Stu Ungar
Posted in Poker on 10/05/2010 05:21 pm by Marley
The primary reason for why Stu Ungar switched from gin to poker was that Stu was a bit too skilled at it. So good was he, that no one could stand up to him. Even the so-called experts who were meant to be the best at gin were decimated when they played with Stu Ungar. One such gin rummy player was Harry Stein, called, "Yonkie". Mr. Stein suffered such a humiliating blow at the hands of stu that he evidently stopped participating in it as a pro and never showed up at a gin rummy tournament.
Of course, with a notoriety like that it was not long before gamblers became afraid of wagering against stu. He couldn’t find any games and in his boredom he started doing something no one had performed prior. He offered starting handicaps to likely opposing players in the hope that they might compete opposed to him if they thought they held an advantage. He at will began from a disadvantageous position and one account has it that he even played with a consistent bad egg. Mid game, he get a few words of wisdom that the bad egg was at it one more time but stu stated that he was aware of the dishonestly and he would still win, which he did, of course.
The same problem followed Stu Ungar into vegas. He won so frequently that the casinos started requesting that he not to play in their respective premises anymore. The reason for it was that other casino visitors refused to be seated at the table if Stu was seated.
Stu Ungar is remembered more for his accomplishments in holdem poker but he himself always maintained that he was considerably better at gin rummy.
He defeated Doyle Brunson in the World Series of Poker in 1980 to become the youngest world champion. Because of his features that made him seem far younger than he really was, he was nicknamed, "The Kid".