Phil Ivey is one of the most popular poker players around – at least among female fans.

Often called the Tiger Woods of poker, Ivey burst upon the scene in 2000, winning his first World Series of Poker bracelet (in Pot Limit Omaha) at the tender age of 23. He then tied a record by winning another three bracelets at the 2002 WSOP.

Only Phil Hellmuth and Ted Forrest have duplicated that feat.

Dismissing Ivey because of his youth would be a mistake. Once a video game aficionado, he started playing in casinos at age 17, using a fake ID.

Since then, he’s spent nearly every waking moment working on his craft, relying on his wife (and high school sweetheart) Luciaetta to take care of both him and their Las Vegas household.

The rewards are tangible: Ivey has won over $3.2 million in his career and $1.3 million in the past year alone. He’s particularly good at no-limit poker, although he’s no slouch at seven card stud, which is where he earned one of his bracelets in 2002.

A fan of the Los Angeles Lakers, Ivey can usually be seen at the poker table wearing a basketball jersey and an expression of intense focus.

Like Woods, Ivey keeps himself in top physical shape; unlike his golfing counterpart, however, Ivey has no use for the spotlight.

But now that poker has exploded on the national scene, expect to see lots of Ivey as his game continues to improve.

He won his fifth WSOP bracelet in 2005 and expressed a desire to eventually win 30 of them !