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Interviews and Articles
Phil Ivey Interview - Taken from FlopTurnRiver.com
Thanks to Bluff Magazine
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 Ivey: 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 favourite sport to watch?
Phil Ivey: Basketball.
Bluff Magazine: Who’s your team?
Phil Ivey: I don’t really have a team. I guess my team is who ever 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.
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