Phillip Dennis Ivey Jr. (born February 1, 1977) is an American professional poker player who has won eleven World Series of Poker bracelets, one World Poker Tour title, and appeared at nine World Poker Tour final tables. Ivey is regarded by numerous poker observers and contemporaries as the best all-around player in the world. In 2017, he was elected to the Poker Hall of Fame. He is also an ambassador for WPT Global.
Background Ivey first began to develop his poker skills by playing against co-workers at a New Brunswick, New Jersey, telemarketing firm in the late 1990s. He was introduced to the game by playing five-card stud with his grandfather as a child. One of his nicknames, "No Home Jerome", stems from the fake ID card he secured to play poker in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in his teenage years. He was given the nickname "The Phenom". His other nickname is "the Tiger Woods of Poker".
Poker Live poker World Series of Poker Ivey's first breakthrough at the WSOP came in 2000, when he won a Pot Limit Omaha event for his first career bracelet. In winning the tournament, Ivey was the first person to defeat Amarillo Slim heads-up at a WSOP final table. Ivey's tournament accomplishments include winning three bracelets at the 2002 World Series of Poker, tying Phil Hellmuth Jr, Ted Forrest, and Puggy Pearson for most World Series tournament wins in a single year (Jeff Lisandro and George Danzer have since tied the record). He won a Pot Limit Omaha event once again in 2005 for $635,603.
In 2009, Ivey won his sixth career bracelet in the $2,500 No-Limit 2–7 Draw Lowball Event of the 2009 WSOP. He defeated a field of 147 players to catch his bracelet. He won a heads-up battle against John Monnette. He proceeded to win another bracelet in the $2,500 1/2 Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo 1/2 Omaha Hi/Lo event besting a field of 376 people. He defeated Ming Lee heads-up.
In the 2010 World Series of Poker, Ivey received the most votes for the Tournament of Champions.
At the 2010 WSOP, Ivey won his eighth bracelet in the $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. event in a final table made up of other notable players, which included Bill Chen (2nd), John Juanda (3rd), Jeff Lisandro (5th), and Chad Brown (8th). At the 2024 WSOP, Ivey won his 11th bracelet in the $10,000 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship for $347,440.
Between 2002 and 2009, Ivey finished among the top 25 players in the Main Event four times, in fields ranging in size from 600 entrants to just under 7,000. Ivey finished 23rd in 2002, 10th in 2003, 20th in 2005, and 7th in 2009. Ivey's 10th place finished in the 2003 WSOP Main Event was one place short of the final table. He was eliminated by eventual champion Chris Moneymaker on a hand where Ivey's full house was defeated by Moneymaker's larger full house on a river card. In his 7th place finish in 2009, his lost to Darvin Moon's when a queen paired Moon on the flop; he ended his 2009 Main Event with winnings of $1,404,002.
With 11 World Series of Poker bracelets, Ivey currently has the second most WSOP titles all-time, second only to Phil Hellmuth. Also, at age 38, he was the youngest player to ever win ten bracelets. He broke Hellmuth's mark of 42 years old at the time of his tenth bracelet. In addition, no other player has accumulated ten bracelets more quickly; it took Ivey only 14 years from the time of his first bracelet to his tenth (Hellmuth took 17 years). He is the all-time record holder for most bracelets won in non-Holdem events, with all 11 of his victories coming in non-Holdem events. His 2010 win gave him the lead over Billy Baxter. He is the WSOP record holder for most mixed-game bracelets having won five in his career. He won one in S.H.O.E. in 2002, Omaha Hi/Lo / 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo in 2009, H.O.R.S.E. in 2010, WSOP APAC Mixed Event in 2013, and Eight Game Mix in 2014.
