The primary reason for why Mr. Ungar changed from gin rummy to poker was that he was a tiny bit too good at it. So skilled was he, that no one possibly could equal him. Even the apparently champions who were supposed to be the most favorable at gin were defeated when they faced Mr. Ungar. One of these gin professionals was Harry Stein, nicknamed, "Yonkie". Harry Stein suffered such a belittling blow at the hands of mr. ungar that he apparently quit playing it professionally and never resurfaced at a gin rummy tournament.

Accordingly, with a reputation like that it wasn’t very long before players became shy of gambling against mr. ungar. He could find no matches and in his boredom he began doing something no one had performed before. He provided beginning handicaps to likely adversaries with the wish that they might just play against him if they believed they had an edge. He at will played from a disadvantageous position and one account has it that stu even played with a constant cheater. Amid the game, he received a few words of wisdom that the absconder was at it again but stu assured that he knew of the fraudulent activity and he would still come away with a win, which of course, he did.

The same trend followed Stu Ungar into vegas. He won so often that the poker rooms began asking him not to play on their poker rooms anymore. The explanation why was that other poker room visitors refused to be seated at the table if Stu was playing.

Stu Ungar is recollected more for his abilities in holdem poker but he always maintained that he was a whole lot more skilled at gin rummy.

He defeated Doyle Brunson in the WSOP in Nineteen Eighty to become the youngest world champion. Due to his looks that made him appear far younger than he actually was, he got the nickname, "The Kid".