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Phil Ivey has won 11 World Series of Poker bracelets, more than any player in history except Phil Hellmuth, and none of them came in no-limit hold’em, the game most people associate with poker. He also has one World Poker Tour title, a place in the Poker Hall of Fame since 2017 and, according to the Hendon Mob database, more than $56 million in live tournament earnings. PokerNews reports that many of his peers consider him the best player of all time.
This profile sticks to what the record shows: where he came from, how the bracelets arrived, the big games he is known for, the legal defeat in London that complicated his public image, and where his career stands as of October 2026. Opinions about his place in poker history appear only with attribution.
Who Is Phil Ivey?
Phil Ivey was born on February 1, 1977, in Riverside, California, and PokerNews reports that his family moved to Roselle, New Jersey, when he was a baby. According to WSOP.com, he got his start as a teenager in the casinos of Atlantic City, and he went on to become the player many consider the greatest alive.
Ivey is known as a high-stakes specialist in both tournaments and cash games. WSOP.com notes that he appeared on televised cash-game shows such as High Stakes Poker and Poker After Dark, and that his tournament success is rivaled only by his reputation in the biggest private games. PokerNews and the BBC both note that he came to be called the Tiger Woods of poker.
He entered the Poker Hall of Fame in 2017, according to WSOP.com and PokerNews. The Hendon Mob database, which tracks live tournament results, lists his total at $56,074,163 and ranks him 11th on its all-time money list as of October 2026. That figure excludes his cash-game results, which are largely private.
From Atlantic City to a First Bracelet
According to PokerNews, Ivey’s first recorded open tournament result came in April 2000, when he beat 296 opponents in a $540 limit hold’em event in Tunica and won $53,297. Later that year he made his first trip to the World Series, cashed three times, reached two final tables and won the $2,500 pot-limit Omaha event for $195,000, his first bracelet.
Three more bracelets followed in 2002, all in limit games: seven-card stud, seven-card stud hi-lo and S.H.O.E., a mixed game. A fifth came in 2005, when he won the $5,000 pot-limit Omaha event for $635,603. PokerNews says his first seven-figure score also came that year, a $1 million top prize at the Monte Carlo Millions in November.
That same summer, Ivey finished 20th in the Main Event for $304,680, according to the official WSOP results. The title that year went to a former chiropractor from Australia, as told in the story of Joe Hachem’s winning hand.
Phil Ivey’s Bracelets, One by One
PokerNews lists the 11 wins below, and Card Player’s report on the 2024 win agrees on the total. Every one of the 11 came outside no-limit hold’em, according to Card Player. The table below gives the year, the event and the first prize.
| Year | Event | First prize |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | $2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha | $195,000 |
| 2002 | $1,500 Limit Seven Card Stud | $132,000 |
| 2002 | $2,500 Limit Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo | $118,440 |
| 2002 | $2,000 Limit S.H.O.E. | $107,540 |
| 2005 | $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha | $635,603 |
| 2009 | $2,500 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw | $96,367 |
| 2009 | $2,500 Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better | $220,538 |
| 2010 | $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. | $329,840 |
| 2013 | WSOP Asia-Pacific A$2,200 Mixed Event (8-Game) | A$51,840 |
| 2014 | $1,500 8-Game Mix | $166,986 |
| 2024 | $10,000 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Championship | $347,440 |
The first eight bracelets arrived within a decade, from 2000 to 2010, according to Card Player. Two more followed in the 2010s, one at the inaugural WSOP Asia-Pacific in Australia in 2013 and one in Las Vegas in 2014. After that, Ivey waited 3,639 days for his 11th, as Card Player calculated.
Two years stand out: three bracelets in 2002 and two in 2009, the year he also reached the Main Event final table and finished seventh for $1,404,014, according to PokerNews.
Cash Games, the WPT and the Aussie Millions
WSOP.com says Ivey famously played against billionaire Andy Beal in 2006. He played on behalf of a collective of professionals called The Corporation, who took turns facing Beal heads-up with stakes as high as $50,000/$100,000, and he won more than $16 million from Beal over three days at the Wynn in Las Vegas.
His only World Poker Tour title came in February 2008, when he won the L.A. Poker Classic at the Commerce Casino for $1,596,100, according to PokerNews and the WPT’s own records.
