WSOP 1980: Stu Ungar vs Doyle Brunson

“Fowler Effect”

These two events demonstrate that the WSOP 1980 tournaments welcomed newcomers who were not professional players. Despite the sharp increase in the number of participants, the winners were players who had been playing poker sporadically for decades but were not regular WSOP participants. Let’s call this the “Fowler Effect,” a weak predecessor to the “Moneymaker Effect” of 2003.

The remaining tournaments of the series followed this format, so many participants’ memories immediately jump to the Main Event, the outcome of which would determine the future of poker in the years to come. However, we will cover all the tournaments and pay tribute to the poker enthusiasts who made the game’s history.

Third Tournament — $2,000 Draw High. The high buy-in and historic format couldn’t attract many players—only 13 registrations. The winner was Pat Callihan, who received $15,600. Ahead of him were still five final tables, but the 1980 bracelet remained the only one in his career.

Fourth Tournament — $400 Ladies Limit Seven-Card Stud. It had 62 participants, and the winner was Deby Callihan, who won a bracelet and $14,880. This was her only entry into the WSOP prize zone in history. Do you have a feeling you’ve already seen the Callihan name? Pat Callihan, who won the previous tournament, is the father-in-law of Deby Callihan.

First Appearance of a Legend

Fifth Tournament — $5,000 Limit Seven-Card Stud. 30 players participated, the prize pool was $150,000, and the winner was Pete Christ, who received $90,000 in prize money. With all due respect to the champion, the main fact of this tournament was the name of the player who lost in the decisive heads-up.

A 26-year-old player from New York, specializing in Gin Rummy. He was young and bright, but no one yet knew that he would become a legend. The young man’s name was Stewart Errol Ungar. Soon, all poker enthusiasts would know him as Stu ‘The Kid’ Ungar.

Stu had problems with gambling. He was ready to bet on the last card in the deck or put all his money on horse racing.

By this time, Ungar was already in Las Vegas but had never played in the WSOP. He came to Vegas in 1977 and played Gin Rummy. To give you an idea of Stu’s level of play at that time, you could say that he won his first local tournament at the age of 10. When experienced professional Harry “Yonkie” Stein challenged him to a high-stakes game, Ungar beat him with a score of 86–0, after which Stein left the game.

In the same year, 1977, Ungar won a bet with casino owner Bob Stupak for $100,000 and was in the spotlight due to his propensity for incredible bets.

And so, this young prodigy came to play poker at WSOP 1980 for the first time. In his first tournament, Stu Ungar took second place and won $45,000 in prize money.

Continuation of the Series

The next tournament — $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball with rebuys gathered 19 players. The winner was Sarge Ferris. This was one of the most expensive WSOP tournaments at the time, and the list of participants was impressive. Sarge defeated Doyle Brunson at the final table, who took second place and received $75,000. If successful, Doyle could have matched Johnny Moss in the number of WSOP bracelets, but Ferris managed to emerge victorious from the duel. Also noteworthy is the third-place finisher of the tournament—Bobby Baldwin, who by this time had 4 WSOP bracelets and could boast the WSOP 1978 championship title.

The seventh tournament of the series — $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em. This affordable tournament became the third largest by the number of participants at WSOP 1980—126 players. The victory went to Gene Fisher from El Paso, Texas. Gene won his first WSOP bracelet and debuted in the series, taking home $113,400. Remember this player—he will be needed in our next article about WSOP 1981. The second place in this tournament went to Louis Hunsaker, who was previously the winner of a similar WSOP tournament in 1977. With the same $1,500 buy-in, the tournament three years earlier gathered only 38 players, indicating that the series’ popularity had grown more than threefold!

The eighth tournament — $1,000 Limit A-5 Lowball Draw. It saw 61 players participate, and the winner was Jim Fugatti from California. This was his only prize in history. One tournament—one victory.

The ninth tournament of the series — $600 Mixed Doubles No-Limit Hold’em. The winners were A.J. Myers and Lynn Harvey, who each received $7,380.

