Phil Ivey is by far the most decorated professional poker player to make the WSOP 2009 November Nine, Phil Ivey is a 7 time WSOP bracelet winner with nearly $10 million in live cashes. He is a member of the Full Tilt Pros, where he’s earned countless in high-stakes cash games. Though he will start the 2009 WSOP Main Event final table with the 3rd smallest stack, he has the most experience to overcome. A WSOP Championship is about the only title Phil Ivey lacks, so we can just imagine how bad he wants this victory come November.
Name: Phil Ivey
Age: 33
DOB: February 1, 1976
Astrological Sign: Aquarius
Hometown: Las Vegas, Nevada
Total Live Tournament Winnings: $9,606,333
First Place Finishes: 18
Total Cashes: 100
WSOP Cashes: 34
WSOP Bracelets: 7
Phil Ivey is not just another professional poker player. He is one of the most prolific poker pros of our time, frequently termed the “Tiger Woods” of poker. With 7 WSOP Bracelets, 2 earned in just one year and a whopping 34 WSOP cashes, Phil Ivey is looking to extend those numbers even further is a potential 2009 WSOP Main Event Championship. On July 15th, Ivey and 8 other worthy competitors made their way into the history books, declared the upcoming “November Nine” of the 2009 WSOP.
Ivey may not be the chip leader going into the final table – In fact, he sits rather precariously in 7th position with 9,765,000 chips. But he is certainly the most experienced, successful and decorated poker player to earn a seat at the table.
Phil Ivey started playing poker as a teenager, competing against co-workers at a New Jersey telemarketing firm in the late 1990’s. He acquired a fake ID that earned him the nickname “No Home Jerome” , and used it to play at Atlantic City casinos, where he found much success on the felt.
Ivey first gained recognition at the age of 23 when he raked in 3 WSOP Bracelets in 2002; those having been added to his first bracelet, awarded at the age of 21. Phil’s next WSOP bracelet did not come until 2005, and a 4 year drought ended this year when Ivey took down 2 more Bracelets in 2009 WSOP preliminary events.
Phil Ivey also has one WPT Championship Title and holds the record for WPT final table appearances at 8. Ivey is currently considered, by many of his piers as well as poker followers, to be the best player in the world. The only thing Phil Ivey lacks at this point is that awe-inspiring victory in the most prestigious of them all the WSOP Championship.
Tournament play no longer takes up the majority of Phil Ivey’s poker playing time. He has become more accustomed, and certainly successful, playing cash games, especially at the online poker room full Tilt Poker. Phil is a member of Team Full Tilt Pros, along with other famed poker pros Howard Lederer, Jennifer Harman, Chris Ferguson and many more.
One of Phil’s most memorable cash game occurrences took pace in 2006 when Ivey played heads-up against mathematician Andy Beal. Beal was notorious for going one-on-one with top poker pros, and more often than not, beating them at their own game. Phil Ivey, on the other hand, took Beal for a ride he’ll not soon forget. By the end of a 3-day session, Ivey had confiscated an amazing $16.6 million from Beal.
Come this November, all poker enthusiasts will finally receive the answer to the question on the tip of so many tongues. Will Phil Ivey finally become the WSOP Main Event Champion? Can he survive the immense chip lead of Darvin Moon, with 58,930,000 coming into the final table, or will his 9+ million stack falter to the luck of the draw? We shall find out November 7th through November 10th when the 2009 WSOP Main Event reconvenes at the Rio in Las Vegas.
Here is the WSOP 2009 Final Table November Nine, in order of current chip leads … check out our profiles for more on each player
