Considered by most to be the best poker player in the world, and certainly one of the most famous, Phil Ivey has been engaged in a bit of self-exile from the poker world for the last year or so.

Following the events of Black Friday and the torrent of criticism leveled at Ivey’s employer Full Tilt Poker by poker blogs, forums and sites covering online poker news, Ivey announced he would skip the 2011 World Series of Poker.  Without any formal announcement, he also appeared to completely duck out of any high-stakes online action.

Now both bans appear to be lifted, as the king of the poker hill ventured out of hibernation to play some live tournament events in recent weeks and is additionally rumored to be back at the online poker tables playing for pots made up of several Volvos each. 

However, Ivey’s action obviously isn’t at Full Tilt Poker, as the room continues to be shuttered.  Nor is it on iPoker or the Merge Poker Network, as neither support the ultra-high stakes Ivey favors (although you can use this Lock Poker bonus code to play small-to-mid-stakes at Merge) and he has no history of play on either network.

Instead, it’s arch-rival PokerStars that appears to have captured Ivey’s action.  It has been long-rumored that Ivey is the man behind the “RaiseOnce” screen name on Stars, and that name has been back in business in recent weeks.  With dominating six-figure battles against Isildur1 and a host of high-stakes regulars, RaiseOnce is now believed by almost all to be Phil Ivey.

Don’t expect any confirmation of this from Ivey, however.  The man has always been notoriously close-lipped and Black Friday seemed to shut him down even further.  That, combined with what remains of his Full Tilt contract, may prevent Ivey from talking even if he was inclined to do so.

For now, sit back and enjoy the high-stakes intrigue while it lasts.