Notable World Series of Poker statistics + World Series of Poker braceletsYearTournamentPrize (US$/A$)2000$2,500 Pot Limit Omaha$195,0002002$2,500 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo$118,4402002$2,000 S.H.O.E.$107,5402002$1,500 7 Card Stud$132,0002005$5,000 Pot Limit Omaha$635,6032009$2,500 No-Limit 2–7 Draw Lowball$96,3672009$2,500 Omaha Hi/Lo / 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo$220,5382010$3,000 H.O.R.S.E.$329,8402013AA$2,200 Mixed EventA$51,8402014$1,500 Eight Game Mix$166,9862024$10,000 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship$347,440
+ WSOP Heads-Up RecordYearEventOpponentResultWinLossWin%2000$2,500 Pot Limit OmahaAmarillo SlimWinX2002$1,500 Limit 7 Card StudToto LeonidasWinX2002$2,500 Limit 7 Card Stud Hi/LoSirous BaghchehsaraieWinX2002$2,000 Limit S.H.O.E (Event 23)Diego CordovezWinX2003$3,000 Limit RazzHuck SeedLossX2005$5,000 Pot Limit OmahaRobert Williamson IIIWinX2006$5,000 Omaha Hi-Lo SplitSam FarhaLossX2007$10,000 World Championship Seven Card StudChris ReslockLossX2009$2,500 Deuce to Seven Draw Lowball (No-Limit)John MonnetteWinX2009$2,500 Omaha/Seven Card Stud HL/8 or BetterMing LeeWinX2010$3,000 H.O.R.S.E.Bill ChenWinX2012$10,000 Pot-Limit Hold'emAndy FrankenbergerLossX2013A$2,200 Mixed EventBrandon WongWinX2014$1,500 Eight Game MixBruce YamronWinX2022$100,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold’emAleksejs PonakovsLossX2024$10,000 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw ChampionshipDanny WongWinX115.6875
+ WSOP Texas Hold'em RecordCashesFinal TablesWins41100
+ WSOP Non-Texas Hold'em RecordCashesFinal TablesWins532911 up to december 22,2024
+ WSOP Non-Texas Hold'em Results (ITM Finishes only)YearEventResultWinnings2000Limit 7 Card Stud (Event 3)12th$5,1452000Pot Limit Omaha (Event 14)1st$195,0002001Limit Omaha Hi/Lo (Event 23)6th$18,1652002Limit Omaha Hi/Lo (Event 3)9th$7,6402002Limit 7 Card Stud (Event 5)1st$132,0002002Limit 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo (Event 10)8th$5,8602002Limit 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo (Event 16)1st$118,4402002Limit Omaha Hi/Lo (Event 20)14th$3,7202002Limit S.H.O.E (Event 23)1st$107,5402003Limit Razz (Event 27)2nd$36,0002003Limit 7 Card Stud (Event 31)3rd$53,5602003Pot Limit Omaha w/re-buys (Event 33)9th$10,7202005Omaha Hi-low Split (Event 5) 54th$2,4102005Pot Limit Omaha (Event 27)1st$635,6032006Limit Hold'em (Event 4)21st$9,4762006Omaha Hi-low Split (Event 12)2nd$219,2082006H.O.R.S.E. (Event 20)3rd$617,7602007World Championship Seven Card Stud (Event 11)2nd$143,8202007H.O.R.S.E. (Event 26)4th$65,4242008H.O.R.S.E. (Event 22) 24th$7,9982008World Championship Seven Card Stud (Event 14) 9th$37,1302008World Championship H.O.R.S.E. (Event 45) 12th$159,8402008H.O.R.S.E. (Event 2)6th£13,7502009Deuce to Seven Draw Lowball (No-Limit) (Event 8)1st$96,3672009Omaha/Seven Card Stud HL/8 or Better (Event 25)1st$220,5382009Pot-Limit Omaha (Event 30)44th$4,8832010Event #27: Seven Card Stud Hi-Low-8 or Better52nd$3,1822010Event #33: Pot-Limit Hold'em/Omaha12th$16,0742010Event #37: H.O.R.S.E.1st$329,8402012Event #15: Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8 or Better7th$34,5952012Event #24: Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better3rd$136,0462012Event #32: H.O.R.S.E.5th$99,7392012Event #35: Mixed Hold'em (Limit/No-Limit)8th$21,6992013AEvent #3: Mixed Event1st$51,8402014Event #12: Pot-Limit Hold'em22nd$5,0302014Event #48: Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better30th$6,8362014Event #50: Eight Game Mix1st$166,9862018Event #33: Poker Players Championship9th$111,4472019Event #58: Poker Players Championship8th$124,4102022Event #22: Seven Card Stud Championship3rd$108,2332022Event #32: H.O.R.S.E.26th$5,5442022Event #63: Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship (8-Handed)37th$16,1712023Event #43: Poker Players Championship6th$228,7932024Event #96: $25,000 High Roller H.O.R.S.E.4th$239,850 An "A" following a year denotes bracelet(s) won at the World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific
World Poker Tour Ivey has reached numerous final tables on the World Poker Tour. During the sixth season of the WPT in February 2008, Ivey made the final table at the LA Poker Classic at Commerce Casino that included Phil Hellmuth and Nam Le, eventually capturing the $1,596,100 first prize and putting an end to his streak of seven WPT final tables without a victory. Ivey has earned over $4 million in WPT cashes. Ivey made his debut on the European Poker Tour in Barcelona, September 2006. He came to the final table of nine as the chip leader, but he eventually finished runner-up to Bjørn-Erik Glenne from Norway.
