How would Stu Ungar fare against today's top performers? Cash game, tourney, etc.?

Freebird11 · Aug 8, 2013

Often I've wondered as to how dominant Jim Brown would actually be in today's NFL... likewise, I wonder how Stu Ungar would fare in poker today, now that the game has so many more top players and the insanely aggressive talent all over the world.

Kenzie 96 · Aug 8, 2013

Be my guess he would do just fine, at the tables.

Fishpicker13 · Aug 8, 2013

New Poker

I believe the question is two fold. Would past greats at the tables win on-line and would they want to play on-line players live? To me the on-line game is generally lacking the enjoyment of a night at the tables, win or lose. No fun banter but plenty of aggressive behavior, everyone has read 16 books on what you should do in every situation and insult any other approach, blah blah blah...
I only play freeroll tournys on-line so what do I know? If anybody has played Texas Dollie or Mr. Ivey at PS I'll eat my hat. They have no interest in the newcomer (aka on-line) approach, I'd guess. Could they win? Sure. Would they enjoy it as much as taking each others' money? Can't see it

AvaloNNN · Aug 8, 2013

Poker has changed and evolved significantly over the years.
No doubt Ungar was a great card player, with a great analitical mind, so I think he would find a way to beat today's games too, although that would be much harder to do since poker and players are far better overall.

The game has evolved, just like any other other game.
It's like asking how dominant would Pele or Diego Maradona be in today's football/soccer.
Not as dominant as Messi, that's for sure.

hobonc · Aug 8, 2013

With or without the cocaine?

Without it, he'd give them a run for their money. He was fearless. He had a skewed concept of money. Their aggression would likely be met with more of the same.
The man is the only person to have won both the wsop Main Event and the Super Bowl of Poker 3 times. If you consider the fact that Johnny Moss was technically awarded the first championship via cash game play, you could arguably say he is the only one that has won the WSOP Main Event 3 times. He also has 5 bracelets in the limited time he played. I think tourney-wise, he'd have as many as Phil Helmuth in my opinion

1bollywood1 · Aug 9, 2013

as negreanu , Stungaar had learnt with the new genration of players and be sure he should be on the top10 players but the question is already obsolete cause he was suicidal mind so .... it was a way of life for a short life.

dudemanstan · Aug 9, 2013

A friend of mine who has been playing poker for years told me the competition is no different now then it always has been. He started playing online in 2004 I think. I don't know if that's far enough back for this comparison though.

jcdagenius · Aug 9, 2013

stu would still crush now I think.....one of the best ever

Freebird11 · Aug 9, 2013

I believe that Stu Ungar would have tremendous success (with the assumption that he was drug free) today, but I do believe that the game (top of the game) has caught him. He would be just as aggressive as today's players, accounting for variance, he would have it much tougher today than he did back then... imo

_FISHFEET81_ · Aug 9, 2013

I believe stu would still be a top player, its like when I hear people talking about the greats of baseball, basketball, and other sports saying babe ruth wouldn't make it to the big leagues now. Realllllly so a guy that had a sonstant diet of cigars hotdogs and unhealthy food that could naturally hit a ball 450 feet using that log of wood turning on fastball wouldn't make it? but for poker it would be a lot easier rather than baseball or basketball. He would adapt to the craziness and the weird strategy some players have. Probably make them look like fools half the time I believe to. Stu would still be successful I believe, He is one of the greatest if not THE greatest players of all time.

postflopper · Aug 10, 2013

His greatest asset was how fast he could adapt and excel at any variant of cards. There's no doubt in my mind if he resurrected right now and played with the internet kids, he'll absorb everything in 1% of the time most people take.

I think in terms of NLHE, Dwan is the closest there is to Ungar. Awkward geeky kids who had styles people had never seen.

XXPXXP · Aug 10, 2013

he will be at least top 5 player!
any table, cash , MTT, Heads up especially!

no doubt, cos he would learn in a split second and improve, that makes him unbeatable!

cander128 · Aug 11, 2013

He could adapt to different players with different styles in his time, would be no different today unlike with sports figures where players have gotten bigger stronger faster etc.

jsaw · Aug 11, 2013

Long before the MIT whiz kids and others developed a highly aggressive game, Unger was a;ready playing it. But more so, he was noted for his incredible ability to read players and play against them. I think he would have no problem against today's best players; however, the fields for tournaments are much larger thus his incredible win percentage would probably not be as high.

