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"Reader beware the seductive blue flame. To illuminate the triumphant yet scorchingly hideous forty-five years Stuey Ungar spent among us, Dalla and Alson have produced an acetylene torch of a book. There was no other way to write a story like this. One of a Kind is a lesson in no-limit hold'em as well as a terrifying pleasure."
--James McManus, author of "Positively Fifth Street"
Product Description
He was the Jim Morrison of the casino, a legend before he was of legal age. Stuey Ungar, the son of a Jewish bookie on Manhattan's Lower East Side, dropped out of high school to become an underground card-table sensation, eventually taking out every top gin-rummy player on the East Coast. Bankrolled by the Genovese crime family, Stuey would soon travel around the country in search of new opponents and opportunities -- including poker. He would go on to win the World Series of Poker a record three times. And then his luck began to run out.
"One of a Kind" is the startling tale of a man who won at his game and lost control of his life. Whether tossing away his winnings at the racetrack or on a single roll of the dice, Stuey was notorious for gambling every single dollar in his pocket. Though he had won an estimated $30 million in his lifetime, Stuey had no bank account, not even a home address. He was found dead in a Vegas motel -- with $800 in cash on his person, the only money he had left -- at the age of forty-five.
An intimate, authorized biography -- Nolan Dalla was commissioned by Stuey in 1998 to pen his story, resulting in hundreds of hours of taped interviews and conversations -- "One of a Kind" illuminates the dark genius of one of poker's most memorable figures.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
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.
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.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
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.
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.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A brilliant view into the life and death of one of the best poker players ever to have graced the tables.
Not that much about poker in there, but nice to see how one of the all time greats thought and acted, an inspiration and a warning !
Not that much about poker in there, but nice to see how one of the all time greats thought and acted, an inspiration and a warning !
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Excellent!!
One of a Kind: The Rise and Fall of Stuey 'The Kid' Ungar, the World's Greatest Poker PlayerGreat read for all poker enthusiasts,a true legend.... R.I.P
Published 11 months ago by GAV1P
Sad poker story.
Not the fun type of book that Devil Fish wrote. A more cautionary tale. Stuey Ungar was ultimately a forlorn hope, with his skills at the tables his only possible balance against... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Lugholes
Poker in Perspective
I bought this book as a gift for my husband (one of many he had mentioned). He has really enjoyed reading it. Well written,informative,emotive and poinant. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Dizzysam
a classic
as someone who's lived with the same characters in this book through endless days in the snooker hall in the 80s i could relate to it straight away. Read more
Published on 3 Feb 2010 by D. Lomas
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. Read more
Published on 11 July 2005 by Rod Axel
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