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The primary reason why Stu Ungar changed from gin to poker was that he was a bit too good at it. So good was he, that no player could stand up to him. Even the apparently professionals who were meant to be the greatest at gin rummy were defeated when they faced Stu Ungar. One such gin rummy masters was Harry Stein, nicknamed, "Yonkie". Mr. Stein was handed such a debilitating defeat at the hands of Stu Ungar that he apparently quit playing it as a pro and never resurfaced at a gin rummy tournament.

Of course, with a distinction like that it wasn’t long before everyone became afraid of gambling against Stu Ungar. He could find no games and in his boredom he started doing something no one had attempted before. He presented beginning handicaps to potential opponents in the high hopes that they might just compete with him if they thought they had an advantage. He deliberately began from a bad arrangement and one tale has it that he even competed against a regular absconder. Mid match, he get advice that the cheater was at it once more but mr. ungar assured that he deduced of the cheating and he would still come away with a win, which he did, of course.

The same trend followed Stu Ungar into sin city. He won so frequently that the casinos started asking him not to bet on their rooms anymore. The basis for it was that other casino clientele would not be seated at the table if he were seated.

Stu Ungar is recollected better for his abilities in holdem poker but he himself always maintained that he was considerably more accomplished at gin rummy.

He defeated 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 was, he was nicknamed, "The Kid".