Product Description

The first authorized biography of Stuey Ungar, the greatest card player of all time, who was backed by the Mob in New York before moving to Las Vegas where he won the World Series of Poker three times, then died mysteriously in a seedy motel on the Vegas strip at the age of 45.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13521 in Books
• Published on: 2006-08-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

Customer Reviews

Biography of an ultimate loser
I have never played a hand of poker in my life and have limited understanding of the game but that did not stop me finding this as one of the best biographies I have read in a few years.

The story reads like a fairy tale from the outset of the poorly educated son of a NY illegal bookie who because he was able to observe close up his father's operations plus a mother who was a terrible gin rummy player, discovered a natural aptitude at an early age for memorising hands and working out odds.

He was soon under the patronage of a leading NY figure in the Mob who bankrolled him to become the most feared gin rummy player and then with his move to Las Vegas having run out of competitors quickly turned his talents to stud poker and converted his talents to that game becoming renowned and feared amongst many older players with a record three wins of the World Series of Poker championship.

Having reached those heady heights, Ungar then went on to prove the sad truth that what makes great gamblers at the poker tables is also the ultimate seed of their destruction, in that simply hoarding the money won at their best game is not enough. Endless gambling binges on anything and often at crazy odds saw the estimated $30 million lifetime winnings being only $800 when he died a pauper after endless drug binges. His final World Series win was only possible due to an old friend bankrolling his entry fee and pot for a share of the winnings, his share soon being squandered.

While the book does not dwell on it, one is left feeling that Stuey Ungar's unique skill was the result of a strain of autism where his phenomenal mathematical brain was paired with a complete inability to relate to people (one of his least endearing characteristics was an inability to be a good loser or a kind winner with other contestants, consistently either throwing tantrums or lording it over losers at the tables). The consequences were an unworldly man who never had a bank account in his life (he did not know what to do with a royalty cheque he received for a TV appearance!) and a personal family life where all was ultimately failure. After his father's early and mothers later deaths he quickly fell out with his sister over her choice of husband and his own son committed suicide as a teenager and his wife abandoned him to protect their daughter. The man's life became an endless gambling binge where over the years he lost many of the friendships he had formed in trying to finance his addiction.

"One of a kind" is indeed a very apt and sadly ironic title.

Fantastic book
Having died before the poker boom, Stuey Ungar sometimes falls under the radar when people talk about the greats of the game. This book tells Stuey's fascinating rise and fall in the gambling world. It doesn't hold back at all when going deep into every aspect of his life, particularly his various addictions.
Playing poker myself I was drawn to it, but Ive since leant it to a couple of non poker playing friends and they all found it a great read.

This and The Great Casino Heist are great books!
Stu Unger reminds me of Richard Marcus, who wrote the Great Casino Heist. I love stories about people beating the casinos and these two books tell just that. If you like casino excitement you will love this because the action just rushes off the pages at you. Unger may have been a little more volatile than Marcus but they're both characters you don't want to miss! Read these books.