Stu Ungar won the WSOP Main Event three times. He was considered the most naturally talented poker and gin rummy player who ever lived. He died alone in a Las Vegas motel room at 45, destroyed by drug addiction. One of a Kind is the definitive account of both the genius and the tragedy.
This is a book about brilliance and self-destruction in equal measure. Ungar’s talent was supernatural — and so were his demons. If you’re looking for an inspiring poker success story, look elsewhere. If you want to understand the most complex and tragic figure the game has ever produced, this is essential.
The Review
Stu Ungar was the antithesis of a modern poker ambassador. Quiet, private, scrawny, filled with personal demons, and never looking much older than 14. He led one of the most triumphant and one of the most tragic lives in poker history — simultaneously.
The early ’80s — Ungar’s glory days — couldn’t be more different from popular poker today. But despite his personal issues and addictions, he was probably the most talented poker and gin player to ever grace the felt. No one who played with him disputes this.
Ungar was never the poster-boy for poker and never wished to be. His gift was pure — an almost supernatural ability to read opponents and calculate odds in real time. Three Main Event titles in an era when the best players in the world competed every year. No one has matched it since.
How the Book Came to Be
From autobiography to biography
Nolan Dalla originally met Ungar and signed a contract to help him write an autobiography. The plan was to get his story straight, organize his chaotic life into a narrative, and publish it together. Ungar died shortly after their initial work began — the foreword makes this clear from the start.
Dalla and co-author Peter Alson decided to continue the project as a biography, speaking with Ungar’s surviving family to confirm it was the right thing to do. Interspersed throughout the book are occasional quotes from Ungar himself, identified by italics — fragments of the autobiography that never was.
The writing quality
One of a Kind flows beautifully and reads in just a few sittings. The authors give great commentary that’s factual and intelligent — speculating less and reporting more. The detail is remarkable considering the age of some events. Beyond tournament wins, the book captures the personal stories and relationships that shaped Ungar’s life.
Mike Sexton’s contributions
The late WPT commentator Mike Sexton (1947–2020) was one of Ungar’s closest companions. He provided several anecdotes throughout the book that add a layer of intimacy no outside researcher could replicate. Through Sexton, you get the private Stu — not just the public champion.
This biography gives you everything you could want to know about Stuey Ungar: his rise from the New York gin rummy circuit, the WSOP dominance, the drug addiction that consumed his winnings and his health, the brief 1997 comeback, and the lonely end. If you’re going to read one book about Stu Ungar, this is the one.
About the Authors
Nolan Dalla
Dalla grew up in Dallas, graduated from the University of Texas at Dallas, and bounced between politics, underground poker games, a State Department posting in Eastern Europe, and professional poker. He became a full-time poker player in 1993 and started writing for Card Player magazine in 1994. He served as WSOP Media Director from 2002 to 2016 and continues to write about poker history and culture. His personal connection to Ungar gives the book an authenticity that a pure journalist couldn’t achieve.
Peter Alson
Alson is a longtime player and writer who helped shape the book’s final version. He’s an accomplished author in his own right, with experience writing about poker and gambling culture. His collaboration with Dalla brought editorial discipline to what could have been an unwieldy story.
One of a Kind is the definitive look at poker’s greatest and most tragic player, told in brilliant fashion by two writers who knew him personally. Dalla and Alson report more than they speculate, letting Ungar’s extraordinary life speak for itself. Three Main Event titles. A supernatural gift for cards. A drug addiction that killed him at 45. This book holds all of it without flinching. The highest-rated narrative on our shelf.