BelFish said:
Was Stu Unger good at poker math or was he mainly guided by reads of opponents in the game?
It is possible that he would not have won online.
If he played according to the strategy of those times against modern solver's lines of Ivey, he could also lose.
In general, it is impossible to compare players from different times...
Stu Ungar had a genius level IQ and was so brilliant at gin rummy by a very young age, the best in the world refused to play him which is why he switched to poker.
Ivey is a brilliant intuitive player but Ungar was on a different plane. As far as I am aware no one has matched Ungar's tortured genius since he died. And whilst I understand the admiration of someone such as Ivey, I am not sure who would come out on top if you matched Ivey with the likes of Fedor Holz in the scenario above.
Ungar was a phenom since a child and then befriended and mentored by what would appear to be another savant Victor Romano (alleged to be a mafia member). They were playing above the rim due to their brilliance which had nothing to do with the existence or not of solvers.