The primary reason for why Stu changed from gin rummy to poker was that Stu was a tiny bit too good at it. So skilled in fact, that no player could stand up to him. Even the commonly called champions who were meant to be the most favorable at gin rummy were beat when they faced Stu. One such gin rummy masters was Harry Stein, nicknamed, "Yonkie". Harry suffered such a humiliating beating at the hands of mr. ungar that he apparently quit competing in it as a pro and never showed up at a gin tournament.
Accordingly, with a image like that it was not too long before everyone became weary of playing against Stu Ungar. He could find no matches and in his desperation he started doing something no one had attempted before. He presented starting handicaps to potential competitors with the high hopes that they might just compete with him if they believed they held an advantage. He deliberately played from a disadvantageous arrangement and one tale has it that he even competed with a consistent absconder. Amid the match, he get a few words of wisdom that the bad egg was at it yet again but Stu Ungar guaranteed that he deduced of the fraudulent activity and he would still acquire a win, which of course, he did.
The same problem followed Stu Ungar to vegas. He won so frequently that the poker rooms began asking him not to gamble on their rooms anymore. The reasoning behind it was that other casino clientele would not be seated at the poker table if Stu was seated.
Stu Ungar is recollected more for his accomplishments in texas hold’em poker but he always insisted that he was far more accomplished at gin rummy.
He defeated Doyle Brunson in the World Series of Poker in 1980 and became the youngest world champion. Because of his looks that made him appear far younger than he really was, he was nicknamed, "The Kid".
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