Phil Ivey
Phil Ivey finished 2005 with a very strong career record.
He is undoubtedly the most successful poker pro last year. His career earnings as a card player reach over $3.4 million in tournament earnings; 7 final tables; a World Series of Poker bracelet in $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha; a top 25 finish in the WSOP Main Event and a win at the very prestigious 2005 Monte Carlo Millions.
Because of these accomplishments, Ivey was named 2005 Player of the Year by Bluff Magazine, today's leading poker publication.
"Phil Ivey has emerged as one of the best players of this generation. His focused play and success at the table have earned him Bluff's Player of the Year,” Eddy Kleid , Co-President of Bluff Magazine said.
The future poker champ was born in Riverside, CA. but his family moved to Roselle, New Jersey when he was just three months old. Phil was introduced to poker by his grandfather who would cheat by grabbing cards from the bottom of the deck in an attempt to teach the young Phil a lesson about the dangers of gambling.
When he was a teenager, Phil announced to his friends and family that he was going to be a professional gambler, had his first taste of adult poker at 16 (and won), and at 18 scored a fake ID and started frequenting the poker rooms in Atlantic City casinos.
After turning 21 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.
The rest, as we say, is poker history.
Ivey is now a member of Team Full-Tilt poker where he's in good company with fellow elite poker greats such as Jesus Ferguson , Phil Gordon , and Howard Lederer .
