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Even though still regarded as the best poker player alive, and definitely part of the all-time elite, Phil Ivey has recently shown signs of a serious downswing. Since playing Full Tilt Poker again under the ‘Polarizing’ screen name, he has lost over $3 million.
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First cashing in a live tournament in 1998 and scooping in no less than nine WSOP bracelets since, Phil Ivey has become a living legend of poker, one of the all time top pros and considered by many the single best player alive. His live winnings total at $17,649,220 and the $19,242,744 in online cash game profits under his own name at Full Tilt Poker make him the biggest online winner ever. Nevertheless, his most recent results continue to disappoint.
Apparently, 2013 might be a low point in Ivey’s poker career, with his live tournament winnings currently standing at $131,746, an all time low if we do not take the year 2011 into consideration, when he refused to participate in the annual WSOP, out of solidarity with those who could not take part due to their money being frozen on the FTP accounts. Even worse, however, are his online standings; playing under the ‘Polarizing’ screen name, he is currently down $3,232,426, $2,980,086 of which being this year’s “results”.
Several guesses have been made about the reason for his recent performance, which has made Ivey a top gross loser, putting him in one league with the likes of Gus Hansen and ‘samrostan’. According to some, with so many results (basically, everything that can be achieved in poker), he may have lost motivation, while others blame the dropping age and growing aggression of younger players. Yet others claim that it is a simple downswing caused by bad variance, known to all players in the industry all too well.
Aside from his performance in the future and whether or not he can turn the tide, only time can tell if Ivey still has what it takes to be successful in the online field.