Poker Pros Pay Tribute To iPoker “OG” Thayer Rasmussen Who Passed Away At 39

Players April 5, 2023 by Dusan Jovanovic

Thayer Rasmussen Summary:

Rasmussen’s death was confirmed by his family via a statement shared by Shaun Deeb on their behalf
Rasmussen was a popular figure during the early years of online poker
Many poker pros paid tribute to Rasmussen, describing him as a poker legend

Thayer Rasmussen, an online poker player who made a name for himself during the online poker boom of the 2000s, has passed away. He was 39.

The Florida poker native played under the screen name “THAY3R” on PokerStars and other online poker platforms before the industry collapsed in 2011.

Rasmussen’s Poker Achievements

Rasmussen had a major influence on plenty of modern players who cited him as one of the reasons why they’re playing the game today. One of them is Shaun Deeb with whom he developed a close friendship. Deeb was the one who broke the news on social media, sharing a statement from Rasmussen’s family confirming his death, though the cause was not disclosed.

I was asked to share a message from Thayer’s family that they asked me to post on their behalf pic.twitter.com/AgUDSQwOla

— shaun deeb (@shaundeeb) April 2, 2023

Using his alias “THAY3R”, Rasmussen conquered the virtual felts during the early years of online poker in the US before the government ordered online poker sites to terminate their operations in the country (a 2011 event known as Black Friday).

Rasmussen was an accomplished online poker pro, and among his major achievements was winning a $530 buy-in 6-Max Shootout event at the 2015 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP), a victory that came with a $69,825 payout.

He also had some great runs in the live arena, finishing fifth in the 2014 WSOP $1,500 Monster Stack for $356,620. He cashed in multiple tournaments last year, bringing his total live tournament earnings to more than $1.6 million.

A Legend and Online Poker OG

More than his poker winnings and accolades, Rasmussen had earned so much respect and admiration from the poker community in the last two decades.

As shown in the tributes pouring in for him on social media, Rasmussen had inspired a lot of people to learn to play poker. He was a regular contributor on the popular Two Plus Two forum, sharing his knowledge about the game and helping beginners and aspiring players improve their skills and strategies.

Rasmussen and Deeb became really good friends being part of the MTT stable “Waffle Crush”. Deeb considered Rasmussen his “first poker friend” and said he wouldn’t become the successful player that he is now if it weren’t for Rasmussen’s guidance and support.

He was the waffle to my crush my 1st poker friend wouldn’t have been as successful in poker without his guidance, his supersystem and our propbets to motivate each other.Was lucky in 2021 to drive to Jersey and grind the online event at his house and it was like no time passed

— shaun deeb (@shaundeeb) April 2, 2023

Fellow pro Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler described Rasmussen as a “legend”, while WPT host Tony Dunst said he is one of the OG’s of online poker. Some of the other big names who paid tribute to Rasmussen include Sam Greenwood, Scott Seiver, Steve O’Dwyer, Mike McDonald, Matt Savage and Max Silver.