The main basis for why Stu changed from gin to poker was that Stu was a bit too good at it. So good was he, that no player could stand up to him. Even the commonly called champions who were supposed to be the most favorable at gin were beat when they competed with Stu. One such gin masters was Harry Stein, nicknamed, "Yonkie". Mr. Stein suffered such a belittling blow at the hands of stu that he allegedly quit competing in it professionally and never showed up at a gin tournament.
Accordingly, with a reputation like that it was not very long before gamblers became shy of competing against mr. ungar. He could not find any matches and in his desperation he began doing something no one had performed before. Stu provided starting handicaps to likely competitors with the hope that they may play against him if they thought they held an edge. He at will began from a negative arrangement and one tale has it that he even competed with a regular absconder. Mid contest, he received advice that the bad egg was at it one more time but stu stated that he deduced of the fraudulent activity and he would still acquire a win, which he did, of course.
The same problem followed Stu Ungar to sin city. He won so frequently that the poker rooms began requesting that he not to play on their respective premises anymore. The reason was that other casino clientele would not be seated at the poker table if Stu was playing.
Stu Ungar is remembered more for his abilities in texas hold’em poker but he himself always maintained that he was considerably more accomplished at gin rummy.
He beat Doyle Brunson in the World Series of Poker in 1980 to become the youngest world champion. Due to his features that made him appear far younger than he actually was, he got the nickname, "The Kid".