The basic basis for why Mr. Ungar changed from gin rummy to poker was that Stu was a tiny bit too skilled at it. So good was he, that no one possibly could stand up to him. Even the apparently professionals who were supposed to be the best at gin were blow away when they played against Stu. One of these gin rummy masters was Harry Stein, nicknamed, "Yonkie". Harry suffered such a debilitating beating at the hands of stu that he apparently quit playing it as a pro and never showed up at a gin tournament.

Certainly, with a honor like that it wasn’t very long before people became weary of betting against stu. He could find no games and in his agony he began doing something no one had done prior. He issued beginning handicaps to likely opponents with the hope that they may play opposed to him if they believed they held an advantage. He deliberately began from a negative arrangement and one account has it that he even competed with a constant bad egg. During the match, he get warnings that the cheater was at it yet again but mr. ungar stated that he was aware of the fraudulent activity and he would still actually win, which of course, he did.

The same problem followed Stu Ungar into sin city. He won so much that the casinos began asking him not to wager on their poker rooms anymore. The explanation why was that other casino visitors refused to sit at the poker table if he were playing.

Stu Ungar is recollected more for his achievements in texas holdem poker but he himself always maintained that he was considerably more skilled at gin rummy.

He defeated Doyle Brunson in the WSOP in 1980 and became the youngest world champion. Due to his features that made him seem far younger than he really was, he got the nickname, "The Kid".