During the WSOP Europe, Phil Ivey sat down with the Swedish site Poker.se and gave a rare interview about his early career, the games at Bobby's Room, the upcoming WSOP Main Event final table and other subjects.

Ivey says he learned poker at the age of 8 from his grandfather and played all kinds of card and board games at his childhood. At 20 he knew he wanted to be a poker pro and started working on his game in earnest. "I played for 15 or 16 hours a day for 4 or 5 years. There were some good times, and some bad times," he says.

His parents were not so thrilled at their son's choice of profession but Ivey doesn't blame them. "Why would any parent want their child to have such a tough way to make a living?" he asks.

At the end of the interview, the man also gives some valuable advice for any aspiring young pro.