Farzad Bonyadi

Farzad "Freddy" Bonyadi was born around 1959 in Tehran, Iran. Growing up, he learned poker from his grandfather, spending time at the home games the older man organized for friends and neighbors. He moved to the United States in the early 1980s; some accounts give 1982, while others record the move as 1983. He settled in Southern California, making Aliso Viejo his base, and initially worked as an executive host at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles and as a shift manager at Hollywood Park Casino. Those jobs gave him a close view of the local poker scene before he turned professional and began playing in the biggest games in Los Angeles.

Bonyadi first made a name for himself at the 1998 World Series of Poker, when he won the $2,000 Limit Hold'em event for $429,940. His final table included Mimi Tran and John Cernuto. He also finished 27th in the 1998 WSOP Main Event. In the early 2000s he cashed regularly at the WSOP, showing skill in more than one discipline. He captured his second bracelet in 2004 in the $1,000 Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw event, earning $86,980. The following year he won his third title in the $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em event for $594,960 and made a deep run in the 2005 Main Event, finishing 41st for $235,390.

After his 2005 win, Bonyadi went 16 years without another WSOP bracelet. He ended that drought in 2021 by winning Event #49: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship at the 2021 WSOP. The field drew 122 players, eclipsing the 91 entries that the same event had attracted in 2019 and marking one of the first growth stories of that year's series. Bonyadi took home $297,051, giving him four career WSOP bracelets. "I think I played a good game, I really do," he said after the victory. "I bluffed when I had to. I caught good cards too, but I think I played a good game." He also became the 55th player in WSOP history to reach four or more bracelets. Including his later results, Bonyadi has more than 30 WSOP cashes and over $2.2 million in WSOP earnings as of 2023.

Bonyadi has also enjoyed success on the World Poker Tour. In the second season of the WPT, he made the final table of the Legends of Poker event, finishing fifth. That final table featured Mel Judah, Paul Phillips, T.J. Cloutier, Chip Jett, and Phil Laak. His biggest WPT result came in 2011, when he was the runner-up in the WPT World Championship to Scott Seiver, earning $1,061,900. It remains the largest single tournament cash of his career. Over the years, he has accumulated more than $1.6 million in WPT earnings, with 15 cashes and two final-table appearances on the tour.

In 2018, Bonyadi's mother, Farhintaj Bonyadi, won the WSOP $1,000 Super Seniors No-Limit Hold'em event, earning $311,451. That victory made them the first mother-son pair of WSOP gold bracelet winners in history, a unique family milestone that has been celebrated across the poker world.

Bonyadi is known for an aggressive style, often applying pressure before the flop, but his results also show deep skill in mixed and lowball games. His ability to move between limit hold'em, no-limit hold'em, and deuce-to-seven events has helped him stay competitive for a career spanning more than 25 years. He continued to play in major tournaments into his sixties, including an 18th-place finish in a WSOP Seniors high-roller event in 2024. His lifetime live tournament earnings exceed $4.75 million, with more than 80 recorded cashes across several decades.