In chapter 25 of The Theory of Poker, David Sklansky explains how to evaluate a game before you sit down and how that evaluation should shape your strategy and game selection. He focuses on two pillars: the structure of the game and the quality and style of the players.
Why Evaluating the Game Matters
Sklansky says you should always assess:
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Is this game worth playing?
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Pros think in terms of expected hourly rate.
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Casual players should still avoid:
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Games where they’re big underdogs,
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Stakes that are too large (risk of ruin) or so small they don’t care.
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If I do play, how should I adjust?
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Different structures and player types require different strategies.
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“One-size-fits-all” poker is a leak.
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Evaluating the Structure – and Adjusting to It
“Structure” mostly means:
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Antes and blinds
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Betting limits and escalation
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Betting rules (check-raising, raise caps, opener rules, etc.)
Good players rarely skip a game just because the structure is weird — they adjust. But there’s one exception: when the structure accidentally makes mediocre players play almost perfectly (e.g., hyper-aggressive players in a super-high-ante game that exactly suits their loose style).
1. Antes and Other Forced Bets
Key question: How big are the forced bets relative to later bets?
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Large antes / big blinds (relative to limits):
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You must loosen up, fight more for pots, steal more, and slowplay less.
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Aggressive, bluff-savvy players thrive here.
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Small antes / small blinds:
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You should tighten up, steal less, and slowplay more.
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Great for players who:
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Trap well,
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Disguise their hands,
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Aren’t trying to win lots of tiny pots.
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Sklansky also shows that tiny tweaks in bring-in size or first raise size can completely change strategy.
Example (razz):
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In a Vegas $15–30 razz with small bring-in and cheap raise:
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It’s usually best to raise with a strong low when you act after the bring-in, to price out a speculative caller behind you.
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In a Reno $15–30 razz where the bring-in is bigger and the raise is larger:
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It can be better to just call with a strong hand, encouraging an overcall behind you. Now the caller behind is getting poor odds to chase, and you profit from his mistake.
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Same theme in hold’em comparisons (Reno vs Vegas) with slightly different blind and raise sizes:
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In one structure, raising for deception is cheap and common.
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In the other, that same raise is too costly to use as a casual mind trick.
2. Betting Limits and Bankroll
Two big angles:
a) Can You Afford This Game?
Even if you’re better than the field, you shouldn’t sit in stakes where:
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You’re scared to make the correct bet or call because of the risk of going broke.
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Emotionally or financially, you’re playing “scared money”.
Conversely, if you do have an edge, you should generally play as high as your bankroll sensibly allows, since win rate scales with stakes.
b) Ratio of Early to Late Betting (Implied Odds)
You must look at how much bets grow from early rounds to later rounds:
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Big escalation from early to late (e.g., big bets on later streets, pot-limit, no-limit):
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Implied odds are high.
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You can play more drawing hands that can hit very big (e.g., big draws, speculative suited connectors) as long as they can become the best hand and win large pots.
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You don’t want medium hands that can only ever become “decent” (like weak pairs that rarely become monsters).
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Fairly flat limits (e.g., $5–10, $10–20, with only small jumps street to street):
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Implied odds are low.
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You should start with strong hands and dump speculative stuff, especially when there’s lots of raising preflop/early.
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He stresses: hands like small suited connectors and baby pairs need:
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Low-cost early investment, and
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High potential payoff later.
If the structure doesn’t give them that, they’re overplayed.
3. Betting Rules
You must know the rules cold before you play. Examples:
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Is check-raising allowed?
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How many raises per round?
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High card or low card brings it in?
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Is there an “opener” requirement (like jacks or better to open in draw)?
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Are there special cardroom rules?
He illustrates this with the brutal story of a player in Gardena:
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Made a royal flush in draw poker with a joker and “jacks or better to open” rules.
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But had broken his openers incorrectly and failed to protect them as the rules require.
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Result: his royal was declared dead, and he lost the pot to a full house.
Moral:
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Know the rules so you don’t torch value,
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And learn to use them to your advantage.
Example: in a game where check-raising is not allowed:
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The player in last position becomes more powerful:
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They can bet more thinly, with less fear of being check-raised.
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Even from first position, you should bet more often:
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You can’t spring a check-raise, but you can deny free cards and simplify decisions.
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Adjusting Better Than “Good but Nontheoretical” Players
Sklansky emphasizes:
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One of your biggest edges over otherwise strong players is the ability to adjust faster and more correctly to unfamiliar structures.
