Poker Player Profiles: David Sklansky
David Sklansky is known as perhaps the godfather of the math-based approach to poker analysis. The author of countless legendary poker texts including ‘The Theory of Poker’ and ‘Tournament Poker for Advanced Players,’ David Sklansky is responsible likely more than any other for the poker education and analytical approach of most modern poker players. He is widely regarded as one of the most knowledgeable poker minds in the game.
In his own play approach, David Sklansky is sometimes so math-based that he almost operates as a machine. In fact, Sklansky has discussed the possibility of programming a machine or a money to play cards a certain way that could be successful in a tournament format. In one of his few major televised poker appearances on poker Superstars II, Sklansky summarily decimated his opponents in full ring game play, winning first place in several matches and raking up more points than almost any other player.
One of Sklansky’s ideas that might depart from many other professional players’ methods is his handling of ace-king or ‘big slick.’ You will often see Sklansky fold the AK when he is not the first to open the pot, as he prefers to be the aggressor rather than the speculator. This kind of edge, designed around momentum and indirect odds, make Sklansky a true force in the world of poker analytics.
