Our Verdict:
"I never want to be called a 'good loser'. Show me a good loser and I'll show you a loser," said Stu Ungar.
Stuey “The Kid” Ungar is undoubtedly one of the greatest poker tournament players who ever lived - his cunning and aggression at the table were legendary and he dominated his opponents like no one else. The son of an illiterate underground New York bookie he was originally a champion gin player and though he is better known for his poker accomplishments, Ungar regarded himself as a better gin rummy player.
"Some day, I suppose it's possible for someone to be a better no limit holdem player than me. I doubt it, but it could happen. But, I swear to you, I don't see how anyone could ever play gin better than me," he said.
Nevertheless, there are many who claim Stuey is the greatest poker player of all time and the stats give much weight to that claim. Winner of the 1980 World Series of Poker main event - the second high-stakes tournament he had ever played in, he remarkably won it again the very next year.
Even more impressive, years later he went on to win the main event for a third time (1997). He therefore joined Johnny Moss as one of only two players to be World Champion three times – but more impressively in real terms given that Moss won his titles competing against small fields (around 40) whereas Ungar won in fields of 72, 75 and over 200 respectively.
However, Stu’s story is famously tinged with sadness and he died prematurely in his late forties after years of drug abuse and reckless living. His drug problem escalated to such a point that during one World Series of Poker tournament in 1990 he was found on the third day of the tournament unconscious on the floor of his hotel room. However, he had such a chip lead that even when the dealers kept taking his blinds out Ungar still managed to finish 9th and pocketed $20,500.
It is this compelling combination of poker genius and flawed individual that have made Stu Ungar the most talked about poker player of recent generations.
A warts and all book by Nolan Dalla (the media director for the WSOP) called 'The Man Behind The Shades' to came out last year and is well worth a read.