Ihsan Farha, better known as Sam Farha, a professional poker player was born in Beirut, Lebanon in 1959. The cover stories of several Lebanese magazines illustrate how good a player Sam Farha was at pinball and pool, for he won $5,000 in a single game of Pac-Man. The Lebanese Civil War caused Sam Farha who was only a teenager then to leave his native country and move to the United States in 1977. He got his degree in Business Administration from the University of Kansas and went to work with his brother in Houston, Texas. Sam Farha could not stick to any particular job until he started playing poker which promised him more action and money, and he finally decided to become a full-time poker professional. An unlit cigarette, aggressive style of play well-hidden by his cool looks, grace, and style make him an admirable figure in the world of poker.
In May 1996, Sam Farha won the first place at the 27th Annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) Event #18 – WSOP Pot-Limit Omaha and a hugh amount of $145,000. At the 3rd Annual Jack Binion World Poker Open (WPO) – WPO Pot-Limit Omaha (Event #14) in January 2002, he finished 10th and took away $3,713. He played well at the 33rd Annual WSOP Event #8 – WSOP Pot-Limit Omaha which fetched him third place and a tidy sum of $48,140 in April 2002. The 34th Annual WSOP World Championship – No-Limit Hold’em witnessed an amazing performance from Sam Farha, where he played against Chris Moneymaker, famous poker player, and missed the first place but received $1,300,000 for his second place in May 2003.
In July 2004, Sam Farha finished 19th at the Rendezvous a Paris – World Poker Tour (WPT) Season 3 No-Limit Hold’em and bagged $13,106. He made $18,000 for his 26th-place finish in the 2004 Festa al Lago III/Doyle Brunson North American Poker Championship – WPT Event Season 3 Main Event – No-Limit Hold’em in October. His brilliant performance at the Five-Diamond World Poker Classic II/WPT Event Season 3 Pot-Limit Omaha in December 2004 won him the 6th place and $11,985. In the same tour, he secured 39th place and earned $5,984 in No-Limit Hold’em Event.
The year 2006 was a great one for Sam Farha for he finished 6th at the National Heads Up Poker/Heads Up – No-Limit Hold’em and took away $75,000 in March. His amazing performance won him the first prize at the 37th Annual WSOP Omaha Hi/Lo (Event #12) and an awesome $398,560 in July of the same year.
Sam Farha won $46,410 at the WPT World Championship/WPT Event Season 5 - No-Limit Hold’em Championship in April 2007. He secured 6th place at the 39th WSOP 2008 Event #8 – World Championship Mixed Event and walked away with $85,728 in June. In the same tournament, he made $21,657 at WSOP Heads Up – No-Limit Hold’em World Championship (Event #25) and finished 30th.
Sam Farha is trying his hand in writing too for he and Storms Reback, another writer, have written the book, Farha on Omaha: Expert Strategy for Beating Cash Games and Tournament, and he is currently working on a book titled Luck is not Enough.
Sam Farha plays mostly in high stakes Omaha cash games but still finds time to work as a spokesman in Las Vegas for Harrah’s Casino.
Sam Farha has featured on GSN’s High Stakes Poker series which is a show about poker and its players. He has kept himself busy by making a reality TV poker series and an instructional video game.