Phil Ivey isn’t just the world’s best online and live poker player he is also a businessman. In February of 2013, Ivey bought the LeggoPoker training site and then announced that it would be turned into his self titled Ivey League poker training site.

Phil Ivey recently sat for an interview (which is a rare thing) conducted by Nolan Dalla. Although it was just a few soft-ball questions (no mention of Full Tilt Poker stuff), it still gives a very interesting glimpse into Ivey's mind, in my opinion. He also talks a little bit about poker tells. Continue reading this article. Ivey League was a poker training website founded by American professional poker player Phil Ivey. Ivey League launched on January 28, 2014 offering poker strategy videos from prominent professional players serving as coaches. The roster of Ivey League instructors included Ivey, Jennifer Harman, Cole South and Patrik Antonius, among others. Ivey Poker, established in 2012 offers a 'play for free' poker App that allows users to compete against Ivey and other pros. Ivey League was a poker training site with a full roster of professional coaches launched in 2014. About Phil Ivey At 38, Phil Ivey was the youngest person to win 10 WSOP bracelets, a massive feat of skill in a game that's involves a large chunk of chance. Phil is from a generation where players didn't share their secrets, which makes this Masterclass a total revelation. By taking it, you will be among the first to be able to take Phil's winning insights to the tables and put them to work. “Ivey League” is a poker teaching and training site operating since 2014 as a college. There are three plans for learners to choose: no cost, $9 per month, and $75 per month. Many professional couches are participating in the project, altogether over 30 of them, including such prominent figures as Patrik Antonius, Chris Kruk, and Cole South.

According to IveyPoker.com Ivey League is ready to officially launch at the end of January. Phil Ivey has said that his aim was to “teach the world how to play better poker”, and if anyone was going to attempt such a remarkable feat it would no doubt be Ivey who even according to other top pros is on a completely different level than most poker players.

After buying LeggoPoker, Ivey was quick to launch a Facebook free to play poker app that provides access to a number of free training videos from Team Ivey pros, plus the ability to play free to play games against the pros, so you can play and learn at the same time. This social app from Ivey Poker will work side-by-side with the training site, and it clearly shows that Ivey, who is new to the business world, is well up to date with the latest and most effective online marketing techniques, with Facebook a social networking site that has exploded in popularity since its introduction in 2004.

And no stone has been left unturned with some of the most renowned and skilled players in the poker world that comprises a roster of 32 players, including the man himself Phil Ivey, 2013 WSOP ME Champion Greg Merson, Jennifer Harman, Patrik Antonius, Dan Shak, and Dan Smith, all brought on to represent Ivey Poker. Given Phil Ivey’s one of the biggest names in the business, it wasn’t difficult for him to attract such a lineup of top pros to the team.

A lot of hype has been generated for Ivey’s new poker training site largely due to Ivey Poker being one of the main sponsors of the 2013 World Series of Poker broadcast on ESPN. A lot of pros could be seen wearing the Ivey Poker patch, which naturally got many people curious about what Ivey Poker and Ivey League are all about.

In an attempt to create additional buzz for the about to launch Ivey League poker training site, Ivey Poker was also the featured sponsor for the highly popular boxing program ‘ShoBox: The New Generation’. This event was aired on Showtime on January 17, featuring a lightweight championship battle between Ivan Redkach and Tony Luis.

Clete McQuinn, COO of Ivey Poker, had this to say about the event. “Phil is a big fan of boxing, but more importantly he is a fan of hard work, commitment, and dedication. That’s exactly what is needed when you step in the ring.”

Following the 2014 PCA in the Bahamas some of the Team Ivey Poker pros flew to picturesque Cabo in Mexico to record videos for the new training site that will be available for consumption the day the training site opens it doors to users. A few of the lucky team members that have been in Cabo over the last few days include Phil Ivey, Griffin Benger, Josh Brikis, and Mike Leah. All of them have been active on social media posting pics while filming in Mexico.

Given that it’s been close to 12 months since Ivey obtained LeggoPoker to build his very own online poker training site for players of all skill levels, one would expect an impressive amount of high quality content come the launch date. Of course, with Phil Ivey being the face of such a site, anything less wouldn’t be enough for those who sign up to the training site.

Published by:Julia

Learn poker strategy direct from Phil Ivey’s Masterclass. This world champion poker player is the master of the mental game across all poker formats.

