The basic basis for why Stu switched from gin to poker was that he was a bit too skilled at it. So skilled in fact, that no one could equal him. Even the so-called champions who were meant to be the most favorable at gin rummy were devoured when they played against Stu. One such gin rummy professionals was Harry Stein, called, "Yonkie". Harry Stein was handed such a belittling beating at the hands of Stu Ungar that he apparently quit playing it professionally and never showed up at a gin rummy tournament.
Of course, with a notoriety like that it wasn’t long before players became weary of competing against Stu Ungar. He could not find any matches and in his boredom he started doing something no one had done prior. Stu presented beginning handicaps to potential adversaries in the hope that they might compete opposed to him if they thought they held an edge. He deliberately played from a negative position and one story has it that stu even played with a regular bad egg. Amid the contest, he get warnings that the absconder was at it yet again but mr. ungar assured that he knew of the dishonestly and he would still win, which of course, he did.
The same trend followed Stu Ungar into Las Vegas. He won so much that the casinos started asking him not to compete in their casinos anymore. The explanation why was that other casino players refused to be seated at the poker table if he were playing.
Stu Ungar is recalled better for his abilities in texas hold’em poker but he himself always insisted that he was a whole lot better at gin rummy.
He beat Doyle Brunson in the WSOP in 1980 to become the youngest world champion. Due to his features that made him seem far younger than he was, he was nicknamed, "The Kid".
