Sklansky slammers argument skewered!

[Daliman]

Hardly a day goes by that I don't see somewhere that David Sklansky can't be the foremost poker theorist and teacher because he's not the best player in the world, and has never won the WSOP main event. Well, I have a few thoughts on this.

Who is the best golfing coach in the world?
Probably Butch Harmon.
Was he a great golfer?
No a decent pro, but never better than average on the tour, at best.
Who is the best tennis coach?
Probably Nick Bolletieri.
Was he a great player.
Sure, but NEVER top level in the pros, and won few tournaments.
Who is the best football coach of all time.
Probably Vince Lombardi.
Was he a great player.
Nope.
Who is the best basketball coach of all time.
I'd say a toss-up between John Wooden and Red Auerbach.
Were they great players?
Not that anyone ever heard.
Who is the best Hockey coach ever?
Scotty Bowman.
Was he a great player?
I think he was a pro, but definitely not top level.
Who was the best baseball coach ever?
Tuff one here, but I'll go with Connie Mack.
Was he a great player?
Nope.

Are you seeing a trend yet?

Just because someone is not a the top of his sport does not mean that person cannot have a deeper understanding of it than anyone else or a better understanding of how to convey their thought to lesser minds and talents. Sure, Treetop and Stuey and their ilk made some brilliant plays, both in winning and in losing, but they were all broke at one time or another. I'm sure Sklansky could do very well at the top levels of poker, but the variation is more than he cares to deal with, and I'm sure he makes a dandy living doing what he does now, the way he does it. Having balls of steel and raising all-in with crap also frequently requires an ass of steel, as they often get bounced out on it.sure, Stuey was a phenomenal player, but he didn't die broke ONLY because of drugs; it was also due to his unwavering belief that he could beat anyone, anytime, and sometimes, the cards just don't cooperate.

Now then, let's make a quick list of the some of the top players all-time in their sport
Football: Jim Brown
Basketball: Michael Jordan
Baseball: Barry Bonds
Hockey: Wayne Gretzky

Now, do you really think these people, great as they were, wouls also be the best coaches possible? I'd say no. And why? Because talent plays a major factor at the top level, not just game understanding, and i'll tell you right now, a guy like Scott Skiles, who's not even a great coach, has forgotten more about basketball than most top players will ever know, but he didn't have enough athletic ability and talent to be a great player. In poker, ability is money, and talent is nerve. Sklansky is more interested in making a very good living than proving how good he is at poker. To take a small page out of his book, what good does it do him to be the 20th best player in the world if he continually plays the top 19?

Now, I know that DS can be insufferable at times, both in person and in print(I.E. TPFAP"...if you do not know how we came up with these numbers, close this book now. You are a bad player and you deserve to lose" or something to that extent. Is that REALLY necessary?). But really, the argument that he doesn't crush the 3000-6000 games or consistantly cash high in tourneys hold absolutely NO bearing on his standing as poker's leading theorist and educator, as I have just shown.