The Pros: Stu Ungar
Stu Ungar was born in New York City in 1953. Stu’s father was a bookie for the Genovese crime family so Stu was around gambling at a very young age. Stu Ungar learned how to play gin rummy from his mother at a very young age.
Stu Unger’s dad died when Stu was just 14 years old. After this tragic experience, Stu dropped out of school and started playing Gin full time. When he was 15 years old, a bookie staked Stu the $500 to enter a Gin tournament. Stu went on to win the tournament and the $10,000 first prize, but the amazing thing is that he won this tournament without losing a single hand.
Stu Ungar eventually moved to Las Vegas after a short stint in Miami, Florida. He got so good at playing Gin in Las Vegas that he eventually was unable to find a game. Stu moved on to playing Black Jack but he was such a good card counter that all the casinos eventually banned him from playing. Stu won a $100,000 bet from Bob Stupak when he was able to count the last 3 decks in a 6 deck shoe.
Stu won the 1980 World Series of Poker Championship just 4 months after he started playing the game. He defended his title in 1981. Even though he was broke in 1997 and hadn’t been playing much high stakes poker for years an anonymous benefactor paid Stu’s entry into the $10,000 main event. He went on to win his 3rd WSOP Championship.
Stu Ungar had many vices that kept him from ever reaching his true potential. Sadly Stu was found dead in an Oasis Motel room on November 22, 1998. He died of a heart condition brought on by years of cocaine use.
Stu Ungar was probability the best poker player ever. During his life he won an estimated $30 million playing poker. His 3 WSOP Championships ties him with Johnny Moss for the most. Stu Ungar also won Amarillo Slims Super Bowl of Poker 3 times. Stu is the only person ever to win both the WSOP and the Super Bowl of Poker and he won them both 3 times.
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