Stu Ungar is regarded by most to the greatest NL Texas hold em Poker player ever.
The 3 time World Poker Champion was born in New York in 1953 and began wagering poker before becomming a teenager.
The young bettor started out playing gin and at the age of 10 had won his primary gin tournament, while on holiday with his parents. By the age of fourteen the small poker maestro had turned professional and dropped out of school.
In ‘54 Stu entered the record books by winning $10,000 in a gin tournament without sacrificing a single hand, a record which still appears in New York these days.
The fast speaking wiz kid has been likened, in poker terms, to athletic greats such as Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods. Stu had a true ability for betting poker but despite his successes in Hold em poker, he favored wagering gin.
Stu once said that there might some day be a greater No Limit Hold em player than him but he couldn’t see how anyone could ever be a far better gin player.
In 1980 Stu Ungar was put on the world map as one of the greatest Texas hold em Poker players in the planet when he was crowned World Poker Champion for the first time. Astonishingly it was the 1st time he had entered the tournament.
The right after year he dismissed any suggestions that it had been a fluke, by successfully defending his title. And in ‘97 Stu set the record by winning his third World poker championship.
Except this poker master also battled with substance abuse and a year following winning his 3rd title Stu died in his hotel room. According to medical professionals, he had passed away from a cardiac event which was triggered by his lifestyle.
Stu had started with absolutely nothing except his ability and natural talent for the game which made this poker excellent a millionaire a lot of times over.