The main basis for why Mr. Ungar changed from gin rummy to poker was that he was a bit too skilled at it. So good was he, that no player possibly could stand up to him. Even the so-called champions who were meant to be the best at gin were defeated when they faced Mr. Ungar. One of these gin masters was Harry Stein, nicknamed, "Yonkie". Mr. Stein suffered such a crushing beating at the hands of Stu Ungar that he evidently quit playing it professionally and never resurfaced at a gin rummy tournament.
Accordingly, with a distinction like that it was not long before people became afraid of wagering against mr. ungar. He could find no games and in his bleakness he started doing something no one had performed prior. He issued starting handicaps to potential competitors in the wish that they might compete opposed to him if they believed they held an advantage. He deliberately began from a bad arrangement and one account has it that he even played against a constant bad egg. Mid game, he received a few words of wisdom that the bad egg was at it again but mr. ungar stated that he knew of the dishonestly and he would still come away with a win, which he did, of course.
The same problem followed Stu Ungar into sin city. He won so often that the poker rooms started asking him not to gamble in their respective premises anymore. The reason for it was that other casino customers would not sit at the poker table if Stu was playing.
Stu Ungar is recollected better for his achievements in texas hold’em poker but he himself always insisted that he was considerably better at gin rummy.
He beat Doyle Brunson in the World Series of Poker in 1980 to become the youngest world champion. Due to his looks that made him appear far younger than he was, he was nicknamed, "The Kid".