Sports & Gaming

Phil’s Journey

Phil Ivey

Lesson time 04:25 min

Meet your new instructor: ten-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, Phil Ivey. In your first lesson, Phil explains why he's finally opening up about his game and reveals the exact moment he fell in love with poker.

Students give MasterClass an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars

Topics include: The Beginning

Preview

[MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] NARRATOR 1: He's the best in the business, the mysterious Phil Ivey. NARRATOR 2: You never know what Phil's thinking. NARRATOR 1: It's pretty rare that Phil comes up with a mistake. Very methodical, he'll think about it for a while. NARRATOR 2: You'd just love to get inside his head for five minutes and find out what's going on in there. NARRATOR 1: Welcome to Ivey's world. - I used to never really think about, like, my place in the history of poker. But as you get older, you start to think about those things. First, I was against doing anything that kind of, like, you know, helps people with playing poker, because I come from that generation where there weren't very many good poker players, and the good poker players knew better than to share any information with anyone. So talking about a hand or helping someone to improve was a big no-no. Nowadays, it's more accepted, and, you know, we want people to improve. We want people to appreciate the game and to get better. I wish I had something like MasterClass, where I can-- I had some of the best players in the world, you know, discussing hands and going over the strategies. I basically had to learn everything from watching other people play and learn from my own mistakes. You know, what's available to you guys watching MasterClass is you can learn from my mistakes. In this class, we're going to go over some of the most famous hands I've played. I will walk walking through what was going on in my mind, what I think was going on in my opponent's mind, why I made the decisions that I made. I've never done an analysis of my hands and gone over what I was thinking or what I think my opponent was thinking. So with this MasterClass class, you're getting a lot of things that are done for me for the first time. And, you know, I'm happy to give this because I think poker deserves it. [MUSIC PLAYING] Poker has giving me so much through the years. It's given me an amazing life. It's allowed me to meet so many incredible people. For me to give back some knowledge of the game and to help some of the younger players coming up, this was an incredible opportunity for me, and hopefully I can see you at the table one day. I'm Phil Ivey, and this is my MasterClass. [MUSIC PLAYING] First time I saw a poker game, I was in a barbershop getting my hair cut. I was around eight years old, and I walked down the steps to go to the bathroom, and I made a wrong turn. I saw a bunch of guys sitting around a table smoking cigars with-- playing cards with money in front of them. And I came back upstairs, and I asked my grandfather what they were doing, and he said they were playing poker. And I said, I asked him, could he show me how to play. And he showed me the rules of the game. The first game he taught me was the five-card stud. And, you know, I was-- I was basically hooked ever since. I started playing in Atlantic City at around 16...

About the Instructor

At age 38, Phil Ivey became the youngest player to win 10 World Series of Poker bracelets. Now the man known for his enigmatic table presence—and widely regarded as the world’s best all-around poker player—gives you unprecedented access to his mental game. Learn poker strategy, pick up new poker tips, and review hands with the player who’s won more than $26 million in live tournament earnings.

Featured MasterClass Instructor

Phil Ivey

Phil Ivey opens up for the first time about his poker strategy and teaches you how to make smarter moves at the table.

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