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Stu Ungar Biography

Stu Ungar Poker Player Biography

Stu Ungar was born and raised in Manhatten. His exposure to gambling came at a very young age, as his father worked as a bookie. After his father's death, Stu became close to another family, who had deep ties to gambling. In 1963, at 10 years old, he won his first gin rummy tournament, and eventually quit school in1968 to play gin for money. Eventually, Stu moved to Florida, and then in 1976 to Las Vegas, to pursue a career as a rummy player. Unfortunately, he became so well-known as an excellent player, that few people would play with him. With a genius IQ, and a photographic memory, Stu turned to blackjack as a source of income. Before long, he was banned from playing in the casinos in Las Vegas, and became interested in poker.

Stu Ungar is considered to be the greatest no limit holdem player of all time. He wasn't thought of as a "gentlemanly" player, as he was well known for abusing dealers during losing streaks. Stu also routinely criticized fellow players who he believed were inferior in skill. Despite this, he was a very successful poker player.Among his many accomplishments:

  • 1980 - won the main event at the World Series of Poker after only playing poker a short time.
  • 1981 - won the main event of the WSOP again.
  • 1983 - won the Super Bowl of Poker
  • 1988 - won the Super Bowl of Poker
  • 1989 - won the Super Bowl of Poker
  • 1997 - won the main event of the World Series, earning him the nickname "Comeback Kid".
  • only person to win 3 WSOP championships and 3 Super Bowls of Poker
  • 5 WSOP bracelets in total
  • won 10 major (over $5000 buy-in) no-limit championship events (current record for wins)
  • estimated to have won $30 million at poker (although he died with only $800 to his name)

While Stu was a very talented card player, his life was filled with difficulty. Stu became a millionaire and subsequently went broke at least 4 times in his life. This was due in large part to his cocaine/crack drug addiction, and his penchant for betting on sports and horse races. During the third day of the 1990 World Series of Poker, Stu was found unconscious from an overdose in his hotel room. Despite this, he'd had such a large chip lead that he still came in 9th in the tournament. His drug use was so severe, that his nostrils collapsed and surgery became necessary. Stu died in 1998 at the age of 42, likely as a result from years of drug abuse.