David Sklansky has died. Here’s who the first poker theorist was

Playing like 20 years ago is no longer profitable but if today Texas Holdem reaches such high levels of depth, much of the credit goes to David Sklansky, the poker theorist, who recently passed away. This is who he was and why his figure was so important

WHEN WE STILL READ

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Everything known to man has a reference figure. Without naming, or omitting, names, let’s think in 360 degrees. We use a computer, we drive around, we know space. Every area evolves but there has always been someone who has changed significantly a point of view, a perspective, a culture that looked from the wrong angle. As far as poker goes, that someone was David Sklansky. Many Texas Holdem enthusiasts would not have been able to recognize him, especially the younger ones. Sklansky was not a “well-known” media figure. Very few appearances on television and even fewer television tables with millions of dollars at stake. Yet the strategic foundations of today’s game were built by him. Today we are in a hurry: the internet explains complicated concepts to us in a few minutes, if we are looking for a tutorial, well, the way is very simple. Years ago, human beings had to “bust” a little more: search for a long time, ask around and above all read. Sklansky put that mental “click” on paper which made fans understand that poker was more than flops, turns and rivers. His books have opened up unthinkable scenarios and if today technique and knowledge are at an all-time high, the turning point came thanks to him. David passed away a few days ago from a heart attack

DAVID SKLANSKY: WHO WAS THE POKER THEORIST

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What could have been a “normal” life has taken an unexpected path. “It’s the fault” of a little game that Sklansky saw with different eyes than the rest of the world. For everyone, poker was a game of cards and instinct, for him it was mathematics, decision theory and above all long term. Anyone who has been in this world for a few years cannot fail to know the “Fundamental Theorem of Poker” by Sklansky. The basic concept is to play (or not) a hand in the same way if we had full knowledge of the opponent’s hand. Let’s imagine we are at the final showdown and look at other people’s cards and think back to how we conducted the shot. The question is: if at the beginning of the hand I had known my opponent’s private cards, would I have made the same moves? If the answer is yes, then in the long run we will win. Explained even more simply: we maximize profit in two ways. First way: playing optimally. Second street: causing opponents to play in a sub-optimal manner. Otherwise we lose. Imagine succeeding in getting your opponent to put all the chips in the middle post flop but discovering that he only has a 30% chance of winning the shot. Sklansky says: Do this 1000 times and you won’t lose any money. Expected value, probability, position are very important corollaries that today we take for granted but which years ago made us see things differently. Every time someone tells you “optimal strategy” think of Sklansky and his immense, yet silent poker legacy