A bad hand in the motherland
Phil Ivey, known as the Tiger Woods of poker, put his cards on a Joburg table last week — and lost a million bucks.
WITH the money Phil Ivey has won and lost in his poker career, he could have built the Obamas their own Nkandla. But the thrill lies in the chase of the buck, not the buck itself. “I love competing, playing against the best players and winning. You win tournaments because you have to fight. It’s become a tougher living. I like it,” said the American star, who played in South Africa last week.
Ivey entered the room with the sense of purpose you’d expect in a man who needed to recoup his R1.1-million buy-in — and then bag the $500 000 (R5.5-million) main prize in the World Poker Tour’s Alpha8 event at Emperor’s Palace. But first, the Tiger Woods of poker had to sit down for an interview he had little time for.
His pre-tournament ritual? “Get a good night’s sleep, a decent breakfast, and I like to work out. It gets the heart racing and the blood flowing. It makes me pretty clearheaded throughout the day.”
Although he’s usually urbane, Ivey’s fighting qualities were forged in Tony Soprano land. “All of my growing up was in New Jersey. I was born in California and only lived there for three months. I moved to Long Beach, California, when I was around 25, 26 and then to Vegas when I was around 27, 28, and now I’m in Macau quite a bit.”
He’s been a cards ace since childhood. “My grandfather taught me when I was eight. I come from a family that plays cards. Naturally, when I saw people were doing it for a living I thought ‘let’s give that a try’. I never wondered ‘What am I gonna do if this doesn’t work out?’ And here I am now.”
Not for long, though. The 38-year-old takes his itinerant lifestyle in his stride: tournament play has taken him to Amsterdam, London, Edinburgh, Berlin, Hamburg, Paris, Manila, Hong Kong, Macau, Nassau and across the US. This is his first African outing.
‘I come from a family that plays cards. When I saw people do it for a living, I thought “let’s give that a try”’
“This is huge,” says the LA Lakers fan. “This is as good as it gets. This is my first time. I can knock this off my bucket list. I’m gonna stay on: I’ll go to Vic Falls. I’m gonna go on safari and to Cape Town. The people here are super laid-back and friendly.”
Ivey is loath to talk about his private life. “I got divorced four years ago. I travel with a trainer who is one of my friends. My trainer is from Zimbabwe and she will see some family there. I’ll go with her. We’re going to a school for underprivileged kids and I’ll probably make some sort of donation.”
Just as top actors are defined by Oscars, so poker players collect bracelets. Ivey has nine, although he is now less mesmerised by the bling.
“I remember saying one day that I want to win 30 bracelets. I still think it’s possible but I was a little younger when I said that. I try not to look too far into the future now. Things change when you get a bit older. You worry about things that go on in your life right now. I want to win this tournament.”
He didn’t. He finished eighth, and dropped out of contention on day one.
But he doesn’t dwell on defeats, nor where people rank him in the poker pantheon. “I’ll let people decide that. When I play at my best I’m pretty tough to beat. There are a lot of ups and downs in poker. When you are playing against the best players in the world, the difference between playing really well and playing slightly better than your best is huge.”
The gap between a jack and a king has never been so imperceptible.