 or above. When asked about what it takes to
be one of the top players, he said that it comes down to
beating every form of poker and every limit and making
the most money. What else could it be about?
Understandably, Phil Ivey’s main concern is with
high-stakes Las Vegas cash games, where he can make (or
lose) upwards of $1 million per session. He frequents
the big game at the Bellagio – regularly spread for
players like Doyle Brunson, Chip Reese, and Daniel
Negreanu. During interviews, Ivey would describe
scenarios where he would dump off his tournament chips
and head over to a $4,000/$8,000 side game where he
could exceed the tournament’s first-place money in an
evening. This is a concept that many amateurs don’t
understand about pros and big tournaments: they don’t
usually play because they need the money – they play for
the win.
Despite playing a sparse tournament schedule to
concentrate on cash games and a life at home in Las
Vegas with his wife, Ivey has created a name for himself
in tournament play. He won his first WSOP bracelet in
2000 and his latest in 2005 with a total of 5 all-time.
To put that in perspective, Phil Ivey has half the
bracelets that
Doyle Brunson and Johnny do before
turning 30. Ivey was also made two final tables at World
Poker Tour events. His latest big wins were at Monte
Carlo – winning two consecutive major tournaments within
a few days time. Phil Ivey currently plays online for
Full Tilt Poker. Many of his peers already consider him
to be the best player in the world and I’m confident
that we’ll see a new living member of the Poker Hall of
Fame before too long.
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