The basic reason for why Stu changed from gin rummy to poker was that Stu was a little too skilled at it. So skilled in fact, that no one could stand up to him. Even the commonly called champions who were meant to be the most favorable at gin were crushed when they competed with Mr. Ungar. One of these gin rummy masters was Harry Stein, nicknamed, "Yonkie". Harry was handed such a belittling blow at the hands of stu that he allegedly quit competing in it as a pro and never showed up at a gin tournament.
Of course, with a reputation like that it was not very long before everyone became weary of playing against mr. ungar. He could not find any matches and in his agony he started doing something no one had attempted prior. Stu offered beginning handicaps to potential opponents in the wish that they may play with him if they believed they had an edge. He at will began from a bad arrangement and one account has it that stu even competed against a constant cheater. Amid the match, he received warnings that the absconder was at it once again but mr. ungar guaranteed that he was aware of the cheating and he would still acquire a win, which of course, he did.
The same trend followed Stu Ungar to sin city. He won so frequently that the poker rooms began requesting that he not to gamble on their respective premises anymore. The reasoning behind it was that other casino clientele refused to sit at the poker table if he were playing.
Stu Ungar is remembered more for his accomplishments in texas hold’em poker but he always maintained that he was much more accomplished at gin rummy.
He beat Doyle Brunson in the WSOP in 1980 and became the youngest world camp. Because of his features that made him seem far younger than he was, he got the nickname, "The Kid".