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The primary reason for why Stu changed from gin rummy to poker was that he was a tiny bit too good at it. So good was he, that no one was able stand up to him. Even the commonly called champions who were supposed to be the most favorable at gin rummy were crushed when they played against Stu Ungar. One such gin masters was Harry Stein, called, "Yonkie". Mr. Stein suffered such a humiliating defeat at the hands of stu that he apparently quit playing it as a pro and never showed up at a gin rummy tournament.

Certainly, with a reputation like that it was not too long before players became weary of playing against stu. He could not find any games and in his bleakness he began doing something no one had performed prior. He began offering beginning handicaps to likely competitors with the high hopes that they might compete against him if they believed they held an advantage. He at will started from a disadvantageous arrangement and one tale has it that he even competed against a consistent cheater. Mid game, he get warnings that the absconder was at it yet again but stu stated that he knew of the chicanery and he would still acquire a win, which of course, he did.

The same problem followed Stu Ungar into sin city. He won so often that the casinos started requesting that he not to bet on their respective premises anymore. The reason was that other poker room clientele would not be seated at the poker table if Stu was playing.

Stu Ungar is recalled better for his abilities in texas holdem poker but he always maintained that he was much more accomplished at gin rummy.

He defeated Doyle Brunson in the WSOP in Nineteen Eighty to become the youngest world camp. Because of his features that made him seem far younger than he actually was, he was nicknamed, "The Kid".