Capture the Flag: Freddy Deeb

Freddy Deeb was born in Beirut, Lebanon. He moved to the United States at the age of 19 and has since become one of the biggest names in poker. A grinder at heart, Deeb has made a consistent living playing in high-stakes cash games, but also has had some major tournament success. He’s earned more than $6 million in live events, and has two World Series of Poker bracelets, one of which was for the 2007 $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. championship, and a World Poker Tour title.

Kristy Arnett: Was there anything about your childhood that prepared you to live life as a poker player?

Freddy Deeb: Well, the first time I ever played poker for money, I was about 11 years old. We played a different form of poker. Actually, the first time I ever gambled was before that. It was around the holidays, because the kids got a lot of money then, and five or six of us would play this game with a deck of cards. We would cut the deck into about six or seven piles, and each kid would bet his money on the pile he wanted, and there would be one pile left for the dealer. The dealer, who was me, would turn his pile over, and whoever had higher cards than the dealer would win. The players with lower cards would lose, and if they had the same cards that I had, we tied. We would bet 5 or 10 cents, but that was big money back in those days.

There was also another gambling game we played. I took a big jar, filled it with water, and put a small espresso cup in the bottom of it. The kids would drop their coins in; they had to drop the coins into the espresso cup to win. If their coin landed in the cup, I would pay them 5-to-1. They could bet whatever they wanted to bet — 5 cents, 10 cents, or 25 cents. They just had to drop their coin in the jar. The thing was, it was really hard to do, because the odds are that the coins won’t land in the little cup. I made a lot of money on that one; that was a really good game.

KA: When you started playing in cash games, what games and stakes did you play?

FD: I was about 21 years old when I first played poker in a casino, and I did well. I played $1-$5 seven-card stud at Caesars Palace, and I won. I was always a winning player. I moved up to the bigger games when I started to watch the players in them. If they looked like they played worse than or the same as the players in the lower-limit games, I would take a shot. I kept taking shots.

KA: Would you suggest surveying a table before you play, and if so, what are you looking for in order to know whether or not you should sit down?

FD: Yes, you really should watch the table before you sit down. You want to play at a table with big pots. You do not want to play at a table where everyone is sitting there anteing and then mucking their hands. Watch the table for a few hands and see what hands the players are turning over. Before you play, you should figure out who shows good hands all the time and who plays some bad hands. If you take 10 minutes to watch, you will find out if the game is good or not. Mainly, though, you should look at the size of the pots. If they are playing big pots, that means they are gambling, and you want to play in that game.

KA: What is your preferred game, and why?

FD: I like to play where the bad players are [laughing].

KA: But is there a specific game that you enjoy the most?

FD: I play all of the games. I really do not care which one I play. Actually, I don’t even ask what game they are playing when I sit down. I will play any game. I don’t care which variation, as long as the game is good.

KA: What stakes do you play on a day-to-day basis?

FD: It depends on my bankroll. It can be anywhere from $100-$200 or $200-$400 up to $4,000-$8,000. It also depends on how I am feeling.

KA: How should a player determine when he is ready to move up in stakes?

FD: Well, if you are playing $10-$20 and have really beat the game for two or three months, you can try to play $15-$30. It also depends on the bankroll that you have. I mean, if you do not have the bankroll to move up, you cannot move up. You might win a lot of money playing $10-$20, but you may spend it, and because of that, you will not have the money to move up to $15-$30. You must always have a bankroll to play the game that you want to play. You can always set some money aside and decide that you will use that money to take a shot in a certain game to see what happens.

KA: What is the most common mistake that you see inexperienced cash-game players making?

FD: They play when they are tired and they have poor money-management skills. Also, sometimes when they are playing in a good game, they will win a little bit and get up from the table when they should have stayed there, because it was a good game. They also can lose too much money. They lose too much money, and don’t win enough; that is what it is all about. Playing when tired and poor money management are the most common mistakes that amateurs make.

KA: Pot-limit Omaha has gained some steam lately; what mistakes do you see players making as they learn a new game?

FD: The biggest mistake that I see is raising on the come too much, trying to gamble before you make your hand. A lot of times, if somebody bets and you are drawing to a flush, you raise it. Sure, if you hit your hand, you’re going to make a lot of money and break the guy. Of course, it depends on whom you are playing against, but in the long run, I think it’s best to call and wait until you make your hand, and play it out from there. It also depends on the size of your stack. If you have a short stack, you can raise all in, but if you have a lot of money in front of you, in Omaha, you want to see the next card before you push in a lot of money when drawing. This is because a card could come that would hurt your draw. The board could pair and you could be drawing dead. Just play one card at a time. I make mistakes when I play fast instead of waiting to see if I hit my card or if the board pairs. You don’t want to commit a lot of money on the come. That’s what it’s all about to be a professional. You try to make money and play the game safely, and go in with the best of it.

KA: Which cash-game players do you most respect, and why?

FD: I am sorry to have to say that the player I respect the most is dead now: Chip Reese. He was one of the top players because he was always calm, cool, and collected. He played the same way whether he was winning or losing.