Every Hand Revealed by Gus Hansen
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Book Reviews of Every Hand Revealed
Book Review: A new way to play, revealed
Summary: 5 Stars
Have you seen Gus Hansen playing poker on TV? If so, you've probably seen him stand up from the table and talk into a gizmo that is a tape recorder. I always assumed he did it to review the hands later. Well, maybe, but there was another reason. Hansen won the Aussie Millions in January, 2008. There were 746 runners, and it lasted five days. In his new book, Every Hand Revealed, he recounts all 329 hands he played. He doesn't pull any punches. By that I mean that occasionally he'd make a dumb play. but wasn't afraid to admit it in the book.
Each of days one through four is a separate chapter. He divided the fifth day into three chapters: one for the final table, one for when the play was three-handed and one chapter for when the play was heads-up. The book is not for the beginning poker player, but can be enjoyed by the advancing player on up to the poker expert.
Would you enter a pot from middle position with Q-7 offsuit? Would you enter with a raise three times the big blind? Hansen makes moves like this. He isn't afraid to put his chips out there, because he feels he can outplay the others after the flop. I've heard him say on TV that you can win with any two cards. Now there's something that can't be denied.
Even though I'm not comfortable playing like that, I see his reasoning. If you wait for the nuts, you will eventually bleed to death. Even if you wait and catch pocket aces, you may get no action or get them cracked. With the way Hansen plays, he wins so many small pots that he can afford an occasional suck-out by the villain. Also, because he plays so loose (as defined by others), when he catches a huge hand, he often gets action and wins big pots with those hands.
As I read the book, I noticed that Hansen made several good/winning bets based on his reads from the villain's demeanor. But, he is basically math oriented. Here's what he says:
"Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to diminish the conventional over-the-table reading ability. I actually believe it played a big part of my success Down Under. I am just stating the obvious: 'Reads are imperfect and numbers don't lie.'
So, go ahead and buy the book; it's entertaining as well as instructional. But be warned: For it to help your game, you're going to have to keep a very open mind!
Book Review: Solid No-Limit Hold 'Em Tournament Book
Summary: 5 Stars
Here's the sequence of the books I've read about NLHE Tournaments:
Step 1: T.J. Cloutier/McEvoy - Survive, survive, survive... Maybe you get a lot of chips somewhere and win a tournament.
Step 2: Dan Harrington - Survive, but if all conditions are right, play a hand like J-T suited or 9-8 suited if you have three callers, tight players in the blinds, and then proceed from there.
Step 3: Gus Hansen - Survival sucks. Accumulate chips. Get the blinds. Know BEP. GO FOR IT.
For years I was in Step 1 mode: Play your coin flips with 99 vs. AK and pray they hold up. Double up a few times, don't play the "chip burners" like J-T suited or K-Q suited. Waaaaaaaaay too tight to consistently win let alone confuse my opponents with my play.
Now, Step 2 was nice, but how often do you really get 3 or 4 callers in front of you AND tight players in the blinds? Basically, you're always in Step 1/Survivor mode unless all the stars and planets align at the poker table and we know that doesn't happen very often.
Step 3. Go for it. Raise with a K-T suited in middle position 3 x the BB and see what happens. If you get raised and can make the call and get a great flop then go for it.
Yeah, it sounds crazy to "go for it" but you know what I've discovered?
Sitting around getting blinded to death watching people get chips and win millions of dollars while I hope my caveman coin-flip strategy holds up doesn't work. You have to get in there with a Q-J suited in late position for some of your chips. You don't get the AA or KK often enough, and if you do get those hands do you really accumulate enough chips to win the tournament? No.
I liked Gus Hansen's book. I think people TALK about shifting gears, but don't do it enough. I know I don't. But I've gone further in tournaments and actually been the chip leader or in the top 10 more often during the tournament since I read this book and used his advice.
You can still incorporate the wisdom from Step 1 and Step 2. Just make sure that you have Step 3 in the tool box or you're never going to win unless EVERYTHING goes your way in a tournament. It can happen, but don't hold your breath. Get this book if you want to win NLHE tournaments.
Book Review: One of the Best!
Summary: 5 Stars
I've read at least 20 books on poker. David Sklansky's books give you vital, fundamental poker basics and even advanced theory -- but they aren't a lot of fun to read and make poker seem less than fun to play. Dan Harrington's books are better than Sklansky's because they are more informative, conversational, and easier to read. But make no mistake, Harrington's books are work. Gus Hansen's book was almost as informative, giving the reader an amazing insight into the thinking of a poker genuis as he makes his way, hand by hand, to heads up play. Like a great teacher, Hansen makes poker fun. He puts the reader in his head as he debates his next move. It's so witty, sometimes deadpan, and funny I couldn't put it down. At times, he goes into great detail regarding his mathematical analysis of his card strength and the pot odds and eventually the "correct" decision; then, he slyly concedes that he did just the opposite and can give no rational explanation for his action. Sometimes he says that simple curiosity got the best of him. When he misplays a hand, he's comically honest, "I played this hand like a novice, a fish, an idiot!"
