Freddy Deeb: Biography, Career and Poker Results

November 13, 2026

Table of Contents

Freddy Deeb is a professional poker player originally from Beirut, Lebanon, who has played for a living in the United States since the 1970s. He won World Series of Poker bracelets in 1996 and 2007, the second in the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship, took a $1,000,000 World Poker Tour title in Aruba in 2005, and was a familiar face on televised poker during the boom years. ^[1][3][7]

Freddy Deeb, at a World Poker Tour event in December 2023 — Photo: World Poker Tour, licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.

Freddy Deeb: key facts

Full name	Kassem “Freddy” Deeb ^[1]
Country	Lebanon (born in Beirut); based in Las Vegas ^[1][3]
Born	November 27, 1955 (age 70), Beirut, Lebanon
Known for	Mixed games and big cash games; his patterned shirts ^[1][11]
WSOP bracelets	2 (61 WSOP cashes, 17 final tables, 1 Circuit ring) ^[2]
Major titles	WSOP $5,000 Deuce-to-Seven Draw 1996; WPT Aruba Poker Classic 2005; WSOP $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. 2007; WPT Paris High Roller 2010; WSOP Circuit Bicycle Casino Main Event 2012 ^{[6][7][3][8][9]}
Live tournament earnings	$9,215,532 as of October 27, 2026 ^[1]
TV	High Stakes Poker, Poker Superstars Invitational ^[11]

Early life and first steps in poker

Deeb was born in Lebanon and is originally from Beirut. ^[1] He came to Logan, Utah, as what PokerNews columnist Al Moe called “a twenty-year old kid from Lebanon” to study mechanical engineering at Utah State University. When war broke out in Lebanon he lost contact with his family and the money that paid for his studies, and he left the university before finishing his degree. ^[6][11]

Because he could not obtain legal residency or a work permit in the United States, he turned to gambling for a living. ^[3] He had played some poker at school, and with a very small bankroll he moved to Nevada and began grinding low-limit seven-card stud. He became a regular at Harrah’s in Reno, usually in pot-limit games, played $20/$40 hold’em at the Bicycle Club in Los Angeles in October 1987, and later moved up to higher-stakes cash games in Las Vegas. ^[6] In a 2018 Card Player podcast he recalled one early day that began with $60 in a $3-$6 game: “When the day was over, I cashed out almost $97,000.” ^[11]

Playing style

Al Moe, who played with him in the 1980s, described Deeb’s style as “steady, aggressive”, with “an uncanny ability to sniff-out any bluff”, and called him “excellent at post-flop play”. He wrote that Deeb watched for tells and pushed hard when opponents looked weak, and that Deeb saw making fewer mistakes than his opponents as the key to winning money at poker. ^[6] Deeb is an all-round player: his two bracelets came in Deuce-to-Seven Draw and in H.O.R.S.E., and Card Player notes that he has been a regular in some of the biggest cash games in the world. ^[3][11] He is also known for his loud patterned shirts, which Card Player called his “trademark lucky shirts”. ^[1][4]

Greatest achievements

First bracelet and the WPT in Aruba

Deeb won his first WSOP bracelet in 1996 in the $5,000 Deuce-to-Seven Draw event, worth about $146,000. ^[6][3] During the poker boom he added a World Poker Tour title in 2005, winning the UltimateBet Aruba Poker Classic and $1,000,000 in first-place money. ^[7][12]

The 2007 $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship

His best-known win came at the 2007 World Series of Poker in Event #39, the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship, played from June 24 to 28, 2007. The event rotated hold’em, Omaha eight-or-better, razz, seven-card stud and seven-card stud eight-or-better. ^[3][4] The field of 148 players built a prize pool of $7,104,000, and the final table included Barry Greenstein, who finished seventh, while Dewey Tomko, Greg Raymer and Mike Matusow went out earlier. ^[3]

Deeb was the shortest stack for much of the final table. With four players left he moved all in on an Omaha High-Low hand, won it and got back into contention. ^[3] Card Player reported that he trailed Bruno Fitoussi by roughly 2 million to 14 million in chips at one point heads-up; the final table started at 2 p.m. and the last hand was dealt around 5 a.m. the next morning. ^[4] On that hand, in stud eight-or-better, Deeb made an eight-low with a pair of fives on seventh street to take the whole pot. ^[5] He won $2,276,832 and his second bracelet; Fitoussi received $1,278,720. WSOP.com put the length of the final table at 14.5 hours. ^[3] The trophy for that championship has since been renamed the Chip Reese Memorial Trophy. ^[9]

