Every Hand Revealed

I really enjoyed reading this book by Gus Hansen. He is a very interesting player with a very interesting style, and I liked reading how he approaches a tournament and how he thinks through a hand. The book literally lists each hand that Gus played in the Aussie Millions, and it was nice to see how many hands are won preflop or after the flop in order to get a realistic picture of how tournament poker works. The greatest benefit of the book is that it introduces and emphasizes the feel aspect of tournament poker, instead of pure numbers and hypothetical situations that make up alot of the hold 'em tournament books out there.I was amazed at how many hands Gus was involved in where he didn't make any kind of legitimate poker hand, and how many of those he won. A large percentage of the hands he plays end up with no pair, no draw after the flop but due to pure aggression and relentless pressure Gus wins a good number of those. I think these types of situations present the most important lesson of the book: that in tournament poker the most important thing is chip accumulation, whether or not you actually make a hand. If you sit around waiting for big hands preflop or the nuts after the flop your chip stack will dwindle and you won't have any ammunition later in the tournament when the blinds are high. Gus does a great job of showing how to win pots with no hand and how to keep your chip stack growing regardless of the cards you're dealt, because statistically you simply won't get dealt great hands that often.Alot of the hands in the book are won preflop, with Gus raising and everyone else getting out of his way. While I liked seeing how often this happened and how important it is to pick up pots preflop in good position, it was a liiiiittle boring to read, and therefore my reason for the 4 star review (well, that and the excessive use of exclamation points). But Gus' writing style is very casual and very easy to read and he is very honest about his play and often second guesses himself and the decisions he made in this tournament, which was refreshing to see.I've already read all the Harrington books, and while they're fantastic for learning advanced tournament strategy, I found myself playing too tight and boring afterwards. This book helped me realize the aggressive side of poker, and that sometimes the cards in your hand don't matter at all and you have to attack pots frequently to keep growing your stack and stay in the hunt in a tournament. If you sit around waiting for AK all day, you're simply not gonna have enough chips to last 'til the final table. This book really gave me the courage to play the right way and instead of being scared to put chips in the pot, now I actually look forward to betting and being involved in more hands. I think a combination of Harrington's fundamentals and Gus' aggression will lead to an excellent and winning tournament style. It sounds cheesy, but after reading this book I felt inspired to play and went to a local bar tournament and won the whole thing. Not a huge deal, but it was nice to see such a quick turnaround in my game. Gus' strategies and fearless syle had alot to do with it. Overall great book and highly recommended.

Gus Hansen plays an entertaining style of poker that most would call "hyper-aggressive". He dictated contemporaneous notes regarding his play during the Aussie Millions Texas Hold `Em Tournament, which he won, and those notes provide the basis for this book. The book lets us inside his head as he considers each hand he played, making sense of otherwise confusing or contradictory decisions. Why fold an Ace-nine on one hand but re-raise with a 10-2 off-suit on the next? A reader sees that position play, perceived "tightness" or "weakness" by opponents, table image, and at times even excessive curiosity explain much of Hansen's play. There are also extended discussions of post-flop play on some critical hands, where a reader gets a detailed look at how a world-class player analyses a hand. Hansen dissects likely opponent holdings, prior opponent behavior, pot odds, and his own overall tournament strategy. It's both informative and entertainingly written. This approach to poker has been very effective for Hansen and some other hyper-aggressive players in the world of professional poker. It should be understood as much more of a window into the mind of a top player, and not a "how to" manual. If anything, it should probably have a label reminding readers "Warning, you are not Gus Hansen"The book is not really billed as a "how to play hyper-aggressive poker". It may not be possible to really teach Hansen's style any more than you can teach a person how to run the 100 yard dash. There are techniques one can learn, but there is also some innate, unteachable genius that separates the world-class from rest. That said, it wasn't until reading the book that I realized that this is just a discussion of the hands Hansen played, 329 out of the 850 dealt. We get to see his reasoning for playing some of his medium-to-poor hands, but we don't get to see his reasoning on the times he mucked the exact same holdings. All we know is that some of the time, a pair of fives is worth a re-raise, other times, an instant fold. This omission of over half of his critical decisions diminished the information value of the book, although it probably did improve the readability.If that objection seems minor, and you are otherwise a fan of the game, then you will probably enjoy the book overall (I did). If nothing else, it is fun to see a practitioner of a craft at the top of his game. And, my earlier warning label notwithstanding, maybe you will want to try this approach after all. It certainly makes for a lively game. To quote Hansen as he closes his book: "The game is called Poker, not `waiting for the nuts'. In order to accumulate chips and make something happen, you need to do exactly that: Play Poker!"3.5 stars, rounded up 'cause it's a fun read.