Freebird11 · Aug 11, 2013

jsaw said:
Long before the MIT whiz kids and others developed a highly aggressive game, Unger was a;ready playing it. But more so, he was noted for his incredible ability to read players and play against them. I think he would have no problem against today's best players; however, the fields for tournaments are much larger thus his incredible win percentage would probably not be as high.

Well said!

rugby0 · Aug 22, 2013

Ungar was good.
chip reese was better and would defeat most of the whiz kids.

cotta777 · Aug 24, 2013

He reminds of benny spindler a young german tournament pro plays high stake online also

Now you put a kid like this back into 1970 he would tear all those pipe smoking oldies a new ring piece.

The trouble is there are hundreds of players like this on the world scene I would put ungar in the same class but it wouldn't be easy in these fields

xtrigemino · Aug 24, 2013

Stu Ungar has a huge difference than the regular players today...he born around the cards when he was a child...most of the internet players today start at 16 or more....

Loonbat · Aug 24, 2013

The world's best Gin Rummy player (arguably ever) would do quite well with his aggressive style and his ability to read situations.

I had an old-school Venetian dealer tell me an Ungar story about a HU cash game he dealt to Jack Strauss and Stu Ungar. On a flop of 5d4d3d, Ungar laid down Ad2d face-up on the 5th bet to have a very frustrated Jack Strauss berate him and angrily flip over 7d6d.

I think Ungar would do just fine.

KcWick · Aug 26, 2013

Loonbat said:
The world's best Gin Rummy player (arguably ever) would do quite well with his aggressive style and his ability to read situations.

I had an old-school Venetian dealer tell me an Ungar story about a HU cash game he dealt to Jack Strauss and Stu Ungar. On a flop of 5d4d3d, Ungar laid down Ad2d face-up on the 5th bet to have a very frustrated Jack Strauss berate him and angrily flip over 7d6d.

I think Ungar would do just fine.

Wow, if that's true, what a laydown. It must have been pretty high stakes. Thanks for telling. I also think Stu would have thrived in today's game, he was a rare breed of human that was born into a gambling environment and was reading people at an early age, plus he had genius level intelligence.

puppy feet · Aug 26, 2013

Stuey had a photographic memory. He no doubt remembered every hand he ever played, so he could read players like no other person in poker history. Ungar was a genius as well.

DevilMe03 · Sep 2, 2013

I am sure Stu Ungar would have been top performer even now although he would have met huge competition. Look at Doyle Brunson, he is still kicking ass.

Clowntown · Apr 1, 2018

Stu would be a superstar in today's Poker era. Especially in the mid 2000s after Moneymaker won the WSOP and poker blew up.

Try to find one professional player who played in the 80s-90s and is still on top that doesn't agree that Stuey was a Poker genius.

Phil Hellmuth described Stu Ungar as a "Phenom", and Mike Sexton says Stu ungar would still be the best poker player in the world if he were around today.

We're talking about the only player in history to win 3 WSOP main events. In the 1990 WSOP main event Stuey was such a dominant chip stack that even know he was too messed up to come back the next day, he still came in 9th without even playing.

It takes today's professionals 20-30 years to get to the level that Stu was at when he was a teenager.

Verdue167 · Apr 1, 2018

Loonbat said:
I had an old-school Venetian dealer tell me an Ungar story about a HU cash game he dealt to Jack Strauss and Stu Ungar. On a flop of 5d4d3d, Ungar laid down Ad2d face-up on the 5th bet to have a very frustrated Jack Strauss berate him and angrily flip over 7d6d.

As a side note, what are the actual odds of two players flopping a straight flush?

On the Unger question:
I think one should ask if the game has changed since the seventies. If not, it's an easy answer. If so, i'd still think Unger would make a formidable opponent, as hand reading and adaptation were the greatest skills attributed to him. Dont know if i would want to be in his shoes, though, considering the troubs he has seen.

How would Stu Ungar fare against today's top performers? Cash game, tourney, etc.?

Freebird11

Rising Star

Kenzie 96

Legend

Fishpicker13

Enthusiast

AvaloNNN

Rock Star

hobonc

Visionary

1bollywood1

Enthusiast

dudemanstan

Visionary

jcdagenius

Rock Star

Freebird11

Rising Star

_FISHFEET81_

Rock Star

postflopper

Rock Star

XXPXXP

Legend

cander128

Rock Star

jsaw

Rock Star

Freebird11

Rising Star

rugby0

Visionary

cotta777

Visionary

xtrigemino

Rock Star

Loonbat

Rock Star

KcWick

Enthusiast

puppy feet

Rising Star

DevilMe03

Enthusiast

Clowntown

Rock Star

Verdue167

Rock Star

About CardsChat

Our Community

Our Site