One of a Kind: The Rise and Fall of Stuey ',The Kid', Ungar, The World's Greatest Poker Player

As some1 who graduated with a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from a top notch university, i can never imagine myself dropping out of school at the age 15 and live the rest of my life on the edge: betting enormous amount of money on sports, playing high stakes poker and crushing all the best players in gin. However, while I was reading the book, I was absolutely fascinated by the kind of life that Stu has lived. Time after time as I was reading the book , i felt like Stu really is one of a kind, and he had plenty of rises and falls throughout his entire gambling career. From winning the WSOP in 81,82 to the death of Richie, divorce with Madeline, the comeback kid in 97 and ultimately his own death b/c of a heart attacked caused by his outrage drug usages over the years in 98.In a sense, after reading the book, I feel a great sense of sympathy for Stu. Obviously, he was an extremely talented card player and probably the most talented gin player that has ever lived on the planet. Nevertheless, he also made some poor choices throughout his life: drug overdose, dropping out of school and lack of self-control. Just imagine w/ Stu's natural talent, how much more successful Stuey would be, if he didn't have those bad habits, I bet he would have won at least another wsop if not more. 3 is already an outstanding record, if Stu could have won 4+ WSOP, he would literally put himself into his own class in the poker history.

Stuey was a legend of the card games and a genius having been raised around gambling from a young age..Surprised I never heard about him all these years..The book is very well written and if u like gambling stories u will appreciate the story of 'the kid' whose life was much to short.

There is nothing not to like because coming in you are not expecting something huge like William Manchester's Biography of Churchill. The book very much keeps your interest, assuming the subject interests you.Stuey Ungar was a genius in the sense that he was practically born playing cards like Picasso was born drawing pictures or Mozart was born playing the piano. He ran afoul of drugs and was not good at managing money but these kinds of issues were the flip side of his strength, he was like a guy who always drove with his high beams on and his foot to the floor and pretty single minded, he liked to gamble. One nice line, Page 76, "Stuey wasn't a con man or a hustler; he was an assassin". Meaning that he would not throw a game and so lost out on some good money, if he paced himself more gamblers would have taken him on and he would have made more money but he couldn't pace himself. I recommend this book.

It wouldn't end well. I knew that when I purchased this book. How could a man succeed so well in poker -- a game that requires heart, stamina, incredible focus, uncanny ability to read people, discipline and intense mathematical analysis -- and fail so badly at life? Nolan Dalla captures Unger so well that I felt as if I was another of Unger's friends, watching his life unravel. Dalla skillfully peels away Unger's layers, until beneath all the bravado, genius, and generosity we see not a man, but a little boy; probably a traumatized boy desperately trying to outrun his demons. When he could no longer outrun them by chasing escalating gambling highs, he escapes into drug addiction. Knowing how the book would end, I couldn't help but root for Unger. But Dalla does not stop with Unger, we experience the frustrations, disappointments and horror of Unger's friends and family, whom Dalla thoroughly interviewed. Like any child, Unger is singularly insensitive to the needs of those around him. As exhaustive and painful as this book was proving to be, I couldn't put it down. That's a great credit to Dalla.

This book about Stuey "The Kid" Ungar is a fast-paced read about a poker prodigy. Before 'Hold 'em hit the scene, Stuey played Gin and became a young expert at card playing. It was said that his memory was photographic. This book shares the story of Stuey who lived life as a hard core gambler. All of life was a gamble to him and he took every opportunity in life to wager. His life experience was so far removed from the regular life that you and I might be living--paying bills and earning an honest wage.Stuey lived hard in all aspects: gambling, sex and drugs. He rubbed shoulders and was mentored by the mob and some of Vegas' biggest names like Doyle Brunson and a the Binions. Reading this book will allow you to see the life "The Kid" lived in NYC and Las Vegas.If you love books about Las Vegas and the game of Hold 'em as well as exciting stories about gambling--Stu Ungar's story will not disappoint.

A fascinating life... every sport / game / profession seems to have a character like this: An absolute genius with a fragile personality. On top of that, a significantly troubled upbringing with questionable parentage. The book is an easy read, and interesting from a cards point of view too - I bought it after learning how to play proper gin rummy, and seeing Ungar's name pop up all over the internet. The book doesn't delve too far into how Ungar's incredibly addictive and destructive personality evolved (possibly nature and nurture respectively?), but it's a riveting account, and the snippets of his own words bring a good touch of emotion to the 'Biography'.Those who like this.... I THOROUGHLY recommend the biography of Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins, the snooker player.

Stu Unger was, by far, the greatest to ever play the game of poker. At the same time, like Fisher, he was consumed and obsessed by it with no room left in his life for anything else. This, perhaps, is the price someone pays for greatness.If you have ever been even semi serious about the game of poker, you will appreciate and understand the insights into the mind and character of this poker genius. (By the way, there's no comparison between this book and the movie that was made about Stu Unger's life. This book is 1,000 times better. The movie only gives a surface view of Stu Unger's life without any insight into what made him tick. In addition, it was inaccurate in some of what it presented.)

I'm not much of a book reader, usually 2 or 3 books a year. But it only took me 2 weeks to read the 300 pages of this book, a well-written and detailed account of poker player Stuey "The Kid" Ungar. I knew about him before and was always fascinated about his life from stories I heard about him in Las Vegas. He really was an exceptional card player by any standard with raw talent and a photographic memory. A fascianting book which was supposed to be his autobiography and may have led him away from the self-destructive path he was on. The real sadness about his life, he had everything, but what he could have achieved if he had just stuck to cards and not gambled at the racetrack and other sports betting. Basically he had no self control and a very bad drug addiction. His life is a fascinating and powerful story, excellent book.

Fascinating to read, and a warning against gambling and drugs, however talented you are.

One of a kind is a tale of one of the most fascinating persons of all time. Set in gangster ruled New York where Stuey learned the trade and rose as the best gin player of all times, it follows the history of Stuey with his change to Las Vegas and his introdution to the poker elite.The book is full of details and personal insights from Stuey that will make you laugh, along with descriptions of the elite of poker in the early 80's - Doyle Brunson, Chip Reese, Amarillo Slim, Johnny Moss, among many others. A truly fantastic piece of history.

What a great book!!!I haven't read a book since school, 15 years, and this just caught my eye. I love poker and have got in to it more and more each year and I have always loved the anything to do with the mob and Las Vegas etc and this has it all. Stuey ungar was a great character and one clever kid/man. This is a must read, even if you don't like poker. Couldn't put the book down and read it every chance I got.Needs to be made in to a film

Superb story of this genius card player. A mate gave me the book to read about 4 years ago when I knew nothing about Poker - & I loved it then...now I know a lot more about the game I decided to buy it to read again, & its just brilliant but tragic. Highly recommended.