Poison Ivey

A biography of Phil Ivey by Damian M. Moorman, Dayton2Vegas.com

Phil Ivey is considered by many as the greatest poker player alive. He has taken over this title from the late Chip Reese and has earned every bit of respect given to him by his peers.

Ivey was born on February 1, 1976, in Riverside, California. He moved to New Jersey when he was just a few months old. When Ivey was just a teenager, he began honing his skills in Atlantic City. He played with a fake ID under the name Jerome.

Phil Ivey is extremely dangerous at many poker games, especially No-limit Hold’em. He plays completely fearless and has amazing instincts. Ivey plays “small pot poker”, similar to Phil Hellmuth Jr. and Daniel Negreanu, because he realizes he has the biggest edge on his opponents post-flop.

He came into the spotlight in the poker world at the World Series of Poker in 2002 where he won three bracelets that year! Phil Ivey’s three wins in the same year at the WSOP ties him with Ted Forrest and Phil Hellmuth Jr. for the most ever in the same year. His biggest cash at the WSOP came with his fifth bracelet in 2005, when he won the $5,000 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha championship for $635,603. He is also known for his great results in the main event. Between 2002 and 2005, he finished in the top 25 three separate times.

Ivey has also faired well at World Poker Tour events. He has made over 3 million dollars and made eight final tables. Ivey also made a final table, finishing second place, at his first ever European Poker Tour event. No one is safe from Phil Ivey when he sits down at the poker table. Ivey has shown that he is not just a one trick pony also. He can play multiple games and displays his talent at “The Big Game”, the biggest cash game in the world, where he consistently wins money playing against the top players in the world.

Phil Ivey is famous for winning many big tournaments at the WSOP, WPO, Bellagio, and other great results at the WPT and EPT, but he has also dominated players elsewhere. In 2005, Ivey took home $1,000,000 when he won the Monte Carlo Millions. Just one day after that million dollar cash, Ivey won the “FullTiltPoker.net Invitational” for $600,000. Not a bad two-day pay day!

Ivey is one of the most well known tournament Hold’em players ever, but considers himself a cash game player at heart. The money up for grabs in tournaments just doesn’t compare to what Ivey can make playing side games. In 2006, Ivey won over $16,000,000 in only three days playing heads up against Texas Billionaire Andy Beal. After losing to Ivey for three days straight, Andy Beal vowed to quit poker forever. Phil Ivey has this effect on other players. Ivey speaks with his actions, both his play and his darting eyes, but never with his temper. He is respected by his peers and displays great emotional control at such a young age. Ivey won all five of his WSOP bracelets before he was 30 years old.

Ivey now lives in Las Vegas, NV, with his wife high school sweetheart Luciaetta. He's still playing in tournaments and winning as much money as he ever has. He took home a Poker After Dark title in the first season, banking $120,000. He can be seen playing on TV almost daily on GSN’s High Stakes Poker, ESPN’s Pro-Ams, NBC’s Heads-up Championship, FSN’s Aussie Millions cash games, and many more shows. He is a member of Full Tilt Poker and one of the most recognizable faces in the game today.

On February 28, 2008, Ivey won the L.A. Poker Classic. Ivey outlasted almost 700 other top professionals to take home the first place prize of $1,596,100. The final six players, which included Phil Hellmuth, Jr. and Nam Le, were extremely tough. Less than a week after Ivey's win at the L.A. Poker Classic, he came 3rd at NBC's National Heads-up Championship for $125,000!

Phil Ivey, five time WSOP bracelet winner, doesn’t stop succeeding at poker tournaments. He's a cash game specialist and easily the most feared player to sit at any poker table, no matter the game, stakes, or players. Maybe the scariest part of all is that Ivey is so young and has many great years ahead of him.