Sam Farha: 3-Time WSOP Bracelet Winner and 2003 Main Event Runner-Up
POKER HALL OF FAME
Inducted 2014
Sam Farha is a Lebanese-born American poker professional whose career combines high-stakes cash-game fame, three World Series of Poker bracelets and one of the most recognizable runner-up finishes in WSOP Main Event history.
Farha finished second to Chris Moneymaker in the 2003 WSOP Main Event, earning $1.3 million in a tournament that became a defining moment in poker’s early-2000s boom. He also built an accomplished Omaha résumé, winning WSOP bracelets in Pot-Limit Omaha and Omaha Hi-Lo.
As of August 25, 2026, The Hendon Mob lists Farha with $2,996,618 in live tournament earnings and a career-best cash of $1.3 million. The official WSOP player database lists three bracelets and no WSOP Circuit rings.
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Who Is Sam Farha?
Ihsan "Sam" Farha, widely known as Sammy Farha, is a poker player born in Beirut, Lebanon. The Hendon Mob lists his nationality as United States and his residence as Houston, Texas.
Farha became particularly associated with high-stakes cash poker and Omaha. His live tournament record stretches back to at least the 1996 World Series of Poker, when he won his first WSOP bracelet.
His tournament accomplishments eventually included three bracelets, a runner-up finish in the WSOP Main Event and nearly $3 million in tracked live tournament earnings. His television appearances also made him one of the recognizable personalities of poker’s televised boom era.
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2003 WSOP Main Event and the Chris Moneymaker Final
Farha’s most famous tournament result came in the 2003 $10,000 WSOP Main Event at Binion’s Horseshoe.
The tournament attracted 839 entries and generated a $7,802,700 prize pool. Farha advanced to heads-up play against Chris Moneymaker, an amateur player who had qualified through an online satellite.
Moneymaker eventually won the Main Event for $2.5 million, while Farha collected $1.3 million for second place. The result remains Farha’s largest recorded live tournament cash.
Official WSOP results for the 2003 Main Event list Farha ahead of a final-table field that also included Dan Harrington, Jason Lester, Amir Vahedi and Phil Ivey.
The importance of the tournament extended well beyond the payouts. Moneymaker’s victory became closely associated with the rapid expansion of poker participation that followed, commonly called the "Moneymaker Effect." Farha’s role as the established professional facing the previously unknown qualifier made the heads-up match one of the enduring images of that period.
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Sam Farha’s Three WSOP Bracelets
Farha has won three World Series of Poker bracelets, with all three victories coming in Omaha variants.
1996 WSOP: $2,500 Pot-Limit Omaha, $145,000 first-place prize
2006 WSOP: $5,000 Omaha Hi-Lo, $398,560 first-place prize
2010 WSOP: $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship, $488,241 first-place prize
Farha captured his first bracelet at the 1996 WSOP in Pot-Limit Omaha.
Ten years later, he won his second bracelet in the 2006 $5,000 Omaha Hi-Lo event. The tournament drew 265 entries, and Farha defeated Phil Ivey heads-up for the title and $398,560. Official WSOP results confirm the victory.
His third bracelet came in the 2010 $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship. Farha topped a 212-entry field and defeated James Dempsey heads-up to earn $488,241. The win gave Farha his second bracelet specifically in Omaha Hi-Lo. The WSOP event results document the championship.
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Omaha and High-Stakes Cash Games
Farha’s bracelet record reflects the game most closely associated with his tournament success: Omaha.
His first bracelet came in Pot-Limit Omaha, while his second and third came in Omaha Hi-Lo. That combination gave him major WSOP victories in both high-only and split-pot forms of the game.
Tournament results, however, tell only part of Farha’s poker story. Official WSOP coverage has repeatedly described him as a high-stakes cash-game professional, and he became a familiar face to television audiences through televised cash poker.
