Stu Ungar is considered by many to the finest No Limit Hold em Poker player ever.
The three time World Poker Champ was born in New York in 1953 and began betting poker before reaching his teens.
The young gambler began playing gin and at the age of ten had won his initial gin rummy tournament, while on vacation with his mother and father. By the age of fourteen the small poker genius had turned pro and dropped out of school.
In ‘54 Stu entered the history books by succeeding ten thousand dollars in a gin rummy tournament without sacrificing a single hand, a record which still stands in New York today.
The quick talking superstar has been likened, in poker terms, to athletic superstars like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. Stu Ungar had a true talent for playing poker but in spite of his successes in Texas hold em poker, he preferred playing gin.
Stu once said that there might a few day be a far better No Limit Texas hold em player than him except he couldn’t see how anyone could ever be a much better gin gambler.
In 1980 Stu Ungar was put on the global map as one of the ideal Hold em Poker gamblers in the globe when he was crowned World Poker Champ for the 1st time. Extraordinarily it was the first time he had entered the tournament.
The subsequent year he dismissed any suggestions that it had been a fluke, by successfully protecting his title. And in ‘97 Stu set the record by winning his third World poker championship.
But this poker legend also battled with drug abuse and a year after winning his third title Stu past away in his hotel room. According to doctors, he had died from cardiac arrest which was brought on by his lifestyle.
Stu Ungar had started out with nothing except his ability and natural talent for the casino game which made this poker good a millionaire several times over.