Ivey Poker to Launch Jan 14, New Pros Sign On

Phil Ivey has done it all, or at least most of it. From an indubitably young teenager in Atlantic City with a fake ID in his pocket, to the immensely successful poker pro that he is today—he replaced the fake ID with a $14m bankroll—there just isn’t much left for Ivy to aspire to, except maybe the elusive WSOP Championship. What do you do when you’ve done it all? You develop the Ivey Poker Training Site and hire the best poker players in the world as coaches.

That is precisely what Phil Ivey has been working on. According to the latest headlines, Ivey Poker is set to launch on January 14, 2013. Now, with a month to go before opening day, Ivey is proudly announcing the retrieval of another group of phenomenal poker players set to grace the roster of Team Ivey.

In the early days of development, Phil made it absolutely clear that he only wanted “the best players in the world”. He has been accomplishing that goal ever since. His original line-up included himself, Danish daredevil Patrik Antonius, the beautifully deceptive Jennifer Harman, 2012 WSOP Champion Greg Merson, 2-time WPT titlist James Dempsey and formidable online pro Cole South.

Team Ivey grew more than twice its size this week when Phil tweeted the addition of seven more impeccable poker pros on Monday. The new Ivey Poker roster now includes the likes of Matt Giannetti, David Peters, Josh Brikis, Jonathan Tamayo, John Eames, Gillian Epp and Balazs Botond.

Matt Giannetti is more of a cash-game expert, spending the majority of his time there. However, his tournament skills are not to be overlooked. It was likely his 4th place finish at the 2011 WSOP Main Event, worth over $3 million, that caught the attention of Phil and earned him a spot on the roster at Ivey Poker. His career winnings total more than $4 million and climbing.

David Peters is often overlooked simply because he is so quiet at the tables. However, a closer look reveals a phenom of the felt. With more than 200 cashes and $3.5 million in live tournament winnings, Peters may be the most low-key aggressor the game has ever known. He’s also wrangled up another $2.9 million in online poker winnings.

Josh Brikis is an American poker pro hailing from Pittsburgh whose unceasing prowess in the World Series of Poker quickly grabbed Ivey’s notice. Brikis has a WPT title and whittled his way into 3 WSOP final tables since 2009, claiming 56 live tournament cashes to earn $1.5 million.

Jonathan Tamayo was practically unknown before skyrocketing to fame in 2009 when he became a Supernova Elite on PokerStars. He continues to shred the virtual felt and has raked in $1.5 million in live poker cashes since then.

John Eames is an English poker pro who made a name for himself with three tournament wins and multiple final tables in the WSOP and EPT, a combined wealth of $1.4 million in live cashes.

Gillian Epp is Canadian casino card dealer turned pro poker player, well known for her multitude of literary contributions in the poker community, but most feared at the high-stakes cash tables.

Balazs Botond is an up and coming Hungarian pro who’s intimidation in EPT events has resulted in three deep runs, including a 4th place finish in EPT Campione earlier this year.

Once Ivey Poker officially launches two weeks into January, the “innovative social poker game” and training site is sure to be inundated with new subscribers. There may be countless poker training sites on the world wide web, but to have such incredible talent among the coaches is a rarity that few have achieved.