If not for the Lebanon Civil War, Kassem "Freddy" Deeb might be back in his homeland, working as a mechanical engineer and playing kitchen table card games.

Instead, he is touted as one of today's best poker players, knocking elbows and knocking out some of the world's top pros at the tournament felt.

Deeb was born Nov. 27, 1955, in Beirut, Lebanon. On holidays, his close-knit family would gather and pass time by playing games including poker, which Deeb picked up quickly. Even as a boy, he was competing in the game against his childhood friends.

Despite the political unrest that would surface in Lebanon in later years, Deeb remembers his early years as a time of peacefulness. He grew up in a family community, he says, where kids played with each other outdoors and didn't abuse drugs or alcohol.

Even so, in search of higher education, Deeb decided to head west when he turned 19 and enrolled in the mechanical engineering program at Utah State University. But as he studied, the war in Lebanon erupted, cutting off contact - and funding - from his parents for two years.

Out of money, Deeb was forced to quit school just a few credits short of graduation. He was in a bind, however, because his student visa didn't allow him to work in the U.S. With few options at hand, Deeb headed for Nevada.

He'd played some poker in school which yielded enough cash to create a modest bankroll in Reno. There, Deeb took up small-stakes poker games to build his confidence and fatten his wallet. It turned out to be a career move for the diminutive and affable man who has never worked anywhere other than at the poker table as an adult.

Then based out of Reno but frequenting casinos around the U.S., Deeb developed a signature style of play that mixed aggression with table psychology. He was good at reading his opponents, and found success playing the people as well as his cards.

Today Deeb pegs his style as aggressive and varied. "I can be playing very fast or very tight - it all depends on the table," he told PokerListings.com at the 2006 WSOP. "I adjust to the people that are playing."

It's an approach that's worked for more than 30 years, earning Deeb millions in poker winnings and a World Series of Poker gold bracelet.

Deeb's first WSOP cash was in 1990, when he placed second in the $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em event and took in $130,000. Though he consistently cashed and made final tables at subsequent WSOP events, a gold bracelet eluded Deeb until 1996. That year he competed in the $5,000 2-7 Draw, where he took first place and earned $146,250.

With the exception of the Main Event, Deeb says the 2-7 Draw is his favorite tournament at the World Series. And for good reason: He narrowly missed a second gold bracelet in that event at the 2001 WSOP, when he went out on the bubble but pocketed $92,000.

In 2002, Deeb made the $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em final table at the World Poker Tour's Five Diamond World Poker Classic. After being bested by Gus Hansen and John Juanda, Deeb finished third for nearly $140,000.

The following year, he claimed the L.A. Poker Classic, and inched his way toward the final table of the World Series Championship. He went out in 13th place, but only after earning some of Phil Ivey's money and a compliment on his attire. Deeb, bedecked in a brightly patterned short-sleeve top, took a lucky pot and Ivey commented, "Must be the shirt."

At Festa al Lago II in 2004, Deeb won $154,204 for a first-place finish in the $2,000 No-Limit Hold'em event. But that prize is dwarfed by his biggest-ever cash of $1 million for winning the 2005 Ultimate Poker Classic in Palm Beach.

Today, Deeb consistently cashes at World Series events. "He's definitely one of the best players in the world," 2000 World Series champion Chris "Jesus" Ferguson said after meeting Deeb in some tough play.

For optimal performance at tournaments, Deeb says he exercises, makes sure to get his eight hours of sleep, eats healthfully and has a lot of sex.

Away from the poker table, he is married and the father of four children and enjoys swimming, skiing, soccer and bicycling.