Phil Ivey

Phil Ivey burst onto the scene in 2002 when he cashed in seven World Series of Poker events, getting the winner’s bracelet in three of them…

“I wouldn’t say there is a ‘best’ player in the world. It’s whoever it is on that day. I feel that when I’m playing my best no one can beat me, but I don’t play my best all the time,’ says Phil Ivey.

Phil is known to some as the Tiger Woods of poker and certainly represents a new demographic of successful younger professional poker players. He is a highly-focused and very consistent player who places high in the money in a lot of the tournaments he plays in.

His tournament accomplishments include winning three titles at the 2002 World Series of Poker, tying the record for most bracelets won in one year (with Phil Hellmuth and Ted Forrest) – not bad for a player better recognised for his performance in cash games.

Famed for his aggressive style, Phil has won five World Series of Poker bracelets to date, although despite coming close, he has yet to win the main event. Ever confident, however, when winning his fifth World Series of Poker bracelet in 2005, and asked if he could overtake Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan and Phil Hellmuth who have 10 bracelets each, Ivey replied: “I want to win 30.”

He came close to a sixth in 2006, finishing third in the $50,000 HORSE event and second in the $5,000 Omaha hi/lo so reaching double figures before he is 35 looks possible.

He certainly showed this confidence when winning his first bracelet in 2000 in the $2,500 pot-limit Omaha event in which he outlasted a star-studded field, including David ‘Devilfish’ Ulliott, Phil Hellmuth and ‘Amarillo Slim’ Preston. Ivey showed no mercy turning around a heads-up deficit of 7-to-1 against Amarillo Slim with some auspicious draws and a powerful check-raise on a nut flush flop. When you consider that he had never previously played pot-limit Omaha in a live game before, this turnaround has to be rated as one of the most amazing in World Series of Poker history.