Farha appeared on programs including High Stakes Poker during the period when televised cash games brought nosebleed-stakes poker to a broad audience. His presence in those games reinforced a reputation built as much around cash poker as around tournament results.
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Sam Farha’s Tournament Earnings and Major Tour Record
As of August 25, 2026, The Hendon Mob lists Farha with $2,996,618 in recorded live tournament earnings.
His $1.3 million runner-up prize from the 2003 WSOP Main Event remains his largest live tournament score.
The official WSOP database separately lists $2,722,348 in WSOP earnings, along with:
3 WSOP bracelets
0 WSOP Circuit rings
23 WSOP cashes
6 WSOP final tables
The difference between WSOP earnings and total live earnings reflects the broader scope of The Hendon Mob database, which includes qualifying results from tournament series outside the WSOP.
Farha also recorded World Poker Tour results, although he never won a WPT title. The official WPT player database lists three WPT cashes totaling $76,856.
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Recent Tournament Activity
Farha continued recording live tournament results decades after his first bracelet victory.
The Hendon Mob lists six cashes for Farha during the 2025 World Series of Poker, totaling $33,092. His deepest finish was 25th in the $1,000 Super Seniors event for $14,461.
Other 2025 WSOP cashes included:
46th in the $1,500 Big O for $6,941
119th in the $1,500 Mixed Omaha 8 or Better for $3,180
378th in the $1,000 Seniors Championship for $3,280
213th in the $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Mystery Bounty for $2,210
578th in the $1,500 The Closer for $3,020
Those results are significant because they show Farha remained active in major live tournament poker more than two decades after his 2003 Main Event run.
As of August 25, 2026, The Hendon Mob does not list a 2026 live tournament cash for Farha. That absence should not be interpreted as confirmation that he has retired from poker.
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Why Sam Farha Matters in Poker
Farha occupies an unusual place in modern poker history because several different parts of his career remain relevant.
His three bracelets established him as an accomplished Omaha tournament player. His high-stakes cash-game reputation gave him credibility beyond tournament poker. His televised appearances made him recognizable to viewers during poker’s rapid expansion in the 2000s.
Most importantly for poker history, Farha was the final opponent in the 2003 WSOP Main Event that helped transform Chris Moneymaker into one of the game’s most influential champions.
Farha did not win that Main Event, but his runner-up performance became inseparable from one of poker’s defining tournaments. Combined with his Omaha championships and high-stakes cash-game career, that result gives his résumé significance well beyond his career tournament earnings.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many WSOP bracelets does Sam Farha have?
Sam Farha has three WSOP bracelets. He won Pot-Limit Omaha in 1996, Omaha Hi-Lo in 2006 and the $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship in 2010.
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Did Sam Farha win the 2003 WSOP Main Event?
No. Farha finished second to Chris Moneymaker in the 2003 WSOP Main Event. Farha earned $1.3 million, while Moneymaker won $2.5 million and the championship bracelet.
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How much has Sam Farha won in live poker tournaments?
As of August 25, 2026, The Hendon Mob lists Sam Farha with $2,996,618 in live tournament earnings. Tournament earnings databases do not include all cash-game wins or losses.
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What is Sam Farha’s biggest tournament cash?
Farha’s largest recorded live tournament cash is $1.3 million for finishing second in the 2003 WSOP Main Event.
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Does Sam Farha have any WSOP Circuit rings?
No. The official WSOP database lists Farha with three bracelets and zero WSOP Circuit rings as of August 25, 2026.
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Has Sam Farha won a World Poker Tour title?
No. The official World Poker Tour database lists three cashes for Farha but no WPT victories.
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What poker game is Sam Farha best known for?
Farha is strongly associated with Omaha and high-stakes cash poker. All three of his WSOP bracelets came in Omaha variants.
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Is Sam Farha still playing poker?
Farha recorded multiple cashes at the 2025 World Series of Poker. As of August 25, 2026, The Hendon Mob does not list a 2026 live tournament cash for him, but there is no reliable basis to describe him as retired.