Phil Ivey: A Comprehensive Biography
Phil Ivey is a Poker Hall of Famer whose public résumé is built on two things that are easy to verify: major titles and deep runs in the highest buy-in tournaments. He has 11 WSOP bracelets, with the most recent coming in 2024 when he won the $10,000 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Championship for $347,440.
Recent finishes show the story is not frozen in time. In 2025, he reached two late-stage WSOP Pot-Limit Omaha high rollers, cashing for $394,531 and $715,614.
The Biography of Phil Ivey: Early Life and Entry Into Poker
Phillip Dennis Ivey Jr. was born on February 1, 1977, in Riverside, California, and grew up largely in New Jersey. Poker began in home games, then accelerated once he found casino cardrooms and a schedule he could grind.
As a teenager, he spent long hours in Atlantic City and used a fake ID under the name “Jerome Graham,” a detail that later fed the nickname “No Home Jerome.”
Those early years matter because they explain the work pattern that shows up later in his results. Atlantic City offered repetition: long sessions, changing lineups, and constant pressure to stay disciplined. By the time national tournament results started appearing next to his name, he had already built a style around volume and composure rather than a single headline win.
Tournament Resume in Numbers
- 11 WSOP bracelets across multiple variants, with the first coming in 2000 and the most recent in 2024.
- The 2024 title came in the $10,000 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Championship, paying $347,440.
- WSOP-facing reporting places his career WSOP earnings above $10,000,000 after that 2024 win.
- At the 2025 WSOP, he reached the final table of the $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller, finishing 6th for $394,531 in a field of 489 entries.
- Later in the same series, he placed 5th for $715,614 in the $100,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event.
- Across the live circuit, his deepest public runs cluster in mixed games and high buy-ins, which is why his résumé reads as more than one strong summer.
Phil Ivey’s Playing Profile
Ivey’s reputation has long been tied to control at the table. In cash-game lore and in televised poker from earlier eras, he became known for staying composed in big pots, picking spots that applied maximum pressure, and avoiding obvious patterns in bet sizing and timing. That steadiness is part of why he has been viewed as difficult to play against for extended stretches, especially when stacks are deep and decisions compound over multiple streets.
The tournament record lines up with that perception in one important way: his signature results are spread across several variants. Players who rely on one format usually show a narrow trophy profile. Ivey’s highlights are more distributed, which fits a career built on adaptability and fundamentals rather than one solved strategy.
Over time, that combination became the core of his public identity: a high-stakes regular who could switch games, switch opponents, and still keep his decisions hard to exploit.
What Happened to Phil Ivey? The Edge-Sorting Disputes
The legal disputes tied to Ivey come from baccarat sessions, not poker. In 2012, he played at Crockfords in London and recorded a reported £7.7 million win. The casino refused to pay and argued that the way the game was conducted changed the terms it believed it was offering.
The dispute moved through the courts and ultimately ended at the UK Supreme Court, which ruled against Ivey and treated the conduct as cheating under that legal standard, even though the case did not involve hidden devices, physical damage, or marking to the cards.
A related dispute unfolded in the United States at the Borgata in Atlantic City, tied to baccarat sessions linked to the same general method. The public framing centered on game conditions and agreed procedures rather than a classic “marked cards” storyline. The case produced a judgment, and later reporting described a settlement, with terms that were not made public.
Does Phil Ivey Still Play Poker?
The cleanest answer is the recent results line. In 2024, Ivey won the $10,000 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Championship for $347,440, adding his 11th WSOP bracelet. That win matters because it is a full championship run with published payouts and a documented final table, not a one-night appearance.
In 2025, he backed it up at the highest buy-in tier of the WSOP schedule. He finished 6th in the $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller for $394,531 in a 489-entry field, then placed 5th in the $100,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event for $715,614.
Phil Ivey Career Earnings and Phil Ivey Net Worth Estimates
Phil Ivey’s tournament earnings are documented because live poker series publish payouts. Across major tours and series, those records place his career live tournament earnings above $50 million, driven by cashes at the World Series of Poker and other high payout casinos. That figure reflects winnings from events that paid out publicly listed prize pools and does not include private play.
Net worth is a separate question. Unlike tournament results, it depends on information that is not disclosed in public records. Private cash games, staking arrangements, business ventures, expenses, and taxes all sit outside what tournament databases can show. Because of that, public net worth estimates vary widely and should be read as approximations rather than confirmed figures.
The reliable takeaway is straightforward. Ivey’s tournament résumé establishes him as one of the highest-earning players in live poker history by documented results alone. Any claims about total wealth beyond those recorded earnings rely on private financial details that have never been publicly itemized.
Phil Ivey’s Public Footprint: Where Fans See Him Now
Away from official results pages, Ivey tends to show up publicly in settings tied to scheduled tour programming. During the WPT World Championship festival at Wynn Las Vegas, he joined a low-stakes WPT Christmas Meet-Up Game on December 17, 2024.
His visibility also shows up through branding. Coverage around the 2024 WSOP linked Ivey with WPT Global, pointing to an active commercial relationship alongside his tournament schedule.
Recent headline results and milestones (2000–2025):
| Event / milestone | Year | Finish / status | Payout |
|---|---|---|---|
| WSOP bracelet (first) | 2000 | Winner | — |
| Poker Hall of Fame | 2017 | Inducted | — |
| WSOP $10,000 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Championship | 2024 | 1st | $347,440 |
| WPT Christmas Meet-Up Game (Wynn Las Vegas) | 2024 | Public appearance | — |
| WSOP $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller | 2025 | 6th | $394,531 |
| WSOP $100,000 Pot-Limit Omaha | 2025 | 5th | $715,614 |
A Controlled Legacy
Ivey’s public record reads like a career built on range rather than one game. The early WSOP breakthrough led to decades of mixed-game visibility, and the recent results show the story is not finished: a championship win in 2024, followed by two high-roller final tables in 2025.
Private action is private, but the tournament timeline is public and current, and it still places him deep in the biggest buy-in fields on the calendar.
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