Stu Unger: Poker Player
The basic reason for why Mr. Ungar changed from gin rummy to poker was that he was a little too skilled at it. So good in fact, that no player possibly could stand up to him. Even the so-called champions who were meant to be the best at gin were demolished when they played with Stu Ungar. One such gin rummy professionals was Harry Stein, called, "Yonkie". Harry was handed such a crushing defeat at the hands of Stu Ungar that he allegedly stopped participating in it as a pro and never resurfaced at a gin rummy tournament.
Of course, with a notoriety like that it wasn’t long before everyone became weary of competing against stu. He couldn’t find any matches and in his boredom he began doing something no one had attempted before. Stu presented beginning handicaps to potential competitors with the hope that they may compete with him if they thought they held an edge. He at will played from a bad position and one tale has it that stu even played with a constant absconder. Amid the game, he received advice that the cheater was at it once again but stu assured that he knew of the chicanery and he would still acquire a win, which he did, of course.
The same problem followed Stu Ungar into sin city. He won so frequently that the poker rooms started requesting that he not to wager in their casinos anymore. The basis for it was that other casino customers would not be seated at the table if he were seated.
Stu Ungar is recalled better for his accomplishments in texas holdem poker but he himself always maintained that he was a whole lot better at gin rummy.
He defeated Doyle Brunson in the World Series of Poker in 1980 and became the youngest world champion. Due to his looks that made him appear far younger than he really was, he was nicknamed, "The Kid".
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