The Theory of Poker
By: Jay Greenspan October 06, 2003

According to David Sklansky, when you sit down and buy in, whether playing razz or hold'em, low-limit or no-limit, you should have a single goal in mind: to make as few mistakes as possible and force others to make as many poor decisions as you can. Chances are, even if you've never thought about card play in these terms, you've acted in accordance with this logic. You've bluffed to get a better hand to fold and slowplayed to get the most from a hapless opponent. But outside of these obvious situations, how do you identify a mistake?

In The Theory of Poker Sklansky identifies poker's fundamental theorem, which (paraphrased) states: you have made a mistake when you didn't play the same way that you would have had you seen your opponent's cards. Your opponents make a mistake when they do likewise.

Seem simple? Well, it's not. To avoid mistakes yourself and force others to make them, you need to have a solid understanding of odds, game theory, psychology, and any number of ploys you and your opponents might utilize. The Theory of Poker touches on all of these topics and shows how they apply to the fundamental theorem.

This is an important book, one that should be read by anyone hoping to improve his game. But that's not to say The Theory of Poker is easy or without its substantial problems.

Much of the material in The Theory of Poker is dense. Many players, particularly those new to the concepts, will find the book slow going. The early chapters on odds (pot odds, effective odds, implied odds, and reverse implied odds) provide information critical to quality play, but too many concepts are packed into too few sentences and there are not nearly enough examples. I can only hope that in future editions of the book, Sklansky expands these chapters and provides some exercises for those (like me) who have difficulty dividing a dinner check, let alone calculating odds on the fly.

The chapters on semi-bluffing are the best in the book. Sklansky seems to have a passion for the semi-bluff (why shouldn't he?) and the details he gives on its use and effectiveness will have us all betting on the come. Sections on raising, slowplaying, check-raising, and bluffing are useful as well.

Later chapters on game theory and psychology are too brief to be especially useful. He touches on interesting concepts, but there's not enough solid information that you can apply to a live game. Still, these chapters are well worth the read and provide nice jumping-off points for further study.

The examples in The Theory of Poker are drawn from all types of games -- 7 stud, razz, hold'em, limit, no-limit, tournament, etc. But the book in general, and the fundamental theorem in particular, are best when applied to limit play. The fundamental theorem states that "every time" you play differently than you would have had your opponent seen your cards, he gains, and vise versa. Sklansky almost never discusses the severity of errors you or your opponent might make. In pot-limit and no-limit, the size of the errors, not the quantity of them, determine your profitability. This book offers little advice on forcing or avoiding big mistakes.

Sadly, the quality of the writing in The Theory of Poker is quite poor. In the foreword to Hold'em for Advanced Players, Sklansky states that he is a card player, not a writer. The reader should therefore forgive his abrupt, dense, and humorless style. But Sklansky has authored or co-authored no fewer than 10 books. By definition he is a professional writer. His books would improve markedly if he applied the same rigor to his prose that he applied to his thoughtful analysis of the game. Or he could hire an editor.

In sum, The Theory of Poker is a must-read and is an essential text for any poker player's library. But be prepared for some rough going as you make your way through some tough, dry chapters.

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