Stu Ungar hands

[Mariogs379]

read "One of a Kind" and have heard about his ridiculous aggression for a while. Would love to see some of the hands from his WSOP wins. Anyone know where I can find this?

google?

His final hand versus Brunson in 1980 is featured as a lesson in implied odds in Theory of Poker.

[Solami17]

There was a good article written by Mike Sexton in a recent edition of CardPlayer Magazine. It didnt really have anything to do with the hands he played in particular, it just talked about how agressive he was

Now that I'm on my break, I'll try to elaborate on the example in ToP:

Ungar and Brunson are heads up at the 1980 WSOP main event. Ungar has a significant chip lead. Brunson is dealt A-7, Ungar 2-5 (I think). Pre-flop betting wasn't significant.

Flop comes down A-7-4. Brunson bets out $17,000 (a significant amount compared to stack sizes), making the immediate pot odds poor for a call. After the match, Ungar said to the effect that he wouldn't have called for much more, but he knew that if the 3 hit, he could bust Brunson for all his chips.

When the 3 hits on the turn or river (I forget), Ungar pushes Brunson all-in and wins with the straight.

I'll leave it for the upperclassmen in this forum to say whether this is still an overall good strategy, but the point made in ToP was that given the information that Doyle had a hand that he might commit all his chips with, you can look beyond the chips in the pot to determine whether the pot odds are good for a call. (Which, counting Doyle's remaining stack, were just about right for the 11-1 odds of hitting the 3.)

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Written by Lou Krieger

Famous Bluffs: Stu Ungar versus Ron Stanley

I was fortunate enough to watch this bluff unfold in person, from the press row at the 1997 World Series of Poker.

In the 1997 World Series of Poker, Stu Ungar had been dominating the final table. He was chip leader from the start, and rather than nursing his lead while his opponents eliminated themselves, Ungar attacked early and often.

Once he raised on seven successive hands in a row. Bluffing? Of course he was. But none of his opponents wanted to risk early elimination to find out for sure. Each subsequent rung on the pay ladder was a significant increase in winnings, so each of Ungar's adversaries was apparently content to cautiously inch his way upward.

After Las Vegas professional poker player Ron Stanley stole the blinds a few times, he moved within $200,000 of Ungar. For a moment, it looked like he might overtake him.

But a few hands later the two chip leaders began a heads-up duel. With Ungar in the big blind, Stanley quietly called. The flop was As 9h 6s. Stanley, a seasoned professional, had noticed that each time Ungar flopped top pair with an ace, he checked the flop and bet on the turn. Once again he checked behind Stanley, suggesting that he might be holding an ace once again.

An eight fell on the turn. Stanley, who had a nine in his hand and second pair, bet $25,000. Ungar raised $60,000 and Stanley called. The last card was a king. Stanley checked and folded when Ungar bet $225,000. Ungar brashly turned up his cards, showing Q-10. It was a total bluff. He had no hand whatsoever, and Ron Stanley had released the best hand. Seemingly unnerved by Ungar's bold action, Stanley was eliminated shortly thereafter, while Ungar proceeded to run over the rest of his opponents - who by this time all seemed to realize that they were playing for second place, not the championship

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Written by Phil Hellmuth, from the WSOP 1997 ME

I recall a couple of the hands in which Stuey beat me. In one hand, Stuey made a raise with the A 3, and I called with the K J. The flop came 7 4 3, and Stuey bet out. I figured that I had two overcards with my flush draw, so I decided to raise. I made a big raise to try to bluff Stuey out of the pot, but he called me. The next card off the deck was the 4, for a board of 7 4 3 4. Stuey checked and I made another big bet, and he called me fairly quickly with his bottom pair. The last card was a blank, the 8, and Stuey checked. I just gave up and “dogged it” (checked behind him). When he showed me his hand, I stared at it in disbelief for a moment and said, “Oh, I see, you were going to try to bluff me with the bare A in your hand if the flush card hit.” He just smiled and said, “The thought had crossed my mind.” Whatever the case may be, he did manage to take the heat with bottom pair in the world championship!

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Another Hellmuth one...from this article Phil vs Stu

In another hand, I limped in with A-10 while the blinds were $600-$1,200. The reason that I just limped in instead of raising was that I had been raising every single pot, and I was afraid that someone was going to come over the top of me soon. When you’re running over the table, sometimes you need to back off a little bit. Stuey was in the big blind with Q-J, and he checked after the flop came down J-9-4. I was mad at myself for limping in, so I decided that I was going to win this pot no matter what. Yeah, right! There was one other limper behind me to be concerned about, but I said to myself, “I’ll ‘power play’ this pot.” I bet out $10,000 into the $5,000 pot, and Stuey called me with his top pair. There was no flush draw, so it was one heck of a call that he made. I guess that the big bet convinced him that I was weak. The next card off was a jack, for a board of J-9-4-J, and Stuey checked to me again. I fired out $20,000 on the power move, and Stuey hesitated for a minute before calling me with his trip jacks. I decided that I was going to give up again and not bluff the river, but an ace hit, for J-9-4-J-A, and Stuey checked to me again. I pondered for a moment. I had Stuey firmly planted on a pair of nines. Meanwhile, the ace had given me a pair of aces. I remember telling myself that Stuey could call a $20,000 bet only if he had three jacks, and therefore I shouldn’t bet. Finally, I decided not to “dog” my best possible card on the river. I bet $20,000 and Stuey beat me into the pot! I said, “I have an ace.” He said, “No good.” Then, he said, “Phil, you gave me $40,000 drawing dead.” So I did, Stuey, so I did!

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One more...not sure about the source

I was watching the 1997 final table and an interesting hand came up.
Stu Ungar mingled with John Strzemp in this hand:

Stuey in the cut off seat and John in the Big Blind

Flop: Ac 4s Kc
Both Players Check
Pot:$80,000 (approx.)

Turn: Ac 4s Kc 8s
John leads out with a $45,000 bet.
Stuey Calls.
Pot: $170,000 (approx.)

River: Ac 4s Kc 8s 6s
John leads out with a $70,000 bet.
Stuey Calls
Pot: $310,000 (approx.)

John shows Ks10s
Stuey shows an Ace (my guess is with a low kicker)

[ QUOTE ]
Stanley checked and folded when Ungar bet $225,000. Ungar brashly turned up his cards, showing Q-10. It was a total bluff. He had no hand whatsoever, and Ron Stanley had released the best hand.

[/ QUOTE ]

Why did Ungar show this?