I wanted to be more than entertained, I wanted to learn how a top poker pro analyzes his way through a tournament. Watching WPT six person final tables, while good, reveal very little about the players bobbed and weaved their way to the final table. Worse, WPT airs only the most entertaining hands, leaving on the cutting floor most of the final table action. With Every Hand Revealed, you get to see how play developed over the course of days, rather than minutes. Not only do you get the insights into Hansen's thinking, but you get to see what counter strategies his opponents adopt. Hansen provides a real education into applying pot odds to a variety of hands (329 hands to be exact), singular insight into winning strategy (I know of not one player that plays quite like Hansen), and how to interpret, and take advantage of, your opponents' playing style. Given the many terrible poker books released recently (like Daniel Negreanu's "Hold'em Wisdom for All Players" and anything by Phil Helmuth), I was skeptical that this book would be worth my time or money. I cannot recommend it more highly!
Book Review: Get inside of Gus's Head!
Summary: 5 Stars
I was waiting for a book like this! Extremely entertaining and gives a lot of insight to Gus's mind. If you have the tourney recorded, you can actually see the hands, and look for tells that Gus is talking about. It really gives you an idea what a "maniac" is thinking about raising with T9o when "under the gun".
DO NOT TRY TO USE HIS STRATEGY AT HOME, unless you are above intermediate level poker player. Even if you think you understand why what he does at the table at home, you HAVE to be Gus Hansen to make it work. You are not. I hear people saying "a very aggressive player, like Gus Hansen, D.Negreanu, Micheal Mizrachi, etc". The truth is, you cannot put players in the same "aggressive" category. For example, D.Negreanu and G. Hansen are TOTALLY different players with different styles. Negreanu plays "small ball, check-call poker" preferring to make post flop decisions himself using his insane reading ability, while Gus likes to play bigger pots, and put his opponents to the test. Gus does not mind going all in when he thinks the situation is favorable, while Daniel hates to be all-in unless it is the best play. It is just not his style.
With that said, the most important thing why Gus's plays work is the table image (that he does not have to establish every time he comes to a new table, his image follows him everywhere). Thats his advantage, and thats why his plays work. Everyone knows that Gus Hansen is Gus "I-can-have-any-two-cards-in-any-position" Hansen. Thats why if you raised early position with two red aces, and Gus called you on the button, it is extremely difficult to proceed on the flop of 3-6-7 with two clubs on the board when Gus puts you to the test for all your chips. After all he is Gus, what makes you think he is not holding 4-5 in his hand, and you are drawing slim to dead.
Get this book! Read it! Enjoy it! Learn from it! DO NOT DO IT AT HOME!
Book Review: I'm half-way through
Summary: 5 Stars
Here's the deal: too many "smart guy's/gal's" have written books on the "right way" to play tournament hold'em. I've read many of them, (Harrington obviously, the best poker book (EV-wise for me) all time) and I've got to say right off the bat that Gus iterates what I've been thinking all too long; namely that too many of the so called "smart people" rely on math/reads/theory that in the real world, (when it's your $300 to $10,000 buy-in), ring very...uh...how should I put this... hollow/way too drawn out? Books that are just not practical for at the table usage, but great for after-the-fact analysis. This book is practical in Gus's hand analysis and thought process, and I appreciate that he calls out when he's made an error in his analysis or his move. One of my favorite hands is (I think) midway through day 2- he lost a decent size pot by playing rather timid in position and lost a winnable pot, or at least put too much into an unwinnable pot, and then points out in detail the errors he made.
I'm extremely surprised no one has thought of this format before. To be honest, if you're even a light to moderate poker fan or player, this book reads like a thrilling novel. Hand after hand, you get to step inside the brain of how you SHOULD be thinking when it's YOUR chips.
For the player looking for an edge: Gus reiterates subtly why image and aggression have made him such a powerhouse at big buy-in tournaments.
I also appreciate some decent nerd humor when he's commenting on his own or his opponents play.
To enhance your reading experience: Youtube the '07 Aussie Millions to see what Gus is talking about.
Overall- I think this book is a bargain at its price, (considering so many less helpful and entertaining titles go for double the price) and I'd put it right up there with Harrington as far as thought process and situational analysis.