Gus Hansen's book

I wanted to start a thread on Gus Hansen's book "Every Hand Revealed" because I think it is a fascinating read of how he won the Aussie millions. One of my favorite things about it is that he does make some mistakes and he doesn't hesitate to admit it. Once he almost mucks the winning hand because he doesn't realize he has a flush. I like that it makes him human, everyone makes mistakes sometimes. Of course he also makes brilliant moves, he is an inspiration. Just wondering what others thought of the book if they have read it.

I bought it already few years ago, at that point I couldn't understand its worth and now it's just sitting under my screen to lift it higher. Must reread though for sure!

That's funny! I just love it because it shows how someone wins a major high stakes tourney every step of the way. I've read other strategy books but nothing like this where you feel like you are there. I'm always thinking what would I do with those cards, in that position with that stack and comparing it with what he does.

I was hoping for more comments on this I ordered it yesterday. Looking forward to reading it. I don't think I could be a aggressive as Gus but it will be an interesting read.

Hey Jordan you are going to love it. I'm half way through and it is a fascinating read. I'm picking up a lot. Like he opens with a bigger raise than standard with medium or small pairs because of the difficulty playing them after the flop. Makes sense. Of course you can't fall into to obvious a pattern with this or anything else but it makes sense. There's so many things that I think ok that makes sense. And I think when your short stacked most players go into aggressive mode, he just does it all the time I look forward to hearing your comments on what you pick up from the book.

I really liked the book, in the beggining i thought he played so many hands just to see the flop, but I don't know what strategy he was planning to use, in fact I forgot a lot of things from the beggining, cause the book becomes more interesting as its story goes on. He is surely and awesome player who plays on high stakes and make incredible moves, he should be an example for everyone who plays poker, from the begginers to the advanced players. I would recommend this book to everyone

I just started to read this! I already tried some of his moves (in a cash game, though). Didn't work at that time but I am hoping that this book teaches me aggression since I play too tight sometimes. I would like to find some relaxation into my game where I would be able to make unusual moves as well. We'll see how it goes!

Yes I think I can play too tight too sometimes. I'm learning that a large part of the game (especially in tourneys) is knowing when your opponent is a little weak and not interested in a huge pot or all in situation and taking advantage of that by putting them to the test.

I'm going to buy it and read it

Not sure if you really want to hear our comments, cause many use it like Satiivas (Luckily I had electronic version). But if you want..

The screen has been lifted from the book and I just started to re-read it. I'm through chapter one and I feel I understand the book way better than I did years ago. Trying to understand Hansen's logic behind his actions is a tremendous help to your game, even if you always do not agree with it. Much like the hand history section of this forum.

think it can be a very useful lecture! never heard about this book before but now want to read it

Read it about 9 years ago, I was a poker novice back then, it was a fun read.
Wish I still had it as I would have a much better understanding of it now.

Well, Satiivas whole book is written like you don't understand anything. Or hard to find logic. Except preface. I thought maybe it was only me but then stumbled on other opinions on other sites. And 95% it was the same. On questions "Is it good for learning?" all politely answered "better try something else".
Then I started to realize maybe he didn't want to show anything? In one interview someone asked: "Are you not afraid that all will know how you play?" he answered: "Not really." And I know why! (Well, actually he said: "Not really. Because if you can't create something new then you're not good player anymore." but I've heard only "Not really.") But I see it's good for commercial. Like: he takes you through the whole tourny.
But I'm glad if you understood anything.

to onondaga
better try something else.

Was very disappointed with the book when I read it (purchased shortly after it was published).

My thoughts on it.... I would not recommend it to anyone. I feel it is pretty much a waste of time if someone is actually looking to learn how to play tournaments. It's also really outdated. There are just soooooooo many other poker nlhe tournament books on the market that are a gazillion times better than this one. I'm sure you could get it for close to free on ebay.

I don't know about his book, but in that Aussie Millions Main Event, Jimmy Fricke couldn't even fold a King on a board with an Ace on it. In that spot, you just fold like Gus did in the QQ hand in a Ace flop, heads up especially since Gus raised pre-flop in the first hand.

Hansen good player, but I choose Harrington's book for me his thoughts.

The problem is that Gus Hansen sucks....I'm pretty sure he has secured the honor of losing more online than anyone else in the world....

http://www.cardplayer.com/poker-news/17708-gus-hansen-approaches-20-million-in-web-poker-losses

http://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=r&n=461#

If you were to read it for entertainment purposes, I guess that is okay, but if you absorb anything from his book it would be a hindrance rather than help.

Interesting links. It seems he is a better live player than online. Maybe his aggressive style just works better in a live setting? Online too many others are playing a similar way? He seems to do pretty well in Australia (where I'm from).

cheeeer said:

Well, Satiivas whole book is written like you don't understand anything. Or hard to find logic. Except preface. I thought maybe it was only me but then stumbled on other opinions on other sites. And 95% it was the same. On questions "Is it good for learning?" all politely answered "better try something else".
Then I started to realize maybe he didn't want to show anything? In one interview someone asked: "Are you not afraid that all will know how you play?" he answered: "Not really." And I know why! (Well, actually he said: "Not really. Because if you can't create something new then you're not good player anymore." but I've heard only "Not really.") But I see it's good for commercial. Like: he takes you through the whole tourny.
But I'm glad if you understood anything.

to onondaga
better try something else.

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As I said before- trying to understand his logic is helpful ALTHOUGH I don't always agree with it.

The moment you start applying logical thinking to your actions is a huge leap for your game (and life in general).

Even if your logic is flawed at first, I feel, that making a wrong decision after logical reasoning is more helpful in the long run than making a correct decision without really knowing why.

If your thought process looks something like "I decided to check-fold top pair on the river because he shouldn't have any three-barrel bluffs in his range and I'm beat by all of his value hands" you have already unlocked a new level in your game, even if that time you made an incorrect assumption.

If your decision is based on "I hate this f*****g guy so much, he's always bluffing me, I'm instantly calling all of the streets with King-high, except for the river, where I instantly min-raise his bet, that will show him!" Well, even if you're correct and King-high is good this time and you somehow win the hand, you had absolutely no idea what just happened and it doesn't improve your game whatsoever.

Coming back to the topic: Hansen always explains his thought process behind his actions. Even if it sucks, it kind of helps newer players to realize that poker is a bit more than "I have an Ace in my hand, there's an Ace on the board, that means all of my money must go in".

Call me an optimist, but I'm trying to find good in everything.

Here's some advice from Gus - remember you don't have to win every hand. It's more important to win the big ones and lose the small ones.

Amanda A said:

Here's some advice from Gus - remember you don't have to win every hand. It's more important to win the big ones and lose the small ones.

Click to expand...

I also like, not sure who by, "you don't have to win every hand, just the last one"

Ha Ha, that's even better

There are more modern authors, the game evolves very quickly. Jonathan Little is one author I would recommend.

As best I can recall Gus has not done worth a damn at the tables since the book came out & as P.O. said there are so many books out there that going to be more helpful in making you a better player.