In case you’ve missed it, a few weeks back, Phil Hellmuth and Shaun Deeb met up for a best-of-three heads-up skirmish. The match was played on Hellmuth’s home site, BetRivers Poker, with Shaun and Phil playing out of the same room in Delaware and streaming the action in real time.
Deeb squeezed out the victory, winning two games straight up, which gave him some significant bragging rights over the 17-time WSOP bracelet winner. And, if you know anything about Deeb, you know that he values those bragging rights almost as much as actual poker titles.
The team running the BetRivers Table Talk podcast caught up with Shaun to talk about the match, Deeb’s friendship with Hellmuth, and other interesting topics, including Shaun being the most likely pick to overtake Phil’s bracelet record in the (not-so-distant) future.
How It All Started
Phil and Shaun have been friends for a while now, but Deeb admits that it was a process. He explains that Hellmuth used to be fairly abrasive to online players, so there were other players from that generation that he became friendly with first.
It was actually Open Face Chinese Poker that brought them closer. The two played the game a lot and spent a lot of time talking during and after the games. And then, over the last few years, between Hellmuth’s Home Game, Poker Night in America, and other projects, their friendship developed; they met each other’s families, and it developed into what Shaun refers to as “*multi-generational friendship.*”
The two have shared many great moments on and off the felt over the years, and all of it led to the recent poker trip, which wrapped up with the two playing the heads-up match and Shaun squeezing out the victory, even though he admits heads-up Hold’em is probably his worst form of poker.
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A Poker Trip to Remember
For this particular poker adventure, Shaun explains he was invited by Greg Carlin, a co-founder of RSI, the company behind BetRivers, to participate in a tournament where Phil Hellmuth was a bounty.
With that plan in place, it was Phil who suggested Deeb should come a few days earlier so they would have some time to play in Texas Mike’s home game, do a charity event, then fly to the tournament, and eventually go to Delaware to play the online heads-up match.
And just like that, what was supposed to be a one-day trip turned into a week-long poker adventure that involved a few familiar faces, including Dan “Jungleman” Cates.
The heads-up skirmish was a fun but competitive one. Shaun admitted he went into it believing Hellmuth was a better heads-up player, which made his eventual victory that much sweeter. Deeb managed to win the first two games, locking up the win.
Needling and Bracelets
It’s no secret that Phil Hellmuth doesn’t like to be needled about his poker skills, and he can become quite defensive when it comes to this topic. Yet, his response to Shaun’s needles seems quite relaxed and almost out of character.
Deeb explains that this is probably a matter of respect to some degree. Shaun currently has nine WSOP bracelets, two WSOP Player of the Year titles, and many other accolades, and he is only 40 years old. He is convinced that he is the most likely person to pass Hellmuth on his bracelets, and he also believes that Phil understands and respects that.
So, the two have a relationship that’s built not only on a personal friendship but also mutual respect that extends beyond the green felt.
This was the perfect segue for the BetRivers Poker Table Talk hosts into the Poker Hall of Fame discussion and Shaun’s thoughts on why he didn’t make the cut. It was quite a surprise, as many in the poker world believed that, with the new system in place, Shaun was pretty much a lock, but, as he explained, there is much more that goes into it than just one’s merits.
Deeb also talked about his appearance on Hellmuth’s Home Game as well as the WSOP decision to turn what was initially announced as an invitational tournament at the 2026 WSOP Paradise into an open event that will count toward the Player of the Year race. Shaun is currently leading the race, and he was not happy about the decision, posting that this was likely the last year he goes for the POY title.
Although the interview only lasts 30 minutes, it touches upon some really interesting topics, and it contains quite a few entertaining stories, so make sure to give the latest BetRivers Table Talk a proper listen when you have a moment.
