The main reason for why Mr. Ungar switched from gin to poker was that he was a bit too skilled at it. So skilled in fact, that no one could stand up to him. Even the apparently experts who were meant to be the most favorable at gin rummy were defeated when they faced Mr. Ungar. One such gin rummy professionals was Harry Stein, nicknamed, "Yonkie". Harry Stein was handed such a belittling beating at the hands of Stu Ungar that he evidently stopped participating in it as a pro and never showed up at a gin rummy tournament.
Of course, with a honor like that it was not very long before players became shy of gambling against mr. ungar. He couldn’t find any matches and in his agony he began doing something no one had attempted before. Stu provided beginning handicaps to potential adversaries in the hope that they might just compete with him if they believed they had an advantage. He at will started from a bad arrangement and one account has it that he even played against a constant absconder. Mid contest, he get advice that the cheater was at it yet again but Stu Ungar guaranteed that he knew of the chicanery and he would still actually win, which he did, of course.
The same trend followed Stu Ungar to vegas. He won so much that the poker rooms started requesting that he not to wager on their casinos anymore. The reason was that other casino clients refused to be seated at the table if he were playing.
Stu Ungar is recollected better for his accomplishments in texas hold’em poker but he himself always said that he was considerably more skilled at gin rummy.
He defeated Doyle Brunson in the WSOP in 1980 and became the youngest world champion. Because of his features that made him appear far younger than he was, he got the nickname, "The Kid".