David Sklansky (born December 22, 1947)[1] 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.
Sklansky attended the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania for a year before leaving to become a professional gambler.[6] 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.[7] He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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.[8] 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.[9]
Poker, Gaming, & Life. 1997. ISBN1-880685-17-5. Collection of articles that have appeared in Card Player and similar specialist magazines during the 1990s
^Colby, Ann (May 14, 2001). "Pythagoras, Pi and Poker". Los Angeles Times. Chris Ferguson is the new breed of player who uses math calculations, game theory and Internet resources to gain an edge over old-style, instinctive gamblers... "Hold 'Em Poker, written by Sklansky in 1976, was the first book on a type of poker that today dominates play in California card rooms..."
