While only 27, Phil Ivey can be counted as one of poker's elite players. Raised in New Jersey , Phil earned his wings playing in Atlantic City before making the move to Las Vegas. We think of him as a tournament player, but in fact Phil places a far greater emphasis on his cash game play, making his participation in tournaments something of an afterthought. If you didn't see him as much as you'd like last year on TV, it's probably because he was too busy mixing it up in the big games at on the Strip. Like Howard Lederer, you can play with Phil Ivey at www.fulltiltpoker.com.

This is what we at Netbettor love about Phil Ivey-the fact that he's predominately a cash game player. Tournaments are fine, but where you really separate the wheat from the chaff is in the cash games. When we argue about who are 'really' the best poker players alive, we invariably look to see how much emphasis they place on cash game play, as these games require a far greater complement of skills than tournaments.