Farzad Bonyadi is one of those rare players who just seemed to arrive at the top of his game. There was very little warning, no build up, no rumblings through the tournament community as he started to work his way through the ranks. After his first assault on the World Series of Poker he became one of the very few poker players who find themselves in a very small community of tournament champions who proudly own more WSOP bracelets than they have wrists. He became a rather large blip on the radar when he won his first WSOP championship in 1998. He was the last man standing from a final table that included Mimi Tran and Miami John Cernuto. This was just a hint of things to come.
Duing the second season of the World Poker Tour, the Iranian-born player found himself at a final table with Mel "Silver Fox" Judah, Paul Phillips, T.J. Cloutier, Chip Jett and Phil "The Unabomber" Laak. This time he did not come away with the win though.
He had learned well from his loss in the WPT, and quickly followed up this rare failure. With a World Series of Poker Championship in 2004 playing deuce to seven triple draw and in 2005 at No-Limit Hold'em.
Bonyadi has started this year very strong as well. He finished fourth at the L.A. Poker Classic and took away $65,000 dollars after placing in the top 20 during the 2006 Bay 101 Shooting Star tournament.
Currently Farzad Bonyadi, or "Freddie" as he is widely known, makes his home in Aliso Viejo, California. To date he has won over 1.9 million dollars playing tournament poker as well as an impressive amount from regular play in various cash games.
