The Scoop -- Sammy Farha

Sammy Farha has been known by the top pros as a feared high-stakes cash-game player for years, but he was first introduced to the public when he finished runner-up to Chris Moneymaker in the 2003 World Series of Poker main event. He has appeared on multiple seasons of High Stakes Poker and the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship.

Diego Cordovez: The public has gotten to know you from TV, from when you played Chris Moneymaker and from High Stakes Poker, but you are still primarily a cash-game player. You don’t play very many tournaments at all. Your bread and butter is playing in the very high-stakes games, primarily shorthanded pot-limit Omaha, which you are famous for, and no-limit hold’em.

Sammy Farha: That’s what poker is; it’s not playing tournaments. Real poker is putting the pressure on. When you put on the pressure with valueless chips … I mean, it’s good when you win a tournament, because there is a lot of money involved, but …

DC: Can you tell when people sit down with you that they are affected by the fact that they haven’t played for that kind of cash before? Maybe they think it’s a good spot, and there is a lot of money to be won, but they are not prepared to have that much at stake in a single pot.

SF: When I play smaller games, yes. I see them more involved in a lot of hands, trying to beat me, which is good for me. I like that.

DC: You are used to that.

SF: I make a lot of money in smaller games. In the big games, it’s all pros. It’s like instinct to them right away — call or fold or raise; there are no moves. There’s no edge in it.

DC: I heard that you played Brandon Adams heads up, but you spotted him the button on every hand in pot-limit Omaha. Is that true?

SF: I did.

DC: That seems like a very strong spot to overcome.

SF: That’s true, but there are certain players I do it with. Brandon is a great player, but I spotted him the button because he was playing really tight against me. He got really lucky in a lot of pots. I caught him in a couple of big hands; he went all in with a lot of money.

DC: Against certain players, even though this seems like an incredible spot to give, it could work in your favor.

SF: I can switch positions because of my aggressiveness. I raise a lot before the flop, and I change the position a little bit. Then, you really have to have the guts to play the hand.

DC: Long before the public got to know you on TV, you were very well-known among high-limit pros for pot-limit Omaha [PLO] more than anything else. PLO is the game that you made your name in, that’s associated with you. Back then, there was a small circle of players who were willing to play high-stakes PLO; now on the Internet, the game has exploded.

SF: Really, poker has changed a lot. It’s not like it used to be. It used to be a more professional, more skillful game. Now, it’s not as skillful.

DC: Why is that?

SF: They use their computers. They use calculators in every hand, running the numbers to see who has an edge. We don’t do that. We use our minds. Right away, we know the answer.

DC: Your instincts.

SF: We don’t have accuracy to the penny, but we are close to it. All of these young guys, they are pretty sharp. I don’t have complaints, but they are pretty …

DC: It’s a different game if they already run simulations and can calculate all the equity in real time.

SF: Plus, they make their money faster than we do. They play six hands every second.

DC: So, do you play for high stakes on the Internet at all?

SF: No.

DC: So if people want to play you, it’s going to be old style, at the table, live.

SF: Well, I enjoy the game; if I am going to lose my money, let me enjoy it.