David Sklansky is very well known among serious poker players for his literary contribution to the game.  Sklansky has teamed up with fellow writer and poker player Mason Malmuth to write some of the most sought after books on advice for all types of players from novice to the most experienced.  Including the books with Malmuth, Sklansky has contributed to over two dozen other books.  Sklansky is not just a professional poker player, but a professional gambler.  His books on blackjack are also viewed as some of the best writing on the game.

Unlike a lot of poker books on the market, Sklansky, a three time World Series of Poker Bracelet winner, has a real down to earth style in his writing.  With so many formulas and probabilities in the game of poker, it is a welcome addition to have a writer who can speak to all players, on a whole, and not just those that have mastered every intricacy of the game, as you sometimes get from writers. 

After attending the Wharton School of Business in Pennsylvania for only a year, he opted to drop out, despite fine grades, to pursue a career as a professional gambler.  It’s been so far so good for Sklansky, who has won close to one million dollars in poker tournament earnings, and a high, undisclosed sum in blackjack.  But, it was his writing prowess that has earned him even more money than his gambling winnings.

Along with Malmuth and Ray Zee, he is the owner of Two Plus Two Publishing, which is the number one leader of gambling literature in the market today.  Also, at Twoplustwo.com you can find the most heavily trafficked gambling forums on the internet, which is frequented by many professional gamblers, including Sklansky himself.

Sklansky’s Theory of Poker, printed in 1994, is a must read for any poker player who takes the game seriously.  No less than 16 other authors of poker strategy books have cited Theory of Poker in their own works.  Sklansky goes through just about every situation imaginable in this book, and with his easy to read style, makes it so that even novice players can understand.  Even after 12 years of being on the market, the book continues to be near the top of the highest selling poker books per year, according to Amazon.com

Sklansky’s most recent work, titled No Limit Hold’em: Theory and Practice, was released in May 2006 and has been very well received.  Many critics who fell in love with his Theory of Poker are rating this book just as high.  It’s a little more in depth than Theory of Poker.  But it is well worth the read, according to the majority of customer reviews.

Sklansky continues to play tournament poker, most recently winning over $400,000 in this past year’s season of the World Poker Tour.  Doyle Brunson once said that writing Super System, his famous book, was one of his worst choices ever because now people knew what it took to beat him.  It’s fair to say that the same thing can’t be said for Sklansky.  While he doesn’t mind dishing out most of his secrets, it’s apparent he’s holding just enough back to continue to make a successful life for himself.