+ World Poker Tour TitlesYearTournamentPrize (US$)2008$10,000 L.A. Poker Classic$1,596,100
Other notable tournaments In 2006, Ivey played in The London All Star Challenge of the inaugural European Poker Masters. Ivey made it to the final table to finish seventh, and collected £6,700 ($12,534). In November 2005, Ivey won the $1,000,000 first prize at the Monte Carlo Millions tournament. The following day, Ivey took home another $600,000 for finishing first at "The FullTiltPoker.Net Invitational Live from Monte Carlo". His six opponents were (in reverse finishing order) Mike Matusow, Phil Hellmuth, Gus Hansen, Chris Ferguson, Dave Ulliott, and John Juanda.
On the January 22, 2007, airing of NBC's Poker After Dark, Ivey won the $120,000 winner-take-all "Earphones Please" tournament by eliminating Matusow, Tony G, Andy Bloch, Hellmuth, and Sam Farha. On the April 15, 2007, airing of NBC's "National Heads-Up Poker Championship", Ivey was defeated by actor Don Cheadle in the first round. That was the third consecutive year where Ivey was eliminated in the first round of this tournament. His streak ended in 2008, when he advanced to the semifinals, losing to eventual champion Ferguson. Ivey took part in seasons three and six of GSN's High Stakes Poker.
On January 29, 2012, Ivey won the Aussie Millions A$250,000 High-roller event, defeating Patrik Antonius heads-up for a prize of A$2,000,000, at the time placing him second in the all-time career tournament earnings. Ivey had placed 12th at the Aussie Millions main event for a prize of A$100,000.
On February 10, 2014, Ivey won the 2014 Aussie Millions LK Boutique $250,000 Challenge for AU$4,000,000 — the largest single cash of his career. In February 2015, he won the Aussie Millions $250,000 Challenge again, this time for AU$2,205,000.
, Ivey's total live tournament winnings exceed $54.4 million. He has 14 cashes in his live poker career worth at least $1 million. He is currently ranked 11th on the all-time money list.
Triton +Festival TournamentPrizeMontenegro 2018250K HKD Short Deck Ante OnlyHKD 4,749,200Cyprus 2022 (April)$75k Short Deck Ante-Only$1,170,000Cyprus 2022 (September)$30k Short Deck Ante-Only$387,000London 2023$60k NLH Turbo$1,007,000London 2023$25k Short Deck Ante-Only$280,500
Cash games Ivey is a regular participant in the $4,000–$8,000 mixed cash game at the Bellagio in Las Vegas (often referred to as the Big Game). In February 2006, he played heads-up Limit Texas Hold'em versus Texas billionaire Andy Beal. With stakes at $25,000/$50,000 and $50,000/$100,000, Ivey won over $16,000,000 over the course of three days, during a heads up match at The Wynn Resort. Ivey was playing for "The Corporation", a group of poker professionals who pooled their money and took turns playing against Beal. Earlier in the month, Beal had beaten the Corporation out of over $13,000,000.
Online poker Ivey was part of the original design team for Full Tilt Poker. In May 2011, Ivey filed a lawsuit in Clark County, Nevada claiming Full Tilt had breached his contract. The suit asked for damages in excess of $150,000,000, as well as for him to be released from his contract with the company. Ivey voluntarily withdrew the suit on June 30.
According to HighStakesDB.com, Ivey won $1.99 million on FullTilt in 2007, $7.34 million in 2008, $6.33 million in 2009, and $3 million in 2010.
Awards All In Magazine 2005 Poker Player of the Year All In Magazine 2009 Poker Player of the Year
Edge-sorting litigation