Ivan Deyra

Ivan Deyra was born in Le Teich, France, and now resides in London, England. He began playing poker professionally and eventually became a member of the Winamax Team Pro, alongside notable players such as Adrian Mateos, Joao Vieira, and Davidi Kitai. Over his career, he has accumulated over $2 million in live tournament earnings, where he is ranked 1,373rd on the all-time money list. His live earnings total $2,051,421, with a best cash of $380,090. He is also recognized as a WSOP bracelet winner and has cashed in the Hendon Mob Championship online. He can be followed on Twitter under the handle @ValueMerguez.

Deyra's biggest live tournament success came at the 2019 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. He won Event #79: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em, earning $380,090 – his largest live cash to date. After the victory, he told reporters, "To win it, it's amazing. It's like a dream!" The bracelet win solidified his reputation as a skilled tournament player and earned him a place among France's top poker talents. At the time, he was a rising star in the French poker scene, with a bright future ahead.

In January 2021, Deyra's career took a dramatic turn. During the Winamax Series, he played the €2,000 Super High Roller using his father's account after busting out of his own entry. He won the tournament, taking home €83,300 (~$101,000). Suspicion arose when participants noticed irregularities; a thread on the French poker forum Club Poker quickly grew to over 30 pages. Detectives discovered that the winning account, "MATIVANAO," was an amalgamation of the first names of Deyra's siblings. Facing overwhelming evidence, Deyra released a statement confirming the multi-accounting. He admitted that he had used his father's account and that Winamax had banned both accounts. The prize money from the Super High Roller and two other cashes were redistributed to affected players (for example, fifth-place finisher "MAMARAZZI" was reimbursed over €5,000). His contract with Winamax, which was due to expire in June, was terminated immediately. In his statement, Deyra said, "Today, with hindsight I recognize the cheating aspect of multi-accounting... How could I have been so naive or oblivious?" He explained that he had been struggling to make money on Winamax since becoming a Team Pro – realizing that over three years he hadn't been making money on the site – and wanted to test whether players gained an advantage by knowing his nickname. He called his punishment "heavy, very heavy" but "logical and understandable." He also apologized to Winamax, his fellow Team Pros, other players, and the entire poker community for potentially jeopardizing their image or the image of the game.

The scandal permanently stained Deyra's reputation. Once a celebrated WSOP bracelet winner, he became known for one of the most prominent multi-accounting cases in online poker. While his live tournament earnings remain above $2 million, his online poker career was effectively ended on Winamax. He has not publicly reported any major tournament wins since the incident. The case serves as a cautionary tale about the consequences of cheating in online poker, even for accomplished professionals. Deyra's downfall was swift and widely covered, highlighting the strict policies of poker operators against multi-accounting and the vigilance of the poker community in detecting such behavior.