Sammy Farha

Sammy Farha is one of the poker players who started to display exceptional skills in casino gaming at an early age. While growing up, he actively participated in pinball and pool a fact that precipitated his in a Lebanese gaming magazine where he is referred to as the pinball wizard. To understand this dynamic poker, one has to understand his roots and the factors that propelled him into casino gaming. Born in 1959 in Beirut, Lebanon, Farha was known as Ihsan Farha and was in love with gaming from an early age. In 1977 due to a civil war in his home country he had to move to the U.S and later he acquired a degree in Business Administration at the University of Kansas, Wichita.

After completing his studies, Farha moved to Houston Texas and begun working for his brother. It was while he was here that he reignited his passion for poker once he started playing with friends. Though during his childhood he and his father though it was not honorable to make money out of gambling, Farha started playing the game for money and worked hi way up from small winnings to huge ones. His first break came in 1996 when he participated in the World Series Poker Pot Limit in Omaha. Though this was his first major event, he managed to bang $ 145,000 and this achievement marked his first WSOP bracelet. During this event, he managed to defeat Eric Seidel during the final table and this is what made him the winner. One of the factors that have propelled Farha to the state that he currently enjoys in the gaming world is his confidence and belief in himself that he can win any game he puts his mind to.

His big break however came in 2003 when he played on a one to one basis with Chris moneymaker at the final table and managed to come in second place and take home $ 1.3 million. During this event, he also managed to win another WSOP gold bracelet. After a couple of months from this event, a rematch between this two was organized at the poker stars and Farha managed to defeat Chris on this occasion and take home $ 1.5 million regardless of the fact that Farha’s specialty is in Omaha games. There is a superstitious part that defines him because though he never smokes, he always ensures to have a cigarette in his mouth when he is playing. At all times, he never lights it but he says that he adds luck to his game. Apart from these winnings, Farha has also recorded other winnings in table games. In 2006 he participated in the National Heads Up No Limit Holdem Event and managed to win $ 75,000 by coming in sixth place. He has also been successful by winning a pinball tournament in Kansas and in addition to this, he has also won at a Pac -Man competition that gave him a substantially large sum of money.

Apart from poker related games, Farha has also been actively involved in the creation of a video game and creation of a reality TV poker series which showcases the intricacies of the game and those who take part in them. In 2007, he took people by surprise when he released a book titled Farha on Omaha. His co-author in the book is Storms Rebach and their publishers are Triumph Books. In this book, Farha showcases the strategies of playing different games such as Omaha, Pot limit Omaha and Omaha eight or better. His purpose for written the book was to provide the basic rules of indulging in this games to first time beginners. In addition to this, he is also the spokesman for Harrah’s Casino in Las Vegas.

Farha state of play is unique to his individual style and often this is what makes him stand out from the rest of the players. There are certain traits which make him stand out and this include his designer clothes which are often from Gucci or Armani. Whenever one sees him, he is also always spotting jewelry while his hair is neatly tucked in the back. In most cases whenever Farha is losing constantly in a game, he is known to change his cigarette because he believes that it the cause of his bad luck. More often, Farha has been described as an aggressive player a fact can be verified when one watches him play. Though this is the case, he is also very calculating and does not let his opponents know the move he is going to make before effecting it. As stated earlier, his specialty is in Omaha but Farha has always managed to expand his vision and indulge in other games too. Currently, Farha is living in Houston, Texas and up to date, he is still recording more achievements in different tournaments. To find out more about Sammy Farha visit his official website at: Sammy Farha

Posted by Joel on May 9 2010. Filed under Player Profiles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry