David Sklansky on poker, gambling, cheaters, and more

David Sklansky is one of the top authorities on the topic of gambling, author of several hugely successful books. He coined several commonly used terms - such as semi-bluff, implied odds, effective odds. Many of the poker theory concepts that David came up with 40 years ago are still relevant in your games today and maybe forever. He has rubbed shoulders with many of the greats in the industry. Poker players, casino owners, businessmen. In this conversation, David shares some great anecdotes from his encounters with Bob Stupak, Steve Wynn, Donald Trump, and many more. And we also talk about some big stories about cheating and collusion in live games throughout the years. David lifts the curtain up on what’s been happening in Vegas in the 70s and 80s when the gambling industry there was still pretty much a wild-west. 

Here are some of David’s books:

The Theory of Poker Applied to No-Limit - https://amzn.to/3eXGGzu

Geeking, Grifting, and Gambling Through Las Vegas - https://amzn.to/32EKdxC

DUCY? - https://amzn.to/2K23dzL

Seven-Card Stud for Advanced Players - https://amzn.to/2IwUTYe

 

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PODCAST INFO: 

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OUTLINE:

00:00:00 Intro

00:02:36 How David Sklansky got into poker

00:10:57 The math and theory of gambling

00:18:10 Bob Stupak – the legendary casino owner

00:24:07 Trump - The Game

00:27:03 Ignorance

00:31:05 The Stratosphere Tower

00:37:23 Gambling exploits

00:44:13 The Theory of Poker

00:57:18 Logic and common sense

01:04:16 Thinking outside of the box

01:15:24 Smart people making mistakes

01:20:54 Think beyond the obvious

01:26:17 Covid research

01:27:47 Father

01:35:08 Finding exploits

01:40:43 The crooked games

01:49:33 Crooked WSOP champions

01:51:33 Mixed games

01:58:39 Cheating in poker

02:05:45 ROI on tournaments

02:08:19 Gambling ideas to find creative solutions

02:17:09 Solving problem of innocent people in jail, and other ideas

02:25:40 Larry Flynt story

02:33:22 Who was cheating and who was not

02:37:47 Collusion

02:40:35 Game selection

02:42:25 Cheating business

02:58:35 Poker Hall of Fame

02:59:41 All it takes is one chapter

03:01:44 Please don't ever say the word EV to me

03:03:19 Algebra and logic

03:11:39 Is Doyle Brunson still a winning player?

03:17:25 Bob Stupak running for mayor of Las Vegas

03:26:49 US elections

03:32:49 Floyd Mayweather story

03:38:03 Morris Chestnut story

03:41:37 What David got from poker

03:45:36 Maybe you better call a doctor

03:48:35 Steve Wynn story

03:54:28 Carl Icahn story

03:58:29 One good thing about not having a real job

03:59:18 Solving problems

 

If you liked this episode, you might also enjoy some of the following:

Mason Malmuth - David's long-time friend and colleague. We had a very interesting conversation about Mason's latest book, where he looks at some key events fin history of the world through a lens of gambling - https://youtu.be/5lutiDJkXcE

Richard Turner - The legendary card mechanic, card magician, and card cheat. Richard shared many personal anecdotes about his life, his career, his encounters with the mob, card cheats, and much more - https://youtu.be/Htx2gYBDgD4

Michael Franzese - Michael used to be a high ranking member of the feared Colombo crime family. At his most affluent, he generated 5-8 million dollars per week from legal and illegal businesses and became one of the biggest moneymakers in mob history. Michael is the only high-ranking official of a major crime family to ever walk away without protective custody, and survive -  https://youtu.be/GQu9uMXA3ws