Sklansky Uses Poker Skills To Diffuse Robbery

The Las Vegas Metro district has seen a series of violent robberies take place recently including inside the usually well protected gated community areas. Well known poker player and author David Sklansky lives in the vicinity and on July 25th was subjected to a terrifying ordeal when he found his home broken into at 3a.m.“The guy burst into the bedroom; it was very dark, but I did see what appeared to be a gun,” he said.
Sklansky is considered one of the leading authorities on poker and gambling having written many influential books on the subject including Theory of Poker and No-Limit Hold ‘em Theory & Practise. He is no stranger to preparation having analysed and prepared for many situations in advance at the poker tables, and his organised approach was also reflected in his handling of the potentially life threatening armed robbery.
“This is something I have visualized over the years. I always knew this was a possibility, this would happen. I actually played it over in my mind of what I would do if it happened. I realized the most important thing was to keep him calm.”
Sklansky was able to us his poker knowledge to remain calm and identify the mind set of his opponent: “During the time he was there, my main focus was to make sure that he didn’t think that I was panicking or that I would do something silly. The advice is the same as in a poker game; you try and figure out what the other guy is thinking and then act accordingly. I can imagine if he was doing this same robbery with someone who didn’t behave the way I did, it could have turned out terribly.”
The Metro Las Vegas area in the two weeks leading up to Sklansky’s ordeal saw a number of incidences including three men attempting a break in at a house near Fort Apache, a couple bound and robbed at their Buffalo home and cash and jewelry taken from a Washington and Tenaya house whilst the occupants were asleep. All these crimes have remained unsolved up to now.
Despite the harrowing experience Sklansky recognised the potential for greater harm in the situation and spoke frankly about his feelings on the subject: “I have no personal animosity toward these guys. They used the absolute lowest level of force necessary to accomplish their purposes.”
He did, however, have a personal message to his intruders pertaining to some of the personal items taken from his property: “If this is being read by the robbers or someone who knows them, I would request that they mail me those few things (photos, etc.) that are of no value to them, but are to me.”