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The basic basis for why Stu Ungar switched from gin rummy to poker was that he was a bit too skilled at it. So skilled in fact, that no player could stand up to him. Even the commonly called experts who were supposed to be the most favorable at gin rummy were decimated when they played against Stu. One of these gin rummy professionals was Harry Stein, called, "Yonkie". Harry Stein suffered such a crushing beating at the hands of stu that he evidently stopped participating in it professionally and never resurfaced at a gin rummy tournament.

Certainly, with a honor like that it wasn’t too long before gamblers became weary of wagering against Stu Ungar. He couldn’t find any matches and in his agony he started doing something no one had performed before. He presented starting handicaps to potential opposing players with the wish that they might just play against him if they thought they had an edge. He at will played from a bad arrangement and one story has it that stu even competed with a consistent cheater. Mid contest, he get a few words of wisdom that the cheater was at it yet again but Stu Ungar assured that he knew of the cheating and he would still acquire a win, which he did, of course.

The same trend followed Stu Ungar into vegas. He won so often that the casinos began asking him not to compete on their rooms anymore. The explanation why was that other casino clientele would not sit at the table if he were playing.

Stu Ungar is recollected better for his accomplishments in hold’em poker but he himself always said that he was far better at gin rummy.

He beat Doyle Brunson in the World Series of Poker in 1980 to become the youngest world camp. Due to his features that made him seem far younger than he actually was, he was nicknamed, "The Kid".