His biggest single tournament payout came in Melbourne. PokerNews reports that he won the A$250,000 Challenge at the Aussie Millions in 2012 for A$2,000,000 and again in 2014 for A$4,000,000 (US$3,582,753), which remains his best-ever single haul from a tournament. In May 2024 he also finished fourth in the $125,000 Triton Montenegro Main Event for $1,795,000.
The 2024 Bracelet and Ivey in 2026
The long wait ended in June 2024 at WSOP Event #29, the $10,000 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Championship. Ivey beat Danny Wong heads-up in a field of 149 entries to win $347,440, according to the official WSOP results, closing out the win with 7-5-4-3-2, the best possible hand in the game, as Card Player reported. “It feels good to win always,” Ivey told PokerNews.
The win made him the sole holder of second place on the all-time bracelet list, ahead of Johnny Chan and Erik Seidel and the late Doyle Brunson, who each have 10, according to Card Player.
As of October 2026, WSOP.com lists Ivey at 11 bracelets. He remains active: it records a third-place finish for $600,698 in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship in June 2026 and an eighth-place finish for $553,270 in the $250,000 Super High Roller no-limit hold’em event that month. In 2022, according to PokerNews, he came second in the $100,000 no-limit hold’em High Roller, narrowly missing an 11th bracelet.
Why Ivey’s Career Still Matters
His bracelets cover many games: pot-limit Omaha, stud, stud hi-lo, draw games, H.O.R.S.E. and eight-game mixes. PokerNews says his peers’ high opinion of him rests on his composure and his ability to win in every known format.
Only Phil Hellmuth, with 17 bracelets, is ahead of him on the all-time list, according to WSOP.com. Ivey’s Hendon Mob profile also shows that his best rank on the site’s all-time money list was first.
His televised cash-game appearances made him one of the game’s most popular players, according to WSOP.com, which describes him as an idol for many recreational and professional players.
The Other Side: The Legal Dispute and the Gaps
In October 2017 the UK Supreme Court unanimously upheld a ruling that a London casino, Crockfords, could withhold £7.7 million of winnings from a 2012 session of punto banco, a form of baccarat, according to the BBC. The casino’s owner said Ivey and a fellow player used edge sorting, which means spotting tiny differences in the patterns on the backs of cards. Ivey argued that he had used a legitimate advantage and had not been dishonest. PokerNews reports that all legal proceedings with several casinos ended in July 2020, six years after they began. The BBC noted that the case was not about poker.
The record also has gaps. None of his 11 bracelets is in no-limit hold’em, his best Main Event finish is seventh in 2009, and PokerNews notes that he sometimes did not appear at the WSOP at all during his ten-year bracelet drought.
Big wins are the exception, not the rule. Ivey’s results come from one of the game’s best-known players competing at the highest stakes, and most players cannot expect anything similar. PokerNews says he is secretive about his net worth, and the Hendon Mob database tracks only tournaments, so figures about his wealth are estimates. The legality of real-money poker and the legal age to play vary by state and venue.
Myths About Phil Ivey
Myth: Ivey holds the WSOP bracelet record. He has 11, which is second all-time. WSOP.com credits Phil Hellmuth with 17.
Myth: Ivey is a no-limit hold’em champion who has won the Main Event. All 11 of his bracelets came outside no-limit hold’em, according to Card Player, and his best Main Event result is seventh place in 2009.
Myth: His tournament earnings show everything he has won. The Hendon Mob database counts live tournament results only. PokerNews notes that he has also made millions from high-stakes cash games, which are not tracked.
Keep Reading
For the player who holds the all-time bracelet record, read Phil Hellmuth: Career, Bracelets and Legacy. For another poker great whose bracelet total Ivey surpassed in 2024, see Doyle Brunson: Career, Titles and Legacy of Texas Dolly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sources & References
- WSOP.com — Phil Ivey player profile
- WSOP.com — 2024 World Series of Poker, Event #29 results
- WSOP.com — 2005 World Series of Poker, Event #42 results
- PokerNews — Phil Ivey player profile
- Card Player — Phil Ivey Wins 11th World Series of Poker Bracelet
- World Poker Tour — Phil Ivey player page
- BBC News — Poker player Phil Ivey loses £7.7m casino case
- The Hendon Mob — All Time Money List
- The Hendon Mob — Phil Ivey player profile
- PokerNews — Phil Ivey Wins 11th WSOP Bracelet
