Biografia
Ihsan "Sam" Farha was born in Beirut, Lebanon. As a teenager, he excelled at Pac-Man, pinball, and pool, turning his skills into money. On one occasion, he played a single game of Pac-Man for $5,000. In 1977, he moved to the United States to attend the University of Kansas, where he earned a degree in Business Administration.
After graduating, he relocated to Houston, Texas, working various jobs before discovering his passion for poker, initially playing with friends for fifty cents a hand.
Gradually, he started playing more frequently and at higher stakes. He tested his luck in Las Vegas, turning $2,000 into $7,000. Confident in his abilities, he decided to quit his job and focus on poker full-time.
Farha won the Pot-Limit Omaha championship at the World Series of Poker in 1996 and secured third place in the same event in 2002. In 2003, he was the runner-up in the World Series of Poker Main Event, earning $1,300,000. The following year, he placed 19th at the Grand Prix de Paris and 26th at Festa al Lago.
His aggressive and unpredictable playing style, characterized by his keen ability to read and intimidate opponents and his diverse hand selection, has significantly influenced the game of poker.