Whether you are just starting out with the game, a fan, or a seasoned player you are going to enjoy this masterclass. More importantly, you are going to learn a lot about the art of poker.

A genuine insight into the world of professional poker

The idea that someone like Phil Ivey would share some of his secrets stunned me. So, to be honest, I was not expecting too much from this course.

At 3 hours long it is one of the shorter ones that are available on the Masterclass.com platform. But, Phil packs a lot in. He covers all of the important poker strategies and does so in a way that someone who is almost a complete novice, like me, can actually follow.

Phil Ivey’s Poker Journey

Like many of the bestplayers in the world, Phil’s interest in poker started early. As a child, hesaw the men in his family playing and was intrigued. His grandfather spent manyhours explaining the game to him. It quickly became his passion and even as achild he knew he wanted to be a professional player.

There is no doubt that ifyou want to be a good player, you have to practice…a lot. The strategies youwill learn from this course will give you a head start.

Make full use of Phil Ivey’s poker strategy workbook

Before I dive in and tell you more about what is in the course, I need to urge you to download and use the provided workbook (check it out here). Doing so will enable you to get a lot more out of the videos.

Pay particular attention tothe up your game section, this shows you how to maximize your results. Forexample, every now and again you will see a chip symbol pop up in a video. Thatis there to remind you to refer to the workbook. Usually, you will be providedwith exercises that are specifically designed to help you to cement what youhave just learned.

Phil also recommends placeswhere you can watch hands and learn more about the strategies he is teachingyou. He also highlights the best poker apps, which you can use to sharpen upyour game.

Understanding Pre-flop and Blind Defense

Master pre-flop and you’re in the game.

One of the biggest mistakes players make is not understanding how to handle the pre-flop. The decisions you make at this stage of the game have a huge impact on the overall outcome.
Phil quickly walks you through the different positions at the table and explains which pre-flop strategy works best for each position. As Phil says “position is everything”.

He goes through the different reasons to defend a blind as well as how to defend for suited connectors. Phil reminds you that it is also possible to over-defend your blinds. Phil shows you how to assess each situation and avoid this pitfall. He uses a hand review to show you an example of a play where he made this mistake.

It is refreshing to see Phil using his mistakes to teach his students memorable lessons. He could have taken the opposite approach and only shown himself in a good light. The fact he used his mistakes, as well as his successes, makes what he is teaching far more memorable.

Betting Tactics

Phil Ivey Poker Training

Betting in poker is all about maximizing value.

Every bet you make has a reason or purpose. Phil says when you have mastered betting tactics you will be unstoppable.

This video has plenty of individual bets demonstrated on the screen. He goes through the various pitfalls and how to avoid them. Phil dives deep into the following subjects, in this section of the course. In many cases, he provides hand reviews to demonstrate the point he is making.

• Overbetting
• Three-betting
• Three-betting from position
• Inducing and calling bluffs
• Induced bluff vs. polarized value bet

Bluffing while playing poker

Learning to bluff is a big part of playing poker. The best players are masters of the bluffing game. If you are known to be a good bluffer, your opponents are far more likely to feel unsure. This will often lead to them making a higher number of serious mistakes.

Phil starts out by explaining that you should only bluff when you have a good reason to do so. It is all too easy to see an opportunity and waste energy pursuing it, when the rewards are not adequate for the effort you have made.

He also shows you how to monitor your opponent’s stacks. Doing that ensures that your opponent does not run out of chips before you have been able to play out your bluff and profit.

Once again, Phil includes some hand reviews to demonstrate the technique he has just shared. The first one is pushing an opponent off of a winning hand. These reviews are a great way to gain an insight into the way Phil thinks and plays. If you like watching poker, you will really enjoy these sections of the course.

His other hand review demonstrates how he was able to turn a pretty good hand into a bluff. An approach that enabled him to get more out of the situation than most players would. He had the 3rd best hand but was able to use a bluff to take down the pot.

He also explains a bit more about how to handle the triple barrel. Unlike other players, he does not get too hung up on this.

This section also covers mastering the bluffing mindset and balancing your bluffs. Knowing when to bluff and when to put that strategy aside is an important skill that a lot of players fail to master. There is an exciting hand review that perfectly demonstrates these two concepts.

An in-depth look at the Post-flop

The longest part of the game is the post-flop. There is a lot of money at stake and it is a high-stress situation. Understandably, this is the longest part of the course.

It is very clear that poker strategy is not just about the game you are playing at the time. Every time you play your opponents are learning about you and the strategies you use in each situation. They then use this information to try to work out what you will do the next time they are sitting around the table with you. I had not really thought about this aspect of the game before.

• When to slow play (hand review included)
• Continuation betting and board texture
• How to float the flop
• How to float the turn
• How to decide which draws to play (hand review included)
• How to play draws with a small stack

In the 2nd post-flop video Phil goes over when to fold. This skill is just as important as knowing when to go in for the kill. He covers the dangers of overplaying in-depth as well as the following points:

• Learn how to avoid overplaying a hand (hand review included)
• How to anticipate changes triggered by the turn card
• Learn how to take advantage of scare cards
• Betting to avoid a check back
• Learn when to check the river (hand review included)
• Why you need to go after small pots

You really need to go ahead and believe in yourself and go with what you believe. A lot of poker is instinctual.

Successful deepstack play the Phil Ivey way

Playing deep stack is much more complicated and challenging than playing with a shortstack.

In this section, Phil includes how to play with small pockets. He briefly goes through what implied odds and reverse implied odds are and provides you with a hand example.

The hand reviews that are included in the deepstack video are:

• The deepstacked hero fold
• A deepstack implied odds hand

Playing the Mental Game

Phil Ivey has a reputation for being very strong mentally. So, this is the section of the course I was looking forward to the most.

He explains how to keep your emotions under control. While playing poker you need to make sure that the decisions you make are logical.

It is important to learn how to cope with your opponent’s attempts to tilt you. If you let them succeed at pushing you off course, it is easy to lose focus. So, strategies to avoid this are included. It includes a simple tip to help you to avoid disaster if you do lose control a little. There is also an in-depth explanation of the different ways you can push your opponents off tilt, so they make mistakes.

Where Is Phil Ivey Today

Importantly, Phil covers the subject of how to lose. At some point, you are going to lose, so you need to know how to handle that situation. Phil shows you how to learn from losing rather than let it overwhelm you.

Table Image and Tells

The key to being a good player is understanding your opponent and being able to adjust how you play to beat them. To a large extent, the strategies you use are dictated by who you are playing and how they act. The strategies are, however, something that you learn. If you’re passionate about poker, you can read what one of the best poker players of this decade has to say in his Daniel Negreanu Masterclass.

Interestingly, Phil does not consciously create a table image. But, other players do, in some cases, they do this to try to mislead you. This is something you need to be aware of. Phil also explains how to track changes to the way someone is playing. Over time, they will evolve.

Strategies for Success

Phil goes through half a dozen different ways you can improve your game. He explains how to analyze your game, who to follow, when to use statistics and how to collaborate with others. Being able to stay in the moment enables you to learn more. So, it is an important skill to learn.

Who is Phil Levy’s Poker Strategy Masterclass for?

If you have never played poker before, there is no way you are going to be able to follow everything in this course. It is definitely aimed at people who already play.

Even if, like me, you are fairly new to the game you will still be able to follow most of what Phil shares. Plus, once you have played more you can always go back over the parts of the course that you did not fully understand.

The course and workbook are laid out in a way that makes it easy for students to find things again and review things. Although, annoyingly the videos are not bookmarked, so you may need to watch the video for a few minutes before you get to the point you are looking for. But, using the workbook you will at least know that you are looking at the correct portion of the course.

Plus, as you can see from my full masterclass.com review, you also get access to something called office hours. Using this facility you can put any questions you have to Phil Ivey himself. There is also a good community forum and the facility to leave comments at the bottom of each video.

Phil Ivey Poker Training Program

I doubt that a professional player would learn a huge amount from the course. However, I am sure many of them will still take this masterclass, especially those who are likely to end up competing against Phil Ivey, in the future. It is interesting for them to get an insight into how other professionals see the game. This is especially the case for someone like Phil who has won 10 world championship bracelets.

Is Phil Ivey’s poker strategy masterclass good value for money?

As I mentioned earlier at 3 hours this is one of the shorter courses on the masterclass.com platform. However, I still think it offers fantastic value for money. In particular, if you invest in an all-access pass.

Phil Ivey Broke

I’ve got an all-access pass, so have been able to take 25+ of the courses for just $180. That is an amazing price. If I were to have bought just 10 of the courses separately, it would have cost me $900. So, there is no doubt that the all-access pass is the way to go. New courses are being added all the time, so there is always something fresh and interesting to explore and enjoy. Buy The Course Here.