Faraz Jaka is a professional poker player from San Jose, California who won his first gold bracelet in the $1,500 Shootout event at the 2023 World Series of Poker. Jaka is also known for winning the World Poker Tour's Season VIII (2009-2010) Player of the Year. Jaka scored five WPT cashes that season including two Championship event final tables.
Faraz Jaka Background
Jaka was born in 1985 in San Jose, California in a Pakistani immigrant family. He started playing poker when he was studying at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. At first, Jaka played mostly online and in small live games before 2007, when he entered his first major poker tournament at the World Series of Poker and cashed in one event that summer. Jaka finished in 22nd place at the $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em event taking home more than $14,000.
Before he started playing poker, Jaka was a promising track runner. He also played basketball for the Piedmont Hills High School and wrote poetry. After graduating High School Jaka entered the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.
Faraz Jaka Twitter
Jaka can be found on Twitter at @farazjaka.
Faraz Jaka Instagram
Jaka can be found on Instagram at @farazjaka.
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Faraz Jaka YouTube
Jaka's YouTube channel can be found here.
Faraz Jaka Poker History
After his first WSOP cash in 2007, Jaka came back to the WSOP in and cashed in two more events collecting a total of $18,000. His breakout year came in 2009 when he picked up four more cashes, including $400,000 he collected for a third-place finish in the $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed event.
Jaka collected another $113,000 in WSOP cashes in 2010, the lion's share of which came from an eighth-place finish in the $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em / Heads Up Championship. Two years later, Jaka made another WSOP final table, only this time he did it on European soil during the WSOPE in Cannes, France. He finished the €10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Mixed Max event in fourth place for €86,087.
Jaka remained on the “Best Without a Bracelet” list until 2023 when he broke through with a win in the $1,500 Shootout event for $237,637.
Is Faraz Jaka Good at Poker?
Jaka is well-regarded among his peers as one of the top players in the game, and he has established himself as one of the most respected coaches in poker. Jaka has over $7.3 million in career earnings according to the Hendon Mob, and he has both a WSOP bracelet and a WPT Player of the Year title to his name.
Faraz Jaka Top 5 Results
Date | Event | Entries | Place | Prize |
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July 2013 | $15,400 WPT Bellagio Cup V | 268 | 2 | $775,780 |
January 2012 | $10,300 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure | 1,072 | 3 | $755,000 |
December 2009 | $15,400 WPT Five Diamond Classic | 329 | 3 | $571,374 |
April 2018 | $3,500 WPT Showdown Seminor HRPS | 1,309 | 2 | $454,496 |
June 2009 | WSOP $5,000 NLH 6-Handed | 928 | $400,525 |
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Wealth - What is Faraz Jaka’s Net Worth?
Jaka has earned over $7.3 million in his poker career, and he considers himself an entrepreneur and businessman more so than a poker player. He often spends his winnings on real estate and other investments, and he has a degree in Economics and Business from UIUC. He is also the founder of Jaka Coaching.
His net worth is estimated to be between $5-10 million.
Faraz Jaka Family, Wife and Child
Faraz Jaka Wife - Is Faraz Jaka Married?
Jaka is married to his wife, Carolina, and they have one child.
Does Faraz Jaka Have Children?
Jaka has one child with wife, Carolina.
Faraz Jaka Controversies
Jaka was the poker coach of Robbi Jade Lew at the time of her controversial hand on the Hustler Casino Live stream.
Jaka explained in a lengthy Twitter thread that he had done three tournament coaching sessions earlier this year ahead of the 2022 World Series of Poker (WSOP) and two more "last minute" cash game sessions ahead of this week's Hustler stream.
"Robbi’s only been playing for about a year," wrote Jaka. "Like any new player, she has trouble repeating back HHs (hand histories) & mixes up terminology. Usually, u don’t see new players HHs but she jumped right into big streams."