Phil Ivey: biography and personal life

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Just looking at a photo of Phil Ivey, it's hard to imagine that this young guy is recognized as one of the most dangerous players in professional poker. He is already in the top four across America as he has won a dozen World Series bracelets and also won a World Tour of Poker tournament title once, something that many players much older than him have failed to achieve. In total, he has earned more than $23 million in his career and is currently waiting for his 40th birthday to, according to the rules, enter the Hall of Fame. This article will provide a biography of Phil Ivey, as well as information on how he achieved his popularity.

Childhood

Phil Ivey was born in 1977, February 1st. His homeland was the city of Riverside, located in California. However, his parents - Pamela and Phil Sr. - soon moved to the small town of Roselle in New Jersey. Here, under the guidance of his grandfather, the young man lived most of his life and learned to play cards.

Training period

When you watch Phil Ivey play, it becomes clear that he has honed his skills over the years. And this is true, because for the first time he was taught to playalready at eight. Grandfather immediately determined that the child had talent, because he very quickly understood the rules of the game and even began to develop his own, often winning strategies, which are so required to win. That is why he supported his grandson later when he chose to play poker on a professional basis.

Phil Ivey's life is really filled with interesting moments. He is a representative of a new generation of players who play not only in tournaments, but also in online versions of games. A good professional who is often tacitly recognized as the best player in the world, although he does not officially have such a title. But Phil received something else, namely the "best player of the decade", which put him in a number of real legends.

But, in fact, no matter how great his income from tournaments, he receives most of his money in the online cash game, that is, the game for cash. Once, Ivey won more than sixteen million dollars from a billionaire in 3 days in this way.

Career start

After Phil Ivey picked up the cards, he practically never parted with them. Devoted a huge amount of time to poker every day to hone my skills. By the age of sixteen he was already winning money, although he only played with friends, and the winnings were relatively small. That is why he decided to circumvent the law and went to a casino in Atlantic City, where he tried to play using a fake ID. He really hit the jackpot here too, but, for the most part, he lost. At the same time behind himthe first nickname was fixed - Homeless Jerome, since it was this name that was written on his ID, but "homeless" - due to the fact that he almost never left the casino. Only five years later, when the young man turned 21 and became an adult, Phil finally began performing under his own name.

Private life

Despite being a player first and foremost, Phil Ivey did have a woman he loved. He met her at a time when he was not so passionate about poker. His chosen one was named Luciaetta. They met for several years until they decided to become spouses. We got married in the gambling capital - Las Vegas. Their marriage, at first glance, was a happy one. Although, in fact, it was not so. The couple filed for divorce, and therefore the marriage was officially terminated in December 2009.

Alas, the woman turned out to be quite materialistic and managed to sue herself 180 thousand dollars a month, since Phil Ivey's salary from Full Tilt Poker was equal to almost a million dollars a month. However, she was very unlucky as the online poker site was shut down after a couple of years, causing her to lose her income. Phil's ex-wife went to court about this, hoping to get additional money, but the court did not take her arguments into account, because by that time Ivey had paid off her huge debts - only about 15 million. After that, there was silence in Phil Ivey's personal life. Information about whether he has a lover is nowhere to be found.appears.

Ivy League

Besides being an excellent player, Phil Ivey also decided to launch his own website called "Ivey League". For the most part, it's a poker-learning site built on the principles of a regular college. There are two study plans - bachelor's and master's, helping the beginner to master the latest strategies currently used in the game.

For the most part, the site is designed to teach poker players to think like pros. The teachers at this college were really star players, but despite this, the site was still closed in April 2017.

Life outside the game

No one, even the most immersed in the game, can only do it, so Phil Ivey also has his own additional interests. In particular, these include the founding of a company dedicated to Leonard Simmons, Phil's grandfather, who taught him to play. During his lifetime, he loved helping orphans, as well as teaching them to read and developing programs that would help the disadvantaged get the opportunity for a successful future. For the most part, Ivy's company just continues and expands on Leonard's previous work, and Phil himself is just putting in the money since his mother is in charge.

He also loves to play golf and once competed and finished third in the First World Golf Series. That's how he got another nickname - Tiger Woods of poker.

Conclusion

Starting out as a normal teenager who couldn't even legally play, Phil is now one of the most famous players in the world and often plays in the most expensive series of games. After October 2017, he started playing most tournaments again, so he often appears among the winners who have won more than a million dollars at a time.

A bettor who doesn't care much about money as he allows himself to leave huge tips to dealers. His words include the phrase that if a person cannot set fire to a hundred dollars, then it is better for him not to play poker at all.