Nickname(s) The Mathematician Residence Reno, Nevada, U.S. Title(s) None | Bracelet(s) 3 Name David Sklansky Money finish(es) 23 Role Author | |
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Born December 22, 1947 (age 76)
Teaneck, New Jersey, U.S. ( 1947-12-22 ) Education Teaneck High School, University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania TV shows National Heads-Up Poker Championship, World Series of Poker 2003 People also search for Mason Malmuth, John Feeney, David A. Sklansky Books The Theory of Poker, No Limit Hold 'em, Small Stakes Hold 'em, Hold'em poker, Tournament poker for advanced | ||
Highest ITM
Main Event finish 27th, 1988 | ||
Interview with david sklansky part 1 of 3
David Sklansky (born December 22, 1947) is an American professional poker player and author.
Contents
- Interview with david sklansky part 1 of 3
- Interview with david sklansky part 2 of 3
- Early years
- Poker career
- Publications
- References
Interview with david sklansky part 2 of 3
Early years
Sklansky was born and raised in Teaneck, New Jersey, where he graduated from Teaneck High School in 1966. He attended the University of Pennsylvania, but dropped out before graduation. He returned to Teaneck and passed multiple Society of Actuaries exams by the time at the age of 20, and worked for an actuarial firm.
Poker career
Sklansky is a top authority on gambling. He has written and contributed to fourteen books on poker, blackjack, and general gambling.
Sklansky has won three World Series of Poker 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, outlasting a table full of poker legends, which included Phil Hellmuth Jr, Mike Caro, T. J. Cloutier, and Mike Sexton, and then finally overcoming Doyle Brunson.
Sklansky attended the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania 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.
Sklansky lives in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Publications
Sklansky has authored or co-authored 13 books on gambling theory and poker. 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 poker.
Collection of articles that have appeared in Card Player and similar specialist magazines during the 1990s