Stu Ungar: ‘Show Me A Good Loser And I’ll Show You A Loser Stu Ungar (or Unger) was born to gamble. I don’t mean he would die without it (though – who can tell?) but that was the thing he couldn’t live without… like Frank Sinatra without singing. Fancy Sinatra selling hot-dogs. The same for Stu Ungar. He never had a serious job. What else do we know about Stu Ungar? … he began to play at the age of 10 And at the age of 10 he had won his first gin rummy tournament. At the age of 14 he began to play poker. No, you don’t understand me. At the age of 14 he began to play poker as a professional player. At 25 he was a two-time World Champion. So young… a kid… Stu “the Kid” Ungar as he was dubbed by the press. He always looked like he was 14 years old, but played like he had 40 years of experience. … he had a passion for gambling That’s why he had won not only the WSOP but Amarillo Slim’s Super Bowl of Poker. Nobody could repeat it. But better he was in gin rummy: “Some day, I suppose it’s possible for someone to be a better No Limit Hold’Em than me. I doubt it, but I could happen. But, I swear to you, I don’t see how anyone could ever play gin better that me”. That passion brought him title of a World Champion for the third time in 1997 and it was the last time he played… … he had genius IQ and a photographic memory It was cool, but because of that nobody wanted to play with Stu. Pit bosses, race managers, sports book managers were afraid of him. But nevertheless they had to let him play, they could do nothing about that… As for his photographic memory: at a $50 000 he forecasted the loosing player’s cards. Then… another forecast – and again correctly, the manager even had to stop the game!!! It was Stu’s merit that single deck blackjack tables disappeared. … he didn’t care about money Money… better to lose than to waste… this is how Stu Ungar thought about it. He needed money only for gambling, which included sports, horses, races… poker, of course. Easy to earn, easy to burn… he never took care about the money. … he had a good friend- Bob Stupak Who offered him to count down the last three decks in a six-deck shoe. Stu did it…It was incredible… and also brought him $100.000 and Bob Stupak’s friendship. When Ungar was broke Stupak didn’t leave him, but even he couldn’t save Stu from the death… … dealer abuse was usual for him “Show me a good loser, and I’ll show you a loser”. He didn’t care about his manners. But it was usual for that time. Don’t follow his example. … he liked drugs too much He liked them… and they killed him in 1998. Thought the official cause is “coronary atherosclerosis” in his system were found cocaine, methadone and Percodan. … there’s no consensus of opinion about him That proves he’s outstanding. People say about him: “A drug addict who got lucky a few times” “glad he is dead, cos otherwise id kill him myself” cute? are you kidding me? did you see him in 96? you want a good looking poker player? its Phil Ivey... but if you want a legend... Stus your guy he Michael Jordan of poker Stu...You were, are, and always will be the greatest! rip