Phil Ivey

Christy Devine: How old were you when you started playing?

Phil Ivey: The first time I played was with my grandfather when I was 8 or 9 years old. He showed me how to play five-card stud. The first time I ever played for money, I was 16.

Christy Devine: Were you sneaking into casinos at 16?

Phil Ivey: No, I was sneaking into casinos at 17 or 18.

Christy Devine: I knew it. Everyone has his own sneaking-into-casinos story. Did you have a good fake ID?

Phil Ivey: I had an ID. I was Jerome, Jerome Graham. That was my name. Everybody in Atlantic City knew me as Jerome until I turned 21. When I turned 21, I walked into the Tropicana and found the shift manager. I said, "Hey, my name's Phil." She said, "What?" I said, "My name's Phil. I'm sorry." She told me it was OK. She didn't think I was old enough to be in there anyway, but there was nothing they could do then; I was official.

Christy Devine: How long have you been playing professionally?

Phil Ivey: I started playing for a living when I was 21, maybe 22. That's when I really started trying hard to make money at poker.

Christy Devine: What made you think you could do this for a living?

Phil Ivey: I would look around at the other people who were doing it for a living, and would think, "They're making money playing poker?" So, I would play with them and not be very impressed. I thought it was the best thing ever, being able to play cards for a living. What could beat that?

Christy Devine: Did you think it was going to be a lot easier than it has been?

Phil Ivy: It seems simple until you start losing. People have different ways that they go about making money. I'm not the best at managing money. If I've got the money to play, I'm gonna play.

Christy Devine: How did you get involved with Full TiltPoker?

Phil Ivey: I was involved from the very beginning when Chris (Ferguson) told me he was working on a site. All the guys involved with the site are people I respect. I respect them as people and as players.

Christy Devine: Do you think Full Tilt has put out a good product?

Phil Ivey: I do believe it is a good product. The software is the best out there and the games are the best, and where else can you go to talk with professional players and play with them? We're trying to give the quality service to customers that the other online sites don't give them. We're trying to make things a little more personal. Right now, there is a big deposit bonus, and a lot more people are playing than a few months ago.

Christy Devine: How much time do you spend online at Full Tilt?

Phil Ivey: I try to play about 10 hours a week.

Bluff Magazine: Congratulations Phil, you are Bluff’s Player of the Year. Are you getting used to the accolades yet?

Phil Ivey: Well, no. I’ve never won anything like this in the past. Even though I’m usually in the Top 20, I never have much of a chance of winning a player of the year award, because I don’t play in as many tournaments as everybody else.

Bluff Magazine: Was 2005 your best year for tournament winnings?

Phil Ivey: For tournament, yes...

Bluff Magazine: How did you first discover poker?

Phil Ivey: I was 8 years old and my grandfather taught me how to play 5-card stud [and] we played with pennies. I didn’t play much until I was over at a friend’s house when I was about 15. They had a little poker game over there and they asked me if I wanted to play. It was a $20 buy-in thing, so I joined them and I fell in love with the game.

Bluff Magazine: You were “Jerome” in those days. Does anyone down in Atlantic City still know you as Jerome?

Phil Ivy: No. No one knows me as Jerome anymore. It was just the name on my fake ID. I didn’t really speak to that many people anyway; I just went down and played poker and that was it. But, I told people I was Jerome and… when I turned 21, I told them I was Phil.

Bluff Magazine: What kind of limits were you playing in those days?

Phil Ivey: I started off playing $1/$3 and $1/$5. A couple of times, I’d play $20/$40, but that was a real big thing for me back then.

Bluff Magazine: Did you have a mentor when you were learning the game?

Phil Ivey: Nah, I didn’t have a mentor; it was basically just trial and error. I’d learn by watching some of the players that won a lot, and by thinking about the game all the time. I learned to play on my own.

Bluff Magazine: People don’t know a lot about you away from the table. What do you do when you’re not playing?

Phil Ivey: I play golf [and] a little basketball every once in a while. I like to travel, go to restaurants, chill out with my wife -- just relax and have a good time.

Bluff Magazine: What’s your favorite sport to watch?

Phil Ivy: Basketball.

Bluff Magazine: Who’s your team?

Phil Ivey: I don’t really have a team. I guess my team is whoever I bet on.

Bluff Magazine: Are you a big sports bettor?

Phil Ivey: Not a big one; if I go to a game, then I’ll bet on the game. I used to bet [on] sports a lot, but I’ve cut down on all that stuff.