Gus Hansen wrote Every Hand after winning the Aussie Millions World Poker Tour in 2007. People have questioned the veracity of his claims- whether he actually did keep such detailed accounts of all is hands during such a big tournament. But having witnessed some of the action which was broadcast, Gus is seen making notes literally after every hand he is involved in (and then some!).This is therefore an interesting read if one wants to 'see' literally inside the mind of Gus whilst playing in a big tournament which he ultimately wins.Nonetheless this is not a book I'd recommend if one wishes to get into poker strategy which will improve your tournament play.It is widely accepted that while Gus is an absolutely fascinating individual, he is ultimately a 'losing player' at the higher stakes. A reasonably decent read for the poker fanatic but not one which will improve your game.

First and foremost I have to say that this review is for the Kindle version of this book. With that out of the way I can now that this book is a must read for any No Limit Poker player.The book provides insight into every hand that Gus played in the 2007 Aussie Millions tournament (Hands folded before any money went in the pot are not included).The information supplied for each hand is well written and even funny on some occasions, Gus provides great detail on who he is playing why he played the hand as he did and if he believes that he played the hand well or not. It is a seriously fascinating look at a player who has a reputation for being extremely loose and fool hardy when in reality he thinks "nearly" (one hand stands out where he forgot the suit of his hole cards) every hand through in meticulous detail.I have gave this book 5 stars because I found it to be an awesome read and a very interesting insight to a single player in a massive high stakes multi-table tournament... However the kindle version of this book doesn't always display the tables or diagrams in a very readable manor and I would seriously recommend that any potential purchasers buy a hard copy of this book and not the kindle version.I have since purchased the hard copy of this book as well and the kindle version and the book is far superior!In SummaryRating for the book - 5 stars (and I would give it more if I could).Rating for the Kindle version of the book - 3 stars (at best due to display issues)

Gus Hansen is not the best poker player in the world ( although he seams to play in the biggest games). He is very aggressive, and its not mindless aggression, he is defiantly a thinking player. In this book he lays out his thinking concisely and the narrative is nothing short of brilliant. Honestly a really great read and i think all poker tournament players will take something from this book. Ive read it twice and i will defiantly be reading it again. In fact after every big tourney win Gus should write another book.I just think hes game suits large fields of inexperienced players and he should stay away from super high rollers and massive cash games. If I was as good as Gus i wouldn't be seeking out the few players in the world better then me lol

This book does just what it says on the cover. Gus Hansen runs us through every hand he played during his victory at the Aussie Millions tournament giving a running commentary on what his rationale and state of mind throughout. He writes in a simple style, but the book has a good flow to it and makes very easy reading.I like that he is brutally honest, where he has made a poor play he explains what led him to make a poor decision and what he thinks he should have done. In terms of his actual play you realise why the guy is so good. He has a clear strategy from the start and he sticks to it. It's mostly just based on calculating pot odds and using simple game theory to anticipate what others will do. And yes this equates to a super aggressive style of play. But what makes this effective is that he is seemingly one step ahead of his opponents at all times.My only slight criticism were the number of typos in the book. There were a lot, but since it was so good other than that I will let it go.

A warning first this is not a book for beginners it assumes that you know all the basics about poker. However if you are an intermediate or advanced poker player you will get enjoyment from this book.Gus plays a very loose pre flop style but then makes good decisions and reads post flop. The book takes you through every hand in the tournament which he eventually wins. Gus obviously has a lot of skill however there are points in the book which teach you that even if you are the best poker player in the world you still need moments of luck to win a large tournament, and large prize, as Gus does here.All in all a very interesting poker book and a must read for anyone interested in the sport.