David Sklansky

1. Em Hold Poker
2. David Sklansky Blackjack

2000 Distinguished Teaching Award

In only six years of teaching at UCLA, David Sklansky has earned the favor and respect of both colleagues and students alike. “He is the most universally admired teacher of his generation at the law school,” according to Arthur Rosett. Sklansky was elected Professor of the Year by the 1996 graduating class in only his second year of teaching. Since then, he’s only improved his teaching style and curriculum, consequently teaching more students than anyone else in the law school.

David Sklansky busted out a short-stacked David Levi with a decent low and, well, enough of a high. Sklansky was dealt one of three fours to open, and had the bring-in with the 4. David Sklansky is part of Stanford Profiles, official site for faculty, postdocs, students and staff information (Expertise, Bio, Research, Publications, and more). The site facilitates research and collaboration in academic endeavors. Looking for books by David Sklansky? See all books authored by David Sklansky, including The Theory of Poker, and Small Stakes Hold 'em: Winning Big With Expert Play, and more on ThriftBooks.com. About David Sklansky David Sklansky is generally considered the number one authority on gambling in the world today. Besides his twelve books on the subject, David also has produced two videos and numerous writings for various gaming publications.

Sklansky teaches the core courses of evidence, criminal procedure and criminal law. One of his most effective pedagogical techniques involves revamping the Socratic method to provoke analytical thought and open discussion without the pressure-filled environment usually associated with the exercise. Catherine Whiting J.D. ’97 appreciates this approach: “Rather than confronting students or challenging them in a hostile manner, he managed to be courteous and patient, even when a student was less than prepared or was thoroughly confused about a particular issue.” Confrontation is hardly necessary in Sklansky’s classes. Thanks to his engaging style, which includes the use of interactive computer games, Microsoft PowerPoint charts and graphs, diagrams and video clips, students are drawn into the material and gladly take an active role in the discussion.

On the administrative end, he has played a crucial role in dealing with issues of vital concern to students and the teaching enterprise in the wake of the implemented by the regents’ resolutions halting race-based affirmative action and Proposition 209. Having served on and chaired numerous outreach and admission committees, he is currently one of three professors elected to serve on the Dean’s Advisory Committee, an honor given to only the most trusted and respected faculty. No longer UCLA’s well-kept secret, Sklansky was recently invited to teach at Harvard Law School. Fortunately for UCLA, he declined in favor of the Bruins. Stephen Yeazell perhaps says its best: “This is great teaching – with its roots in a profound but modest curiosity about the field, its trunk and roots in deep and careful preparation, and its broad unfolding leaves in a genuine respect for students and in an engaging personality. David Sklansky is a great teacher, a treasure of the law school and of UCLA.”

In the poker game of Texas hold 'em, a starting hand consists of two hole cards, which belong solely to the player and remain hidden from the other players. Five community cards are also dealt into play. Betting begins before any of the community cards are exposed, and continues throughout the hand. The player's 'playing hand', which will be compared against that of each competing player, is the best 5-card poker hand available from his two hole cards and the five community cards. Unless otherwise specified, here the term hand applies to the player's two hole cards, or starting hand.

Essentials[edit]

There are 1326 distinct possible combinations of two hole cards from a standard 52-card deck in hold 'em, but since suits have no relative value in this poker variant, many of these hands are identical in value before the flop. For example, A♥J♥ and A♠J♠ are identical in value, because each is a hand consisting of an ace and a jack of the same suit.

Therefore, there are 169 non-equivalent starting hands in hold 'em, which is the sum total of : 13 pocket pairs, 13 × 12 / 2 = 78 suited hands and 78 unsuited hands (13 + 78 + 78 = 169).

These 169 hands are not equally likely. Hold 'em hands are sometimes classified as having one of three 'shapes':

• Pairs, (or 'pocket pairs'), which consist of two cards of the same rank (e.g. 9♠9♣). One hand in 17 will be a pair, each occurring with individual probability 1/221 (P(pair) = 3/51 = 1/17).

Alternative means of making this calculation

First Step

As confirmed above.

There are 1326 possible combination of opening hand.

