Phonetically, 'deal' and 'feel' work the same way.
The present tense has a long vowel (feel ), while the past has a short vowel (felt).
'Deal' is the same - the present is long (deal), while the past is short - it's pronounced as if it were spelt 'delt'. The only confusing thing is that the spelling retains its double vowel. Sorry, English spelling is a bit of a nightmare
- we do realise that!