The tenth tournament — $1,000 Limit Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo. The winner was Mickey Appleman from Fort Lee, NJ. This was his first victory, and ahead of him stands a well-known player with 4 WSOP bracelets and over $1,200,000 in prize money.

The eleventh tournament — $1,000 Limit Razz. The penultimate tournament of the series was won by Lakewood Louie from Nevada. You might remember this player by his two WSOP bracelets from 1979, but he is unique in that out of four appearances in the WSOP prize zones, he has four victories—meaning a 100% win rate when reaching the prize. In 1980, he won $33,600, and this was his last—the fourth WSOP bracelet. Lakewood Louie never reached the prize zones again.

WSOP 1980 Results

Heads-Up: Doyle Brunson vs Stu Ungar

Two players remained at the table. Experienced Doyle Brunson, with 6 WSOP bracelets and two Main Event WSOP victories, faced 26-year-old Stu Ungar, who had no WSOP wins and experience in a completely different game. The young player had twice as many chips. Before the game began, Jack Binion placed stacks of dollars on the table—the prizes for first and second place, totaling over $500,000.

The game gradually tilted in Brunson’s favor as he reduced the chip lead, leading to a historic hand.

Brunson started the hand with A 7 , raising. Ungar called the bet with 5 4 .

On the flop, Brunson received two higher pairs— A 7 2 , while Ungar was behind with a gutshot.

According to our Odds Calculator, Doyle Brunson’s chances of winning were 82%.

Brunson made a bet of the size of the pot, and Stu called, hoping to complete a straight.

Turn — 3

Now Ungar was ahead with a 90% chance to win. Ungar made a large bet, provoking his opponent to go all-in.

Doyle was left with a choice: either stay with a short stack by folding or risk everything by calling the opponent’s bluff. The opponent might have a straight or a set, but it could also be a lower pair.

Brunson moved all his chips to the center. Ungar instantly called the bet. Doyle had only 4 outs to a full house.

River — 2

Stu Ungar became the new WSOP 1980 champion.

The 26-year-old player won the Main Event on his first try, taking home $375,000 in prize money, while the experienced Doyle Brunson was left without his third championship title but took $146,000.

The Winner – Stu Ungar

Stu Ungar was one of the most talented and brightest players in poker history. His short life (only 45 years) was full of dizzying successes, but it also ended tragically.

Being a brilliant player in both Gin Rummy and poker, Ungar struggled with gambling issues. He accepted any bets and was willing to play at any stakes. He often emerged victorious from situations that no one could believe, but each chapter of his life ended with problems and debts.

Stu was born on September 8, 1953, Manhattan to a Jewish family—Isidore and Faye Ungar. His father, Isidore (Ido), was a bookmaker and owned the club “Foxes Corner,” where Stu was introduced to gambling as a child. His father tried to provide a life for his son away from gambling, but he failed. Stu began playing Gin Rummy in secret from his father, but quickly achieved success. When the boy was 14 and already had victories in local tournaments, his father died of a heart attack, which also caused a heart attack to his mother.

At 18, Stu befriended Victor Romano, a representative of the local mafia who was considered the strongest card player and, reportedly, a master card counter. Victor became Stu’s mentor.

Ungar had a habit of openly criticizing his opponents’ play, and playing in underground clubs in New York could have caused significant trouble. However, Romano’s protection allowed Stu to accumulate a bankroll, with which he moved to Miami, and then to Las Vegas.

In 1977, Ungar arrived in Las Vegas, where he reunited with his ex-girlfriend Madeline Wheeler, who became his wife in 1982.

However, all of this was still ahead. It is 1980, and we are finishing the WSOP series. We will have a reason to talk about Stu Ungar in the future.

Doyle Brunson’s quote about Stu Ungar:

“I remember that at the start of the tournament, Stuey didn’t know how to play at all. During the first day, if he’d got any kind of hand beat, he would have gone broke; but he was fortunate enough in that he didn’t even get his mediocre hands beat. So he advanced, and I’ve never seen anything like it. The tournament lasted for three days, and each day I was at his table. As time went on, you could see significant progress in his game. He was the fastest learner that I’ve ever seen.”

WSOP 1980 Main Event Results