Ivey sits down with fellow Poker Hall of Famer Daniel Negreanu on latest podcast episode
Phil Ivey’s appearances on modern-era poker television shows stand as rare events. Interviews with the poker legend happen even less often, as Ivey remains as perhaps poker’s biggest get from a journalistic interview perspective.
The DAT Poker Podcast landed an interview with Ivey, which dropped on Daniel Negreanu’s YouTube channel Sunday. Ivey’s appearance comes in the 100th episode of the DAT Poker Podcast, and the show couldn’t have landed a bigger name to celebrate the milestone.
Ivey sat down with Negreanu, Terrence Chan, and Adam Schwartz for a 50-minute interview, putting perhaps the two most famous names in poker history on the screen at the same time. While Ivey persists as one of the game’s most elusive interview subjects, the 10-time WSOP bracelet winner contended that he was more than happy to appear on the DAT Poker Podcast.
“It wasn’t very difficult to get me on the show,” Ivey said. “All Daniel had to do was message me.”
The life of Phil Ivey in 2021
Schwartz begins the interview by asking Ivey what day-to-day life looks like for the poker icon in 2021. Ivey doesn’t spend too much time on the poker felt in the U.S. these days and was focusing heavily on the Macau cash game scene and occasional Triton Poker events before COVID-19 froze live poker in much of the world.
The past year unfolded in a fashion that Ivey says led to a “boring” current chapter of life.
“My day-to-day life is pretty boring I would say,” Ivey said. “The last year I’ve been really just kind of working on myself. I’ve been doing a lot of yoga. I’ve been doing some meditating, golfing, spending time with my family.”
“That’s it really. There’s not really much to it. I’m looking forward to poker starting back and getting back out there again.”
Ivey goes on to say he hasn’t been to Macau in more than a year, as COVID-19 travel restrictions have prevented him from taking part in the Asian live poker scene.
What does Phil Ivey think of Phil Hellmuth’s poker ability?
Phil Ivey, Johnny Chan, and Doyle Brunson sit in a three-way tie for the No. 2 spot on the World Series of Poker all-time bracelet wins list. All three poker legends claim ten bracelets each, but all look up at Phil Hellmuth (16 bracelets) at No. 1 on the list.
Negreanu took the DAT Poker Podcast opportunity to put Ivey to the test for an opinion on Hellmuth’s true ability at the poker table. Negreanu sets up the question with a claim that Hellmuth says Ivey would admit that he’s not as good as Hellmuth if asked such a question.
“I don’t know,” Ivey said. “I would have to play him. I’ve never really played Phil Hellmuth. I’ve played him in tournaments and stuff like that.”
“Would I bet on myself versus him in a tournament? Yes.”
The 50-minute interview featuring Ivey is must-watch programming for poker enthusiasts. Ivey goes into his outlook on future WSOP events, his current life priorities list, and a host of other fascinating topics.
“I still love the World Series of Poker,” Ivey said. “It’s definitely my favorite group of events. I just had some personal things that I needed to deal with the last couple of years.”
“Poker is not number one in my life anymore,” Ivey goes on to say. “My mental health, and physical health, my family, things like that, I prioritize those things.”
Featured image source: YouTube
