‘The GTO guys are not the highest ROI for a reason’ - Shaun Deeb

Posted on: May 21, 2026 17:06 PDT

The countdown to the 2026 WSOP starts here. 100 bracelets. The world's best players. And PokerOrg will be on the floor from start to finish.

Shaun Deeb is one of the most successful tournament grinders in the game. At last year’s WSOP, he captured the $100K Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller event for his seventh bracelet and won the Player of the Year. After the recent WSOP events in Prague, he is one of the points leaders and the POY fan favorite heading into the summer series.

Many players are immersed in solvers and ICM study to fine tune their game leading up to the WSOP. What are you primarily focused on to prepare for the grind?

If anyone knows me, I've never looked at a solver. I've talked to some solver kids and incorporated some of their strategies into my game. I know ICM. I’m also rich enough [laughs] not to care about ICM at times. It’s fun to be Shaun Deeb some days.

The weeks leading up to the series, I spend a lot of time with my kids. They’re going to miss me. For the most part, I’m chilling at home and hibernating until it's time to go to work.

What do you think the impact will be for fans and players overall with the new partnership between the WSOP and ESPN?

GG understands the value of the social media game. But I don't think ESPN will bring in a massive new audience for poker. YouTube or a younger medium would have been optimal if you're strictly trying to get more participation.

But I do hope the viewership numbers, combining ESPN, Twitch, and YouTube throughout the summer, are great. And it's nice to see the series isn't behind a paywall any longer.

I think it's great that we're getting more exposure. The stage they built, from the renderings I've seen, is very impressive. I think their goal over the next few years is to stream every WSOP final table.

Shaun Deeb was inspired to play poker as a career when he watched Chris Moneymaker win the 2003 WSOP Main Event.

Hayley Hochstetler

Was seeing Chris Moneymaker win the Main Event part of the reason you were inspired to play?

Yes. I was watching when I was 16, while playing $20 tournaments at my house. It’s so weird. All these guys I watched on TV, Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer, Joe Hachem, Phil Hellmuth, and Daniel Negreanu, now I have their phone numbers. They ask me questions as we talk poker now and then.

I'm turning 40 this year and now I'm part of the Hall of Fame discussion. It's just so crazy to be at the level I'm at in my career and know that I was one of 10 million people watching poker and dreaming of being on that stage.

Do you feel like you’re still in your prime as a player, looking back at how the game has evolved?

Yes. I feel like I'm in my prime and still playing well. As much as the GTO guys and solvers have tried to affect the style of the game and the way I play WSOP events, the GTO guys are not the highest ROI for a reason.

The dealers are the lifeblood of the WSOP each summer.

Omar Sader

How do you feel about the dealer rating system being added to the WSOP Live app?

I just heard about this and don’t know much about it. Actually, I’ve always been friendly with whoever's the dealer coordinator at the WSOP. I would share with them when I thought a dealer knew how to run a game really well. Some of those dealers would eventually move up to bigger buy-ins and final tables.

Dealing has to be a rough job at times at the WSOP.

What people don't realize is that the World Series has to hire 2000 plus dealers cold to run these massive events. The dealers have to travel to Vegas and pay for lodging. It's really expensive. But they love being a part of the World Series. Some new dealers do start out shaky, but by the end of the summer, they’re pros.

I want to support the dealers. Did you know that my wife is a dealer? I've always had a soft spot for dealers, even before I met her. And if I were ever an asshole to a dealer, my wife would cut me off.