Every Hand Revealed
by Gus Hansen
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Book Reviews of Every Hand Revealed
Book Review: Interesting, but perhaps more dangerous than useful.
Summary: 4 Stars
I'm not sure whether this book was a good idea or not. If you read the numerous poker strategy books out there, you get the sense that there is a perfect way to play every hand. Sklansky, for example, literally pioneered a poker theory that used math to identify the odds that correctly deterine each play. It's enough to make you feel downright disgraceful when you sit down at the table, get dealt ace-rags, and decide that against your better judgment, it's the right move to re-raise UTG pre-flop.
Well, if there's just one thing you learn from this book, it's that you aren't the only person who plays a hand incorrectly just because you had a feeling. And these people are some of the best in the world.
There's a reason poker theory is called theory, it's because it's theoretical. All the math looks so neat and authoritative written out in formula on the page. But sitting at a table, it gets messier, and this is where this book is useful. Gus Hansen lays out how he plays every hand from beginning to final table, and you get to see how, even with his brilliant knowledge of the game, he still takes long-shot chances based on feel, rather than theory.
It's useful to learn that great players make flawed decisions, but I do wonder whether it's a good idea to show the sausage making. We can't all make brilliant reads like Hellmuth, and it's a little dangerous to get into the habit of thinking that you can still win major tournaments by making less than ideal plays.
Nonetheless, the insight from this book make it a must read. Just remember, when learning poker from pros, it's usually do what they say, not what they do.
Book Review: Great Insight into the Mind of A Master
Summary: 5 Stars
Watching pros play poker is often confusing. Some of their decisions seem strange, counterintuitive, and just plain wrong. This is especially true of Gus Hanson, who frequently makes plays that would seem clinically insane if it he didn't consistently wins huge amounts of money. Watching him go all in with nothing in his hand and no draws leaves the viewer wondering "What was he thinking?"
He answers that question in "Every Hand Revealed." He gives a play by play analysis of what he did, and why he did it, for every hand he played in the Aussie Millions tournament, where he finished first and won a million and a half dollars.
He's not embarrassed to discuss his mistakes in detail, or to admit that he did something because he just felt like it. He talks about when he was really thinking about his next move, and where he had already decided and was just putting on a show. He details the calculations he uses to make his decisions and talks about when to avoid coin flip hands and when they're worth the risk. He shows how he increases his chip stack with rotten cards, especially when the antis come into play, and how he uses his stack size to push other players around.
Will it make you a better tournament poker player? Maybe. It's not going to make you the next Gus Hanson, but it will show you how to use aggression creativity, the importance of stack size (both yours and your opponents) when making decisions, when to be aggressive and when to back off, and how unimportant the right cards can be in some situations. But even if it doesn't dramatically improve your play, it's a great read for moderate to advanced players.
Book Review: Welcome to Gus Hanson's Mind
Summary: 5 Stars
You'll learn from this one. Reading it is as close as we'll ever get to actually tapping into one of the great minds of the game. As Gus himself says in the final sentence of the Preface: "Welcome to my mind ...."
If you watched the 2007 Aussie Millions Tournament on TV you may remember that Gus Hanson stepped away from the table after practically every hand to speak into a digital recorder. Now we know what he was doing - he was recording his thought process for each hand. His thoughts have since been transcribed and this book is the result.
When I saw what Gus was doing I felt vindicated. I began playing online tournaments a few months ago and quickly found that one of the most valuable things I could do was to think carefully through each situation and to record my thoughts. After the tournament was over I'd review my actions in light of my recorded thoughts. It has proved to be an invaluable tool in improving my game. Now we have the benefit of Gus Hanson's thoughts along with the outcome of each hand.
In the non-stop Internet Age where the objective sometimes seems to be maximizing the number of hands played we've seen poker become somewhat of a lottery. However, it is thought and analysis - deep analysis - that leads to insight and expertise. And playing hands at breakneck speed is the very antithesis of thought and analysis. Gus has done us all a huge favor by sharing his hand-by-hand analysis of the 2007 Aussie Millions Tournament. This book reveals the thought processes of one of todays outstanding poker professionals and careful, thoughtful reading of this transcript can only improve your game.
Book Review: Must Read
Summary: 5 Stars
I just got back from an AC trip w/ my buddies over the long weekend. I played 3 tournaments and won 2 of them for a profit of almost $7,000/-
While trying to figure out which poker book to attribute my sucess to from the few I have been reading over the last few months, two books come to mind - 1. Harrington on Hold em Excercise book - shows you lots of examples and what decisions to make on every street. His analysis of gets you thinking about the optimal play. But perhaps even more influential was 2. Gus Hansen's Every Hand Revealed....When I first put this down, I went WOW! Is there really so much stealing going on in tournaments. But really it is not stealing as much as the right play in certain situations given your position, etc. I became so much more aware of how my chip stack compared w/ the table, with the current and future blind levels, etc. Gus takes it one day at a time in sections, and within each day, he takes it one level at a time. You really need a good strategy for tournaments....I was thinking about so much more over breaks than using the restrooms, or getting something to eat or drink...I was planning on how I want to play till the next break, how I would play each level. How many rounds of antes, and blinds did I have, what about everybody else? How agrresively should I play - in one tournament I was the chip leader in the late levels. In the second I was the short stack at the final table, hung around till there were 4 players and came back to win it. I think this book probably helped me the most. Gus is fantastic!!!!I wish he would right a book on cash games. I really need his help there.
Book Review: Read through 3 times, on 4th read now
Summary: 5 Stars
I can't praise this book highly enough. It is a spectacular description of Hansen's playing style and a great descripton of tournament strategy and and the mathematics involved in poker. The depth of the descriptions isn't overly detailed, and the analysis isn't comprehensive. I'd say it's just about perfect for someone who has watched some poker on TV, played a little, and has a grasp of the basic vocabulary.
Even so, if you're already an expert you may like this as an interesting window into the mind of what is unarguably one of the most well known poker players alive today. If you know a little and are just above a rank beginner like me, you'll be fascinated to watch someone apply poker concepts in an easy to understand conversational style. Hansen really reviews why he does what he does, and even berates himself occasionally when he thinks he screws up.
Will this book revolutionize poker? No, but it is "I can't put it down" material if you're a poker nut like me.
It would make a great counterpart to reading
1) Harrington on Hold 'em Expert Strategy for No Limit Tournaments, Vol. 1: Strategic Play
-- and either --
2) Caro's Book of Poker Tells or Phil Hellmuth Presents Read 'Em and Reap: A Career FBI Agent's Guide to Decoding Poker Tells.
A great book.