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Life can sometimes be cruel and ironic. To some, life is like a bad suit; something doesn’t feel right and won’t fit you well. Despite this, you just don’t want to get rid of it. We often hear about Hollywood stars who have looks and money, yet something goes wrong only because success is a difficult task to deal with. If you are a successful poker player, you have to deal with a number of issues that some people are not meant to play with. You toss in a few thousand bucks and walk out with millions more. This is what Stu Ungar’s life looked like on a daily basis. He was widely considered to be the best poker player in the world and was unchallenged with his three World Series of Poker main event wins. He also had a large number of other accomplishments, with winnings exceeding a mind-boggling $32 million throughout his whole life. But no money can buy true happiness and Stu’s life is in large part a sad chapter in the history of professional poker. Stu Ungar was born and raised in New York in 1953. Mr and Mrs Ungar quickly realized that little Stu had a special talent. In fact, at the age of ten, he proved that he was a real prodigy after winning a local gin tournament. At the age of 15, he was considered to be one of the best gin players in New York. His earnings pulled him out of school as he quickly realized that he could make hundreds of thousands of dollars playing the game. In 1968, he moved south to Miami, Florida, to find more games. After a year, he came to the conclusion that he had to move to Las Vegas, Nevada, to find the competition he was looking for. At first, it seemed like a bad call; the casino owners quickly banned the young kid from all games after they had recognized his special card-counting skills. After spending a year in Las Vegas, he entered the main event of the World Series of Poker. During the third day, Stu attracted large crowds who watched the young kid play all the way to the final table. Hours later, he won a sensational heads-up match with Doyle Brunson, who was defeated with 5-4 of spades, as the community cards popped up an ace, deuce and three. The following year, Stu participated once again at the main event, and was a big favourite to win. The runner-up Perry Green stood little chance against his A-Q of hearts, and by now Stu was declared a millionaire for the first time in his life. Sadly, reality knocked on Stu’s door. His addiction to sports betting combined with the sudden spotlight attention led him to drugs. For the next sixteen years, Stu would combine a very unhealthy drugs habit with poker, but his perfect play was always apparent at the tables. As soon as the green sheets were gone, he would spend all of his time alone at hotel rooms. Despite all his winnings, he was usually broke and had to borrow money from his friends to participate in tournaments. In 1997, Stu made a comeback and decided to play at the World Series of Poker main event once again. Like so many times before, he borrowed money from friends and started playing. Stu Ungar stunned the world once again and shut the critics who claimed that his comeback would be nothing but a failure. His skills in poker were as deep as his instincts and despite all the drugs abuse, Stu never lost his mind during the game. Unfortunately, even sad stories come to an end. The poker players witnessed a physically and mentally deteriorated Stu Ungar, who started wearing shades, not because he wanted to improve his game play, but to prevent others from seeing his damaged nostrils, permanently damaged from cocaine and other drugs. In November 1998, he was found dead at a hotel room. The official cause of death was not an overdose, but coronary atherosclerosis. The doctors found mixtures of drugs in his blood, including percodan, cocaine and methadone, but only in small amounts. Despite this tragic event, Stu Ungar will be remembered as one of the greatest poker players of all time, and possibly the best gin player who ever lived. Or as his friend Bob Supak put it, “He was the best. You can't expand on that. The best says it all.” |
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