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Many “natural” or instinctive players take a long time to recalibrate their style when blinds/antes/raise sizes change.
Example: Golden Nugget $15–30 hold’em with double blinds and no ante:
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Compared to a typical $10–20 with ante + single blind, the $15–30 structure:
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Makes it more expensive to enter pots relative to later-street bet sizes.
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Correct adjustment:
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Play tighter preflop.
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Put more value on big pairs and strong high cards.
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Devalue speculative hands that rely heavily on implied odds.
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Players who failed to adjust kept playing as if it were a $10–20 structure — and leaked money to anyone who did adjust.
Evaluating the Players – and Exploiting Their Mistakes
After structure, the player pool is the bigger factor in whether the game is worth playing.
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If everyone is at least as good as you, your hourly rate is low or zero.
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You want:
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A few bad players, or
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Several mediocre players.
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Famous line:
If you look around and don’t see a sucker, you’re the sucker.
1. Players Who Are Too Loose
Most common leak: playing too many hands.
Characteristics:
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Call too often, preflop and postflop.
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Love action; hate folding.
How to exploit:
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Be more selective than they are.
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Just playing better starting hands is a built-in edge.
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Value bet more, bluff less.
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They call too much; there’s little point in fancy bluffs except maybe occasional “advertising” spots.
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Against solid but slightly-too-loose pros:
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You might simply:
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Play ABC tight,
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Let them play extra hands,
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And quietly win over time just by showing up with better holdings.
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2. Players Who Are Too Tight
The opposite type: fold too much.
They may be tight:
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Mainly preflop / on the first round, or
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On all streets.
How to exploit:
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Steal more often on the first round when they’re the only player left behind you.
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Raise them to pick up blinds/antes more than game theory would normally say.
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Not literally every time (or they’ll adjust), but perhaps two out of three.
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Once they do call preflop:
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They often won’t fold later because they “finally found a hand”.
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If you tried a steal and get called by this type, often give up the bluff.
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With real hands, bet for value:
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They’ll often give you “crying calls” all the way.
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Even rarer: players who fold too much on every street:
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Against them, you:
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Semi-bluff aggressively when you can credibly represent strength,
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Bluff more than optimal frequencies,
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Because they simply give up too often.
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3. Players Who Never Bluff (or Bluff Too Little)
These are gold mines in a subtle way:
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When they bet, they almost always have it.
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You no longer have to “pay to see” because of bluff fear.
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You save a ton of money in the long run by:
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Folding often to their bets and raises with marginal hands,
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Only calling when your hand legitimately has good equity.
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Your profit against them comes from:
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Bets you don’t lose, not big pots you win.
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Essentially, you avoid spewing hero calls they don’t deserve.
Related leaks you can exploit:
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They never check-raise bluff:
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When they check-raise you, you can safely fold more often and save bets.
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They never bluff-raise of any kind:
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When they raise, your default assumption is: strong hand → tighten up.
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4. Players Who Never Check-Raise
Big leak:
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If they check, they almost never have a strong hand.
How to exploit:
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Bet more often when checked to, especially in spots where:
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Others might check-raise,
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These players won’t.
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In effect, you’re safer betting thinly against them than in a game where everyone can check-raise.
5. Players Who Bluff Too Much
Very exploitable — but also swingy:
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You want to:
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Induce bluffs by checking to them,
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Then call or raise depending on your hand strength.
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You knowingly:
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Give free cards sometimes,
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In exchange for lots of profitable bluff-catching opportunities.
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Caution:
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If your bankroll is fragile, these players are dangerous:
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To exploit them properly, you have to call very often, including with mediocre hands.
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When they run hot and also pick up real hands, you pay them off more than you would pay off tighter players.
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The Big Picture
Chapter 25 ties together earlier concepts and applies them at the game-selection level:
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Evaluate structure:
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Antes/blinds,
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Bet sizing and escalation,
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Rules like check-raising, opener requirements, raise caps.
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Then adjust style: tight/loose, bluff frequency, speculative hand selection.
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Evaluate players:
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Identify the main leaks (too loose, too tight, never bluff, overbluff, never check-raise, structure confusion).
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Then adjust:
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Value bet vs. calling stations,
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Bluff vs. scared players,
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Tighten vs. wild structures or wild opponents if bankroll is limited.
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Sklansky’s core message:
Being a winning poker player isn’t just about how you play your cards — it’s also about which games you choose and how fast and accurately you tailor your strategy to the specific structure and opponents in front of you.