Every Hand Revealed by Gus Hansen
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Book Reviews of Every Hand Revealed
Book Review: The hard slog
Summary: 5 Stars
When I got back into poker Hansen was the player that fascinated me the most from the TV pros because nothing he did seemed to make any sense. But it had to make sense because it obviously worked. To finally get a chance to get inside his head, hand by hand, is fascinating.
I couldn't recommend this book high enough. The most critical hands in poker are often the dullest. The hard slog. The patient grinding of people's souls. You miss that on TV. It creates a fun house mirror image of the players. No one more so that Gus Hansen. This book removes that. He explains his actions behind every hand he plays. If I have any criticism, it is that he doesn't show the hands he folds. I'd like to have heard him talk about that too.
As crazy as his style seems, it is still rooted in the fundamentals: good reads, solid math, brutal self awareness, and a good understanding of tournament psychology.
If nothing else, the book is a great lesson on the power of the all-in move in No Limit Holdem'. Gus's style in this tournament is that of a cave man. He rarely gets fancy, choosing to instead use his stack as a misshapen club to bonk people over the head with. Mongo, kill!
The book is a powerful testament to the loose-aggressive style of poker.
Book Review: Great Book
Summary: 5 Stars
When I saw this book, and realized that it was written by the Madman himself, I was instantly intrigued. Anyone who watches poker on TV has to be a little curious of the method behind Gus Hansen's madness.
I am pleased to tell you that Gus does not disappoint in this book. He gives mathematical breakdowns of his hands, bets, calls, reraises, and folds... along with well illustrated descriptions of the situations he covers.
The difference between this book and other poker books is that he walks you through, hand by hand in a tournament where he was victorious. So basically he describes his thought process in a lot of different unique situations, as opposed to other books that just tell you "you can play it this way or this way, it just depends on the situation". In this book, you see his situation, you see what he does and why... every time!
I had a problem with playing way too tightly before reading this book, and now I have a new outlook on the game of poker. It has improved my game temendously. I would highly recommend this book to anyone, and especially those who believe they play too tightly, it will help you loosen up your game.
Great book, easy yet very effective read. It took me two days to burn through it.
Book Review: "Gus never bluffs!"
Summary: 5 Stars
The statement in the title, made by Brian Townsend, is not really accurate, but it is not as far from the truth as most people that have watched Gus Hansen play on TV would think. I may be a little biased, since Gus is my favorite poker pro, but I know one thing for sure: whoever plays against him assuming he is a brainless maniac is in for a rude awakening and is likely to lose all his chips.
In this wonderful book, Gus Hansen takes us through all the hands he played in the Aussie Millions tournament. The insights we get regarding why he plays each hand a certain way are truly invaluable. I have to admit though that you need to have a certain level of poker experience to be able to follow the fast-paced explanations and brief comments on pot odds, blind / ante structures and overall poker strategy. It is not the most advanced poker book you will find, but it is not for beginners either.
The writing is witty and the insights are useful. The author keeps a fast-pace and slows down when necessary to explain deeper strategic points or hands that do not have a clear "right" answer in the way they are played. This book is half entertaining account of a quest and half a poker manual, with the final result being simply outstanding. Highly recommended!
Book Review: Best Poker Companion Book
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the first book that I've read that not only talks about techniques such as slow play, aggressive play etc but shows you in a REAL situation how it was used.
There are two books I recommend to read prior to this one. The first one is by Ken Warren "Texas Holdem" which goes into a Conservative Basic Strategy to Intermediate, and Daniel Negreanu's "Hold'em Wisdom for all Players" which goes into Medium type strategy.
This book teaches you how to play AGRESSIVE to BALLS OUT strategy, but most importantly how and when to play them. There is a time and a place and this will teach you when.
Before reading the first two books I went from lasting 30-60 minutes in a tournament to lasting 2-3 hours. Then I read Gus's book and my level of play went through the roof. Now I am so confident and knowledgeable about my game that I expect to make every final table. And I just learned to play the last 6 months!!!
This is not your typical book so don't expect an A-Z explanation. This book is on how he won a tournament hand by hand, and goes through his thinking process before calling, folding, raising, re-raising etc.
Enjoy and have fun.
Book Review: Refreshing change from theoretical books
Summary: 5 Stars
This book takes you through all the hands Gus Hansen played on his way to the 2007 Aussie Millions Championship, and the real-world charting of hands is a welcome change from books that only provide examples to underscore various poker principles.
Hansen is at once witty, incisive, self-critical, self-congratulatory, and his play is often surprising. He's not a madman, as some think, but he sure is aggressive (both pre- and post-flop). I think his strategies work best in live tournaments where the stakes are high. You could get murdered making some of his moves in smaller stakes action, especially online.
What makes the book most valuable is Hansen's explanations of his behavior: whether he crunches pot odds/implied odds, he's playing near the bubble and therefore more aggressive when others are typically tight or he's analyzing the info he's gotten from players' body language. He's also honest when reflecting on his mistakes and misreads, and this candor makes him more appealing as a player/person.
I flew through the text, as it was highly entertaining. I recommend this for devotees/players and casual fans alike.