Phil Ivey Biography


ivey-pic Phil Ivey, aka The Tiger Woods of Poker and No Home Jerome, was born in Riverside, Ca, but moved to the suburbs of New Jersey when he was 3 months old. He was first introduced to gambling by his grandfather. They would play 5-Card Stud with penny antes. His grandfather would cheat him purposefully so Phil would learn the dangers of gambling. Ironically, instead of diminishing, it lighted the fuse in his gambling, specifically poker, career.

Since he was a teenager all Phil desired to do was to be a professional gambler. His first taste of real gambling came when he effortlessly beat the whole table of an adult poker game hosted by his friend's dad. To help him master this game, he would play with his co-workers while he worked as a telemarketer in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Phil knew he was destined to become a professional gambler. When he turned 18 he finally found a way to quench his thirst for his first passion and reach his destiny.

Phil had acquired a fake I.D. to permit him to gamble at the casinos in Atlantic City. This is where his nickname No Home Jerome stems from. For the first two years he lost more than he won, but with loss comes knowledge and experience. His losses were definitely worthwhile because of the augmentation of those two aspects of his game. By the time he was 21, and a regular at the casinos, he had virtually perfected his play in Limit, No Limit, Omaha, and Stud. It was time for him to try his luck in Vegas.

Phil's mind set was to prove himself in the poker world. What better place than to do it in the 2000 World Series of Poker? Wasting no time in establishing himself, he had made two final tables and won his first WSOP bracelet in the 2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Event. Not only did he win, he outlasted some of the best poker players in the world: Amarillo Slim, Devilfish Ulliot, and Phil Hellmuth Jr. But Phil was just getting started in proving himself to the world.

The Tiger Woods of poker continued his domination of the poker world. Once he began playing the high stakes cash game in Vegas, he became one of the most feared players In 2002 he moved to Long Beach, California and that same year he won three more WSOP bracelets. Other players were intimidated by such equanimity at such a young age. His recondite knowledge of poker by far transcended his opponent's.

From Long Beach he moved to Las Vegas and he quickly found himself playing the highest stakes in the world: 4,000/8,000 mixed game with the top poker pros. Since moving to Vegas he has played in all the big games and tournaments around. As of 2008 his total live winnings exceed 10 million dollars, not to mention online winnings. The fuse which still lights his meritorious career will continue to light for eons and eons to come. By the time his career is over "Ivey may well be considered the best player in poker's history."