Stu Ungar is considered by many to the greatest NL Hold em Poker player ever.
The 3 time World Poker Champ was born in New York in 1953 and began betting poker before reaching his teens.
The young gambler began betting gin and at the age of ten had won his 1st gin rummy tournament, while on vacation with his parents. By the time he turned 14 the small poker genius had turned professional and dropped out of school.
In 1954 Stu Ungar entered the history books by winning 10 grand in a gin rummy tournament without losing a single hand, a record which still remains in New York these days.
The fast speaking superstar has been compared, in poker terms, to sporting superstars like Joe Namath and Tiger Woods. Stu Ungar had a actual skill for betting poker but regardless of his achievements in Hold em poker, he preferred betting gin.
Stu once said that there might some day be a better NL Hold em gambler than him but he could not see how anyone could ever be a greater gin player.
In 1980 Stu was put on the global map as one of the best Texas hold’em Poker gamblers in the earth when he was crowned World Poker Champ for the first time. Astonishingly it was the 1st time he had played in the tournament.
The subsequent year he put aside any suggestions that it had been a fluke, by effectively defending his title. And in 1997 Stu set the record by succeeding his third World poker championship.
Except this poker legend also struggled with substance abuse and a year after winning his third title Stu Ungar past away in his hotel room. According to physicians, he had passed away from a cardiac event which was caused by his lifestyle.
Stu had started out with nothing except his skill and expertise for the casino game which made this poker good a millionaire a lot of times over.