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Tournaments:
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Monte Carlo
Millions 2005-11-23 $1,000,000 1st
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WSOP World
Championship 2005-07-15 $304,680 20th
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WSOP Pot
Limit Omaha 2005-06-26 $630,685 1st WSOP
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Circuit
Main Event 2005-05-11 $299,360 2nd
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WPT World
Poker Classic 2005-04-24 $264,195 6th
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WPT World
Poker Challenge 2005-04-01 $163,908 3rd
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WPT Borgata
Poker Open 2004-09-22 $105,700 6th
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Championship Poker at Turning Stone
2004-07-14 $500,000 1st
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WPT
Five-Star World Poker Classic 2003-04-18
$253,313 3rd |
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WPT World
Poker Open 2003-01-31 $291,030 2nd
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WSOP Pot
Limit Omaha 2000-06-06 $195,000 1st |
Phil
Ivey, also known in the poker world as "The
Tiger Woods of Poker", is one of the toughest
competitors in the game today. Phil spent most
of his time growing up in New Jersey. Born in
Riverside, CA, Phil Ivey moved to Roselle, New
Jersey when he was just three months old. Phil
was introduced to poker by his grandfather,
who'd deal out hands of penny-ante Five-Card
Stud to his eight-year-old grandson. His
grandfather would cheat, grabbing cards from the
bottom of the deck in an attempt to teach the
young Phil a lesson about the dangers of
gambling.
Instead, the introduction to poker ignited a
passion within Phil. From the time he was a
teenager, he told teachers and family that he
was going to be a professional gambler. When he
was 16, he sat in on an adult's poker game that
was hosted by a friend's father. He soundly beat
the game and started looking for opportunities
to play more frequently.
At
18, he scored a fake ID and started frequenting
the poker rooms in Atlantic City casinos. He
lost more than he won in the first few years.
But he was learning from his mistakes,
developing a mastery of all poker games: Limit,
No-Limit, Stud, Omaha, and tournaments. When he
turned 20, he made Atlantic City his full-time
residence.
Soon after turning 21, he set to prove himself
to the greater poker world. In 2000, he played
in the World Series of Poker, where he made two
final tables and won his first WSOP bracelet, in
a $2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha event. At that final
table, he outlasted a star-studded field,
besting "Amarillo Slim" Preston, David
"Devilfish" Ulliott, and Phil Hellmuth, Jr.
Soon after, he began playing in high-stakes cash
games in Las Vegas and quickly became one of the
game's most feared players. Then, in 2002, after
moving west to Long Beach, CA, Ivey had a
breakthrough year, winning three WSOP bracelets.
His wins came in three different games:
Seven-Card Stud, Stud Hi/Lo, and SHOE (a
rotation of Stud, Hold 'em, Omaha, and Stud
Hi/Lo), proving Ivey's all-around mastery.
Recently, Ivey moved to Las Vegas where he is
now a fixture in the high-limit area at the
Bellagio, regularly sharing a table with Doyle
Brunson, Chip Reese, and Jennifer Harman. He is
a consistent winner in the $4,000/$8,000 mixed
game. His skills have impressed all opponents.
Howard Lederer says that before his career is
over, Ivey may well be considered the best
player in poker's history. Erik Seidel describes
Ivey as possessing a "searing intelligence."
In
2005, while playing a sparse tournament
schedule, Ivey made two final tables in World
Poker Tour events and two in WSOP Circuit
events. Then in June, he won his fifth WSOP
bracelet in a $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event.
After the win, Ivey was asked if he felt he
could overtake Brunson and Chan, who have 10
bracelets each. Ever confident, Ivey said, "I
want to win 30." Most recently, Phil won two
back-to-back tournaments in Monte Carlo - the
Monte Carlo Millions tournament and the "The
FullTiltPoker.Net Invitational Live from
Monte Carlo."
 
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