Stu Ungar
The basic reason for why Mr. Ungar changed from gin to poker was that Stu was a bit too skilled at it. So skilled in fact, that no one was able equal him. Even the apparently professionals who were supposed to be the most favorable at gin rummy were demolished when they faced Stu Ungar. One such gin professionals was Harry Stein, called, "Yonkie". Mr. Stein was handed such a belittling blow at the hands of mr. ungar that he allegedly quit playing it as a pro and never showed up at a gin tournament.
Of course, with a distinction like that it was not very long before gamblers became shy of wagering against stu. He could not find any matches and in his boredom he started doing something no one had attempted prior. He offered beginning handicaps to potential opponents with the high hopes that they may compete with him if they believed they held an advantage. He deliberately played from a bad arrangement and one story has it that he even played with a consistent absconder. Mid contest, he received warnings that the absconder was at it yet again but Stu Ungar guaranteed that he was aware of the chicanery and he would still win, which of course, he did.
The same problem followed Stu Ungar to sin city. He won so often that the casinos began requesting that he not to gamble on their rooms anymore. The basis for it was that other poker room customers refused to be seated at the poker table if he were seated.
Stu Ungar is remembered more for his abilities in holdem poker but he always said that he was considerably better at gin rummy.
He defeated Doyle Brunson in the World Series of Poker in Nineteen Eighty to become the youngest world champion. Because of his features that made him seem far younger than he actually was, he was nicknamed, "The Kid".
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