05.11
Stu Unger: Poker Player
The main reason why Stu switched from gin rummy to poker was that he was a tiny bit too skilled at it. So good in fact, that no one was able stand up to him. Even the commonly called champions who were supposed to be the best at gin rummy were demolished when they competed with Stu Ungar. One such gin rummy professionals was Harry Stein, called, "Yonkie". Harry Stein was handed such a debilitating blow at the hands of Stu Ungar that he allegedly stopped playing it professionally and never showed up at a gin rummy tournament.
Accordingly, with a honor like that it wasn’t very long before gamblers became shy of wagering against mr. ungar. He couldn’t find any matches and in his bleakness he started doing something no one had attempted prior. He issued starting handicaps to likely opposing players in the high hopes that they may compete with him if they believed they held an edge. He deliberately played from a negative position and one account has it that stu even competed against a consistent bad egg. Mid match, he received a few words of wisdom that the cheater was at it yet again but stu stated that he deduced of the chicanery and he would still acquire a win, which he did, of course.
The same problem followed Stu Ungar to Las Vegas. He won so much that the casinos started requesting that he not to compete in their rooms anymore. The explanation why was that other poker room players refused to sit at the poker table if Stu was playing.
Stu Ungar is recollected more for his achievements in hold’em poker but he always maintained that he was far more accomplished at gin rummy.
He defeated Doyle Brunson in the WSOP in 1980 to become the youngest world champion. Due to his looks that made him appear far younger than he was, he was nicknamed, "The Kid".