Background and career
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.
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".
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 A♣ K♠ lost to Darvin Moon's A♦ Q♠ 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.
An "A" following a year denotes bracelet(s) won at the World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific
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.
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. As of 2026, 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
