How are HPFAP hand rankings calculated?

Anyone know? The book refers to another book. I'm doing an analysis for this forum and need this info. The more detail the better. Thanks

The rankings were created by David Sklansky alone. I believe they were first published in the first copy of Hold'em poker in 1976 and have had small revisions over the years.


Basically, they are a ranking of the hands based on how much money they will win in the long run. How did Skalnsky figure this out? Well...he's David Sklansky. That's how.

Take a look at the generic Poki hand rankings (I forget the URL, but Poki is that artifical-intelligence hold'em program they've developed at a university somewhere) and you'll find they resemble Slansky's rankings very closely. If I remember, the Poki hand ratings--which are used only as an initial input into much more refined calculations--are based on an all-in scenario of the various hands competing head-up for a million deals. (I think it's head-up, but I could be wrong, and it makes a big difference).


I don't know if Slansky has ever explained the calculations behind his rankings, however.

It was a serious answer.