Shaun Deeb

Shaun Frank Deeb was born on March 1, 1986, in Troy, New York. He began playing poker at age 16, hosting $20 rebuy tournaments with about 30 guests while still in high school. Deeb attended Bentley University but soon dropped out to pursue poker full-time. Before 2007, he had never been to Las Vegas, but he quickly established himself online.

Deeb became a regular in high-stakes cash games and tournaments on Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars, playing under the screen names "tedsfishfry" (on Full Tilt and Ultimate Bet) and "shaundeeb" (on PokerStars and Absolute Poker). He was the first player to win the PokerStars Tournament Leaderboard (TLB) in back-to-back years (2007 and 2008) and was ranked No. 1 in the world on PocketFives four separate times between 2008 and 2009. In February 2016, he was inducted into the Internet Poker Wall of Fame.

Deeb has won 13 Championship of Online Poker (COOP) titles – including World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) and Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) events – tying with Jussi "calvin7v" Nevanlinna for the most all-time. Notable wins include the 2008 WCOOP $320 Pot-Limit Omaha with Rebuys ($144,113), the 2010 WCOOP $1,050 No-Limit Hold'em ($243,610), and multiple SCOOP titles in 2012 covering Seven-Card Stud, Triple Stud, and HORSE. He also won the PokerStars Tournament Leaderboard competition in back-to-back years and was named SCOOP Player of the Year in 2012 and WCOOP Player of the Year in 2015.

One of his largest online cashes came on January 24, 2011, when he won the $1,000 buy-in Monday tournament on Full Tilt Poker for $312,610 out of 615 entries.

Deeb made his WSOP debut in 2007, cashing four times for a total of $67,000. His first WSOP final table came in 2011 in Event #29: $2,500 10-Game Mix / Six Handed, where he finished 4th out of 431 for $67,146. He also paid his 91-year-old grandmother Ellen Deeb's buy-in into the 2011 Main Event, where she became the oldest registrant; she was eliminated on Day 1C after flopping two pair against a set and attempted to rebuy.

Deeb's first WSOP bracelet came in 2015 in Event #15: $10,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em Championship. He defeated Paul Volpe heads-up with a 324-to-1 chip lead and won $318,857. He won a second bracelet in 2016 in $1,500 Seven-Card Stud. In 2017, he finished runner-up in the $10,000 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Championship.

His nine bracelets span various mixed games and hold'em. As of the 2026 WSOP, his bracelet wins include:

• 2015: $10,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em Championship ($318,857)
• 2016: $1,500 Seven-Card Stud ($110,000)
• 2018: Two bracelets (events TBD, part of WSOP POY run)
• Other years: Including 2026 Event #74: $1,500 8-Game Mixed ($181,625)

He has made 59 WSOP final tables, with 262 career cashes at the series. In the 2026 WSOP Main Event, he finished 15th out of 9,208 players, earning $410,475.

Deeb is a two-time WSOP Player of the Year, winning the title in 2018 and again in 2025. In 2018, he recorded 16 cashes and won two bracelets to claim the honor. In 2025, he repeated the feat, solidifying his reputation as one of the most consistent performers at the series.

Beyond the WSOP, Deeb has a European Poker Tour (EPT) title, winning the €20,000 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller at the 2009 EPT for €60,000 ($85,183). He also finished second in the $5,000 NAPT Bounty Shootout at the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure for $75,000 (plus $8,000 in bounties). He has cashes in World Poker Tour (WPT) events, though he has never made a WPT final table.

In 2012, Deeb participated in a $25,300 satellite for the $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop, finishing second and earning a $1,000,000 alternate seat. His finish was controversial as he dumped chips to Gus Hansen to secure the alternate spot, which came with a cash reward.

As of 2026, Deeb's live tournament earnings exceed $18.2 million, placing him among the top earners in poker history.

Shaun Deeb is known for an aggressive, creative style that emphasizes positional awareness and exploiting opponents' weaknesses. He frequently employs bluffs and raises to apply pressure, and his post-flop play is flexible, adapting to board texture and opponent ranges. In deep-stacked cash games, he uses complex bet patterns to confuse opponents. His style is often described as "unbalanced but unpredictable," making him difficult to read. Deeb plays a wide variety of poker variants, focusing on mixed games where he has excelled at the WSOP. He is also known for multi-tabling 15-20 tournaments simultaneously online.

Deeb announced a brief retirement from poker at age 24, which lasted only two months. He resides in Las Vegas, Nevada, and is active on social media under the handle @shaundeeb, where he shares opinions on poker strategy and industry events. He is passionate about poker theory and frequently studies new strategies. In 2012, he made headlines for buying his grandmother into the WSOP Main Event. He has participated in charity poker events and remains one of the most recognizable figures in both online and live poker.