The main reason for why Mr. Ungar switched from gin rummy to poker was that Stu was a bit too skilled at it. So skilled was he, that no player was able stand up to him. Even the commonly called professionals who were supposed to be the best at gin rummy were defeated when they competed against Stu. One such gin player was Harry Stein, called, "Yonkie". Mr. Stein suffered such a debilitating blow at the hands of Stu Ungar that he allegedly stopped participating in it as a pro and never resurfaced at a gin rummy tournament.
Of course, with a distinction like that it was not long before gamblers became weary of betting against mr. ungar. He couldn’t find any games and in his agony he started doing something no one had done before. Stu offered beginning handicaps to potential opponents with the hope that they might just play against him if they thought they had an edge. He at will started from a bad position and one tale has it that stu even competed against a regular cheater. Amid the contest, he received warnings that the absconder was at it again but mr. ungar stated that he knew of the fraudulent activity and he would still come away with a win, which of course, he did.
The same trend followed Stu Ungar into sin city. He won so much that the casinos started asking him not to bet in their rooms anymore. The basis for it was that other poker room customers refused to be seated at the poker table if Stu was seated.
Stu Ungar is recollected more for his achievements in holdem poker but he himself always maintained that he was a whole lot better at gin rummy.
He defeated Doyle Brunson in the World Series of Poker in 1980 to become the youngest world champion. Because of his features that made him seem far younger than he was, he got the nickname, "The Kid".
