WPT title holder
If you want to know what it's like to be a deer caught in headlights, just ask some of Phil "The Phenom" Ivey's past opponents. They'll tell you that when he turns the famous "Ivey stare" on you, it's feels like you're about to be run over by a truck. Given Phil Ivey's poker record, that's probably a good assessment of the situation.
How did Phil get so proficient at poker? He was introduced to the game by his grandfather, who routinely dealt off the bottom of the deck. His grandfather was trying to teach him an important lesson - that gambling doesn't pay. But what Phil learned was that he had a passion for poker, and a desire to beat the game no matter how the deck was stacked against him.
As a teenager, Phil was invited take a seat at a game run by his friend's dad. The men at the table probably thought it was a big joke, but it wasn't so funny when the sixteen-year-old took all their money. Playing with his elders became a theme for Phil over the next several years. Because he wasn't old enough to walk into Atlantic City's casinos, Phil had to use a friend's ID to get in. Like with his grandfather, he lost a lot of games but always kept learning.
When Phil turned twenty-three, he entered the World Series of Poker for the first time. He played to the final table of the Pot-Limit Omaha event, and was seated with poker's new young gun, Phil Hellmuth, and one of its elder statesmen, Amarillo Slim, a man who played with Presidents Johnson and Nixon and won the third WSOP Main Event. When Hellmuth complained that Phil was always re-raising him, Slim famously replied, "Why shouldn't he? You keep folding." Phil ended up winning the tournament and his first of five WSOP championship gold bracelets.
In January 2006, Phil received three incredible honors, being named Player of the Year by All In Magazine, Bluff Magazine, and the UK Gaming Awards. He lives in Las Vegas with his wife, who was also his high school sweetheart. When he's not playing poker, you can find him working on his other passion, golf.