Later titles

In May 2010 Deeb won the €20,000 High Roller at the WPT Grand Prix de Paris, beating Sorel Mizzi heads-up in a 25-entry field for €290,000. ^[8] In January 2012 he won the WSOP Circuit Main Event at The Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles, topping 549 entrants for $171,810. It was his first WSOP Circuit ring and, according to WSOP.com, his first cash on the Circuit. ^[9][10] He finished second in the WPT Legends of Poker in 2015 for $383,090 and fourth in the $10,300 MILLIONS Vegas main event in 2019 for $319,200. ^[12] He was still cashing at the WSOP in 2022, when he finished 11th of 196 in the $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship, and Card Player records a cash at the 2026 WSOP. ^[2][12]

Tournament results

Year	Event	Result	Prize	Source
2007	WSOP $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship (148 entrants)	1st (bracelet)	$2,276,832	[3]
2005	WPT UltimateBet Aruba Poker Classic	1st	$1,000,000	[7]
2015	WPT Legends of Poker	2nd	$383,090	[12]
2019	MILLIONS Vegas $10,300 No-Limit Hold’em	4th	$319,200	[12]
2010	WPT Grand Prix de Paris €20,000 High Roller (25 entries)	1st	€290,000	[8]
2009	WPT Festa Al Lago	4th	$278,300	[11]
2012	WSOP Circuit Bicycle Casino Main Event (549 entrants)	1st (ring)	$171,810	[9]
1996	WSOP $5,000 Deuce-to-Seven Draw	1st (bracelet)	about $146,000	[6]
2022	WSOP $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship (196 entries)	11th	$32,209	[2]

Television and cash games

Deeb appeared often on televised poker during the boom, including High Stakes Poker and the Poker Superstars Invitational. ^[1][11] He has spent most of his career in cash games; in the 2018 Card Player interview he said: “The biggest pot I ever lost was $800,000,” adding that he had won more than he had lost. ^[11]

In his own words

“I have a very (loose) reputation as a poker player.” After winning the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E., June 2007. ^[3]
“You see what level they are at, and you go a level higher. That’s how you win.” On the strength of the H.O.R.S.E. field, June 2007. ^[3]
On his second bracelet: “it means everything to me.” June 2007. ^[3]
“I’m exhausted! Right now, I’m going to bed!” Moments after winning the WSOP Circuit Main Event at The Bicycle Casino, January 2012. ^[9]

FAQ about Freddy Deeb

How old is Freddy Deeb?

WSOP.com gave his age as 56 in January 2012 and Card Player as 62 in April 2018, which places his birth in 1955 or early 1956. He is about 70 in 2026. ^[9][11]

Where is Freddy Deeb from?

He is from Beirut, Lebanon. He came to the United States to study at Utah State University and has long been based in Las Vegas. ^[1][11][3]

What is Freddy Deeb’s real name?

His given name is Kassem; he is known in poker as Freddy Deeb. ^[1]

What is Freddy Deeb’s net worth?

There is no reliable public figure for his net worth. What can be verified is his live tournament record: $9,215,532 in earnings as of October 27, 2026, according to PokerNews. Tournament totals do not include his cash game results, buy-ins or staking arrangements. ^[1]

How many WSOP bracelets does Freddy Deeb have?

Two: the 1996 $5,000 Deuce-to-Seven Draw and the 2007 $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship. He also holds one WSOP Circuit ring, from The Bicycle Casino in 2012. ^[2][3][9]

What is Freddy Deeb’s biggest win?

The 2007 WSOP $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship, worth $2,276,832. His next largest is the $1,000,000 he won in the 2005 WPT event in Aruba. ^[3][7]

How many WPT titles has Freddy Deeb won?

Card Player credits him with two World Poker Tour titles: the 2005 Aruba main event and the 2010 Paris High Roller. Its results database counts one WPT championship, the Aruba main event. ^[11][12]

Related Poker Legends

Read more about Dewey Tomko, who finished tenth in the 2007 $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. that Deeb won, Mike Matusow, who finished 16th in that event, and Eli Elezra, the chip leader after Day One of the same championship.