It's that time of year: list and award season. As the end of the year approaches people try to name their best and favorite moments of the year. For us? The best player was probably Phil Ivey. Our favorite player to watch? Phil Ivey. The coolest player? Phil Ivey. It would seem that the site Poker King agrees with us as they have also named Phil Ivey their player of the year.

Player of the Year - Phil Ivey. In our mind, Phil Ivey is undoubtedly the best poker player in the world. He made over $8 million dollars in 2008 on Full Tilt Poker. He didn't just dominate one game - he dominated all of the different games that he played, whether it was Pot Limit Omaha, No Limit Hold'em, HORSE or Omaha Hi/Lo.

I really like this choice, not only because I am a huge Ivey fan, but because it shows just how far online poker has come. Phil Ivey made $8,000,000 on Full Tilt this year, something that would be hard to match on the tournament circuit and gave high stakes online poker more credibility than it previously had.

Posted under Full Tilt

I found this blog at pokerlistings very enjoyable. It's the breakdown of a hand between Phil Ivey and Tom "durrrr" Dwan at Full Tilt Poker. Of course Phil wins.

Ivey now only has to call $60,996 to win $217,993. With his open-ender alone he would be priced in to make this call, but knowing the two players' history Ivey may even believe there is a small chance his sixes are good.

Of course when the cards are turned over he finds out that they aren't. Luckily he has 10 outs to improve against durrrr's kings.

It's really well written so be sure to check it out. Also, if you ever want to watch hands like these all you need is a Full Tilt Poker account. Signing up is easy and they offer a great sign up bonus of 100% match up to $600.

Posted under Full Tilt

Reading Phil Ivey news every day is weird because a lot of stories just don't surprise you. Phil won a million dollars at Full Tilt? Seems about right. Phil Ivey played a game of golf for $25k per hole? Figures. Phil made an early exit from a tournament? Of course he did.

Day 2 at the World Poker Tour Doyle Brunson Classic Championship was the final day of major tournament poker for a lot of players in 2008. The day began with a field of 376 who had survived from day 1A and 1B flights, but by the end of play, only 139 remained. The field shrank at an accelerated rate throughout the day, and it is very likely that the money bubble will burst tomorrow in this $15,000 no-limit hold'em event.

I've written a lot in the past about Phil Ivey's tournament strategy, but it's getting to the point now where I am openly questioning it. Does he just play these tournaments to keep his name out there and his face on TV? According to the Hendon Database Phil has won just over $2 million in tournaments this year. You would think he had to be up, but when you include all the buy-ins you have to wonder how much? Would $50k be worth it?

Posted under Tournaments

Someday we will be posting updates about the Phil Ivey Classic, a tournament dedicated the greatest poker player the world has ever seen. Hell, at some point we could see the Phil Ivey Memorial World Series of Poker Main Event. The sky is the limit. However, until that day we just have the Doyle Brunson Classic who is a pretty legendary poker player in his own right. After Day 1A Phil Ivey sits at 83k in chips. The leader? Another Phil, Phil Hellmuth.

Day 1A of the 2008 Five Diamond World Poker Classic Main Event, aka the "Doyle Brunson Classic", is now in the books. A familiar name is sitting with the chip lead, as Phil Hellmuth Jr. finished the day with a stack of 188k, putting him comfortably in the lead at the conclusion of the first day of play.

Interesting to note is that Clonie Gowen is playing in this tournament. Clonie, if you remember, is currently suing a lot of Full Tilt pros over a perceived slight. You think playing against Phil Ivey is scary? Try playing against him when you're suing him. Woah.

Posted under Tournaments

Now that we live in an age of online poker many think a lot of the skill of the game is gone. Some think because you don't look people directly in the eye and take a cold read of them that the game has somehow changed. It hasn't. Phil Ivey proves everyday that the best in live poker is the best in online poker. There is no secret formula. Skill is skill. Take this hand from the 2008 World Series of Poker. Read More...

Posted under Strategy