It takes a lot of skill and success to universally be recognized as the world’s best poker player, but that’s exactly what Phil Ivey brings to the table every time he sits down. He’s not only the all-time winning money leader on the poker tournament circuit but has had just as much success (and possibly more) at the cash game tables.

Completely fearless and willing to gamble huge sums of money on just about anything, Ivey is one of a handful of pros that is equally respected by fellow pros for his poker skills and revered by poker fans. He broke onto the poker scene in the 1990s and made a huge splash from 2000-2005 at the World Series of Poker (WSOP). He won 3 bracelets at the 2002 WSOP (a feat he’d duplicate in 2009) and while a Main Event title has eluded him, he’s finished in the top 25 at the Main Event four times since 2002, including a final table finish in 2009.

He’s also had plenty of success away from the WSOP as well, including a WPT victory and final tables in live poker events around the globe. He regularly plays in the biggest cash games in the world at Bobby’s Room at the Bellagio in Las Vegas and has also appeared on High Stakes Poker. He was part of the Corporation, which was a team of top Vegas pros who pooled their money to take on billionaire banker Andy Beal in Las Vegas in 2001 in what were some of the highest stakes ever played. Ivey played a huge role in the Corporation’s victory, winning $16.6 million from Beal over a span of 3 days.

Phil Ivey’s love of gambling and prop bets is legendary, as he’s reportedly bet $1,000,000+ on various things such as whether the Los Angeles Lakers will win a NBA title, on whether or not he’ll win the Main Event, and at golf. He bounced back from a disastrous round of prop bets at the 2008 WSOP (in which he didn’t win a single bracelet) with similar successful bets the next year at the 2009 WSOP that reportedly netted him well over $10 million in winning, aside from the prize money he collected for his 3 bracelet wins in 2009.

While Phil Ivey is sponsored by Full Tilt and appears in their online and offline advertising, he’s got a surprisingly low profile over the years. Unlike fellow pros such as Daniel Negreanu and Phil Hellmuth, Ivey has been content to make his money largely at the poker tables and hasn’t resorted to hawking other products such as poker books, television shows, poker video games, energy drinks, or appearing on reality shows.