Stu Ungar

Stu Ungar was born as Stuart Errol Unger on September 8, 1953. He was known as a professional poker player who also engaged in some gin rummy. Stu is said to be the greatest player of the Texas Holdem; he is also an influential icon for the other gin rummy players.
He is the only player who has ever won the World Series of Poker’s main events thrice. The only other person to have won it thrice is Johnny Moss, but his first title was won after the players voted. Stu is the only professional poker player to have won the Amarillo Slims Super Bowl of Poker thrice. When the event used to take place, it was considered the second most celebrated poker event.

Stu was born in the lower side of Manhattan. His parents were Jewish. He was exposed to gambling at a very young age. His father used to operate a social club that used to hold gambling events. His farther was not pleased about his son’s decision to play poker since he had seen the negative effect it had on most players. Stu was able to make a name for himself in underground gin. He was a very intelligent boy, but opted to drop put of school when he got to tenth grade.
In 1966, Stu’s dad died of a heart attack and his mother became incapacitated as a result of this. This gave Stu the chance to move around New York and practice his gambling skills. When he was 18 years old, Stu became friends with Victor Romano. Romano was part of the organized crime syndicates, but he had the ability to pronounce and spell all the words in the dictionary. He was also very skilled at calculating the odds of a gambling game. Romano took Stu under his wing.

Stu had a reputation for being arrogant. Most of the times he would criticize all those opponents whom he felt were not of his level. The friendship with Romano ensured that he was protected from the wrath of other poker players.

A number of professional poker players have declared Stu as one of the most talented players to ever play the game. In 2003, a movie titled High Roller: The Stu Ungar Story was produced in his honor. Stu Ungar died on November 22, 1998. After his death, Stu was inducted into Poker’s Hall of Fame. In 2005, a biography about his life was published. The following year, an award winning documentary was featured by ESPN.