Phil Ivey Captures First World Poker Tour Victory

The name Phil Ivey is synonymous with poker success. With $8.8 million in lifetime tournament winnings, five World Series of Poker bracelets, and a reputation as one of the fiercest competitors in any ultra high-stakes cash game, Ivey has rapidly risen to icon status.

He recently added to his list of accomplishments when he won his first World Poker Tour title at the 2008 L.A. Poker Classic. He topped a 665-player field and a tough final table that included 11-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth Jr. and another WPT champion, Nam Le. It was his record eighth WPT final table; as a testament to his "play to win" style, all eight times that he has cashed in a WPT event, he has made the final table.

When Ivey sits down at a poker table, he has one objective in mind, and that is to win. He does not play poker for the respect of his peers and fans, even though he has earned it. He certainly does not need the money; he has plenty of that, as well. Ivey has a competitive nature, and that means that he just wants to play the best that he possibly can at all times. All that he needs to do so is concentrate. When he is focused at the tables, there is simply no stopping him, especially once he builds his signature mountain of chips.

Almost 10 years ago, Ivey was one of the young guns at the poker tables, and over the past decade he has matured into one of the best, if not the best, all-around players in the game. He competes regularly in the biggest live and online cash games, and admits that it can be difficult for him to justify spending days at a time playing in tournaments, where the buy-in is equivalent to just a big blind in some of the cash games he frequents.

Ivey was the chip leader going to the LAPC final table, and Card Player caught up with him right before his win.

Lizzy Harrison: Tournament poker has changed dramatically since you first started playing. What are the biggest differences that you have noticed?

Phil Ivey: Since I started playing tournament poker, the players have gotten a lot better. In tournaments these days, the players make the correct decision a lot more than they used to. There are also a lot more talented young players coming up than there were in the past, especially those who play on the Internet. Also, the tournaments are much tougher to win because the fields are so much bigger. But most of all, the players have improved.

LH: How have you adjusted your game in order to continue to succeed?

PI: I have had to constantly adjust to the new players, and I do not take anything for granted anymore. There was a time when people would sit down to play at my table and I could, and would, make quick judgments about their game. I could tell right away if they were able to play well or not. Now I have to gather as much information as I can before I can decide how I should play against each opponent.

LH: When you make the money in big buy-in tournaments, you often go deep. Why do you think that is?

PI: It is because if I make the money, I usually have a lot of chips when I get there. The way that I play is that I try to accumulate lots of chips. That way, I have the maximum chance of winning the tournament.

LH: Does your focus increase as the field narrows?



PI: Yes. Like now, for example, I am really into this event. Once I am a few days deep in a tournament, I am very focused. In a tournament, the first couple of days are a chop-out period, which means that I am trying to position myself to be able to withstand a couple of beats. Basically, at the beginning I am just trying to gather some chips. But once the field gets smaller, every hand is important. During the last couple of days of play, every hand is critical.

LH: Why is it so difficult to slow you down once you build up a big stack?

PI: It is because it takes a couple of beats to knock me out. I have the chance to get all of my money in two or three times, and I have to lose them all to be out of the tournament. Other people, who might have a third of the chips that I have, will have the chance to get their money in only once. If they lose that one time, they are out of the tournament.

LH: What skills are most important when you're playing deep-stack poker toward the end of an event?

PI: Being able to make decisions after the flop is the most important thing. You also have to know when to bluff and when not to bluff. You need to know when to bet and, more importantly, how much you should bet.

LH: Does your experience give you an advantage in that area?

PI: Yes, because I play so much poker. I play in both tournaments and cash games, so all of my experience definitely helps me to make decisions.

LH: As the blinds and antes rise, do your decisions become easier or more difficult?

PI: I think that the decisions become easier. For example, if one player moves all in and there is a reraise, you know that you have to have a big hand to call or reraise. Once the blinds and antes get really high, it takes a lot of the play out of it. It becomes more of a crapshoot toward the end of a tournament. You have to get lucky. When you do get all of your money into the middle with the best hand, your hand has to hold up.

LH: How do you determine which players are playing to win and which are trying to inch their way up the pay scale?

PI: It is kind of a feel thing. You can tell by the way that they are playing and the hands that they show down. You have to look at the hands that they play and the hands that they pass on. I do think that every player is playing to win, but some of them just really do not know how to win.

LH: Once you figure that out, how do you play against them?

PI: It really depends on the situation. Poker is not a game in which you can decide that you are going to go after one opponent. If you do that, you will end up in really bad situations.

LH: How high do you have to finish in a tournament for it to be worth the time you spent away from the cash games?

PI: If I do not win a tournament, I am not too happy. Winning is more important, at this stage, than anything else.

LH: When you get deep in a tournament, are you thinking only about the first-place money or is it also the respect that a win will add to your resume?

PI: Neither. I don't play tournaments for prestige or respect, and I don't play for the money. Once I am in a tournament, I just want to win it. I think that is what is most important, doing the best that I can every time that I play. There have been a lot of tournaments in which I have not done the best that I could, and I have been trying to change that. And as you can see, my results have been getting better, and I have been going a lot deeper in tournaments.

LH: What have you done to ensure that you play your best?

PI: I have been concentrating more and really trying as hard as I can. I am trying to get back in the groove of poker and, specifically, poker tournaments.

LH: Is it easier for you to focus in a tournament when there is not a big cash game in the casino?

PI: Yes, for sure.

LH: Why is that?

PI: I really love to play cash games, and when I play cash games, I like the players I am playing against. I enjoy it so much. I really do not enjoy playing in tournaments as much. I like to play tournaments, don't get me wrong, but I would rather be playing in a cash game. In tournaments, it takes five or six days to take all of the money down, and weird things can happen along the way.

LH: How do you decide which tournaments are the most valuable for you to play?

PI: I usually play the big buy-in tournaments with $1 million or more in first-place money. I like to play in the main events with a $10,000 buy-in.

LH: What do you do to unwind after a long tournament day deep in the tournament?

PI: I like to go out to eat and relax, and maybe go to the movies. I like to enjoy myself.

LH: How do you get yourself psyched up for the next day?

PI: I don't really have too much of a preparation routine. I just relax, mostly.

LH: Do you ever think about your place in poker history?

PI: No, I never think about anything like that [laughing].