Second Step

There are 6 different combos of each pair. 9h9c, 9h9s, 9h9d, 9c9s, 9c9d, 9d9s. Therefore, there are 78 possible combinations of pocket pairs (6 multiplied by 13 i.e. 22-AA)

To calculate the odds of being dealt a pair

Em Hold Poker

78 (the number of any particular pair being dealt. As above) divided by 1326 (possible opening hands)

78/1326 = 0.058 or 5.8%

• Suited hands, which contain two cards of the same suit (e.g. A♣6♣). 23.5% of all starting hands are suited.

Probability of first card is 1.0 (any of the 52 cards)Probability of second hand suit matching the first:There are 13 cards per suit, and one is in your hand leaving 12 remaining of the 51 cards remaining in the deck. 12/51=.2353 or 23.5%

• Offsuit hands, which contain two cards of a different suit and rank (e.g. K♠J♥). 70.6% of all hands are offsuit hands

Offsuit pairs = 78Other offsuit hands = 936

It is typical to abbreviate suited hands in hold 'em by affixing an 's' to the hand, as well as to abbreviate non-suited hands with an 'o' (for offsuit). That is,

QQ represents any pair of queens,

KQ represents any king and queen,

AKo represents any ace and king of different suits, and

JTs represents any jack and ten of the same suit.

Limit hand rankings[edit]

Some notable theorists and players have created systems to rank the value of starting hands in limit Texas hold'em. These rankings do not apply to no limit play.

Sklansky hand groups[edit]

David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth^[1] assigned in 1999 each hand to a group, and proposed all hands in the group could normally be played similarly. Stronger starting hands are identified by a lower number. Hands without a number are the weakest starting hands. As a general rule, books on Texas hold'em present hand strengths starting with the assumption of a nine or ten person table. The table below illustrates the concept:

Chen formula[edit]

The 'Chen Formula' is a way to compute the 'power ratings' of starting hands that was originally developed by Bill Chen.^[2]

David Sklansky Blackjack

Highest Card

Based on the highest card, assign points as follows:

Ace = 10 points, K = 8 points, Q = 7 points, J = 6 points.

10 through 2, half of face value (10 = 5 points, 9 = 4.5 points, etc.)

Pairs

For pairs, multiply the points by 2 (AA=20, KK=16, etc.), with a minimum of 5 points for any pair. 55 is given an extra point (i.e., 6).

Suited

Add 2 points for suited cards.

Closeness

Subtract 1 point for 1 gappers (AQ, J9)

2 points for 2 gappers (J8, AJ).

4 points for 3 gappers (J7, 73).

5 points for larger gappers, including A2 A3 A4

Add an extra point if connected or 1-gap and your highest card is lower than Q (since you then can make all higher straights)

Phil Hellmuth's: 'Play Poker Like the Pros'[edit]

Phil Hellmuth's 'Play Poker Like the Pros' book published in 2003.

Statistics based on real online play[edit]

Statistics based on real play with their associated actual value in real bets.^[3]

Nicknames for starting hands[edit]

In poker communities, it is common for hole cards to be given nicknames. While most combinations have a nickname, stronger handed nicknames are generally more recognized, the most notable probably being the 'Big Slick' - Ace and King of the same suit, although an Ace-King of any suit combination is less occasionally referred to as an Anna Kournikova, derived from the initials AK and because it 'looks really good but rarely wins.'^[4][5] Hands can be named according to their shapes (e.g., paired aces look like 'rockets', paired jacks look like 'fish hooks'); a historic event (e.g., A's and 8's - dead man's hand, representing the hand held by Wild Bill Hickok when he was fatally shot in the back by Jack McCall in 1876); many other reasons like animal names, alliteration and rhyming are also used in nicknames.

Notes[edit]

1. ^David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth (1999). Hold 'em Poker for Advanced Players. Two Plus Two Publications. ISBN1-880685-22-1
2. ^Hold'em Excellence: From Beginner to Winner by Lou Krieger, Chapter 5, pages 39 - 43, Second Edition
3. ^http://www.pokerroom.com/poker/poker-school/ev-stats/total-stats-by-card/^{[dead link]}
4. ^Aspden, Peter (2007-05-19). 'FT Weekend Magazine - Non-fiction: Stakes and chips Las Vegas and the internet have helped poker become the biggest game in town'. Financial Times. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
5. ^Martain, Tim (2007-07-15). 'A little luck helps out'. Sunday Tasmanian. Retrieved 2010-01-10.