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   CONNECT: Subscribe on YouTubel: https://bit.ly/runchuks-yt Subscribe to newsletter: https://www.runchukspodcast.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/RunchuksP Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/runchukspoker Coaching: https://bit.ly/bts-coaching   PODCAST INFO:  Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2XlvTro Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2ECWIAF YouTube playlist: https://bit.ly/podcast-yt   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