Stu Ungar
The primary reason why Stu Ungar changed from gin rummy to poker was that Stu was a bit too good at it. So skilled was he, that no one was able stand up to him. Even the so-called experts who were meant to be the most favorable at gin were demolished when they competed with Stu. One such gin professionals was Harry Stein, nicknamed, "Yonkie". Harry Stein suffered such a crushing beating at the hands of Stu Ungar that he allegedly quit competing in it as a pro and never resurfaced at a gin rummy tournament.
Accordingly, with a reputation like that it wasn’t long before everyone became weary of gambling against stu. He could find no games and in his agony he began doing something no one had performed before. Stu presented starting handicaps to potential competitors with the hope that they might compete against him if they believed they had an advantage. He at will started from a bad arrangement and one tale has it that he even competed against a consistent absconder. During the match, he get a few words of wisdom that the cheater was at it yet again but mr. ungar guaranteed that he was aware of the chicanery and he would still come away with a win, which he did, of course.
The same problem followed Stu Ungar into sin city. He won so much that the casinos began asking him not to compete in their respective premises anymore. The basis for it was that other poker room players would not sit at the poker table if Stu was seated.
Stu Ungar is remembered better for his achievements in texas hold’em poker but he always maintained that he was considerably more accomplished at gin rummy.
He defeated Doyle Brunson in the WSOP in 1980 and became the youngest world camp. Due to his features that made him seem far younger than he actually was, he was nicknamed, "The Kid".