Sklansky-Malmuth Texas Holdem Starting Hand Strategy

David Sklansky (born December 22, 1947) is an American professional poker player and author. An early writer on poker strategy, he is known for his mathematical approach to the game. His key work ''The Theory of Poker'' presents fundamental principles on which much later analysis is based.

Early years

Sklansky was born and raised in

Teaneck, New Jersey Teaneck () is a township in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 39,776, reflecting an increase of 516 (+1.3%) f ...

, where he graduated from

Teaneck High School , motto_translation = To enrich the mind and improve the character , fundingtype = Public , schooltype = high school , grades = 9– 12 , district = Teaneck Public Schools , enrollment = 1,239 (as of 2021–22) , faculty = ...

in 1966. He attended the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, but dropped out before graduation. He returned to Teaneck and passed multiple Society of Actuaries exams by the age of 20, and worked for an actuarial firm.

Poker career

Sklansky is an authority on

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...

. He has written and contributed to fourteen books on poker, blackjack, and general gambling. Sklansky has won three

World Series of Poker The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Paradise, Nevada and, since 2004, sponsored by Caesars Entertainment. It dates its origins to 1970, when Benny Binion invited seven of the best-known poker p ...

bracelets, two in 1982 ($800 Mixed Doubles with Dani Kelly, and $1,000 Draw Hi) and one in 1983 ($1,000 Limit Omaha Hi). He also won the ''Poker By The Book'' invitational event on the 2004

World Poker Tour The World Poker Tour (WPT) is an internationally televised gaming and entertainment brand. Since 2002, the World Poker Tour has operated a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting playdown and the f ...

, outlasting a table full of poker legends, which included

Phil Hellmuth Jr Phillip Jerome Hellmuth Jr. (born July 16, 1964) is an American professional poker player who has won a record sixteen World Series of Poker bracelets. He is the winner of the Main Event of the 1989 World Series of Poker (WSOP) and the Main Event ...

, Mike Caro, T. J. Cloutier, and

Mike Sexton Michael Richard Sexton (September 22, 1947September 6, 2020) was an American professional poker player and commentator. He was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2009. Early years Sexton was a gymnast and attended Ohio State University, w ...

, and then finally overcoming Doyle Brunson.WPT Poker by the Book synopsis
Retrieved September 11, 2006. Sklansky attended the

Wharton School of Business The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in ...

at the

for a year before leaving to become a professional gambler. He briefly took on a job as an actuary before embarking into poker. While on the job, he discovered a faster way to do some of the calculations and took that discovery to his boss. The boss told him he could go ahead and do it that way if he wanted but wouldn't pass on the information to the other workers. "In other words, I knew something no one else knew, but I got no recognition for it," Sklansky is quoted as saying in Al Alvarez's 1983 work ''The Biggest Game in Town.'' "In poker, if you're better than anyone else, you make immediate money. If there's something I know about the game that the other person doesn't, and if he's not willing to learn or can't understand, then I take his money." As of 2015, his live tournament winnings exceed $1,350,000. He lives in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

World Series of Poker bracelets

Publications

Sklansky has authored or co-authored 14 books on gambling theory and poker. Most of his books are published by Two Plus Two Publishing. His book cover art often features hand guns. His 1976 book ''Hold'em Poker'' was the first book widely available on the subject of hold'em poker. It's through these books that he popularized the concept of Sklansky Bucks (now often referred to as luck-adjusted winnings), which are used by professional poker players to this day. * * * * * * * * * * *

The Theory of Poker The Theory of Poker is a 1978 book written by David Sklansky David Sklansky (born December 22, 1947) is an American professional poker player and author. An early writer on poker strategy, he is known for his mathematical approach to the gam ...

* * * *

References

External links

Two Plus Two
publisher
David Sklansky
at

David Sklansky
a
Poker Listings
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sklansky, David 1947 births American gambling writers American male non-fiction writers American poker players Living people Super Bowl of Poker event winners Teaneck High School alumni University of Pennsylvania alumni World Poker Tour winners World Series of Poker bracelet winners