The main reason why Stu switched from gin rummy to poker was that Stu was a bit too skilled at it. So skilled was he, that no one was able stand up to him. Even the commonly called champions who were meant to be the best at gin were crushed when they competed against Stu Ungar. One such gin player was Harry Stein, nicknamed, "Yonkie". Harry suffered such a belittling blow at the hands of Stu Ungar that he allegedly stopped playing it as a pro and never resurfaced at a gin tournament.
Accordingly, with a reputation like that it wasn’t too long before everyone became afraid of wagering against mr. ungar. He couldn’t find any matches and in his agony he began doing something no one had done before. Stu began offering starting handicaps to likely competitors in the wish that they might compete against him if they thought they held an advantage. He at will began from a bad arrangement and one story has it that he even played against a consistent cheater. During the game, he received a few words of wisdom that the bad egg was at it once more but Stu Ungar assured that he was aware of the fraudulent activity and he would still come away with a win, which he did, of course.
The same problem followed Stu Ungar to Las Vegas. He won so frequently that the casinos started requesting that he not to bet in their rooms anymore. The reason for it was that other casino visitors refused to be seated at the table if he were playing.
Stu Ungar is recalled better for his abilities in texas hold’em poker but he always maintained that he was a whole lot more accomplished at gin rummy.
He defeated Doyle Brunson in the WSOP in Nineteen Eighty to become the youngest world champion. Due to his features that made him appear far younger than he was, he was nicknamed, "The Kid".