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So I like that an author finally has approached the play with what was actually going through his head at the time. For the price you can't go wrong with this book. As pointed out it really isn't the in depth analysis of books by say Harrington and Slanksky but for the price it is well worth the easy read. It's refreshing.I gave it five stars because I like Gus Hansen. I really like this approach too. Often sitting at a table I can't go through all the mathematically correct ways to play a hand in my head nor do I have access to a million charts.
If you learned the tight aggressive style from the conventional poker literature, read this and add another gear to your engine. It's packaged in soft paperback, at a bargain price. My pattern for learning and reading about poker goes something like this: read a book by Sklanksky, Harrington, Chen, et al.play, LOSE, keep playing, something eventually clicks.WIN. The innovative form, witty narration, and thoughtful hand analysis make this a thoroughly enjoyable read. I couldn't put it down. Immediately during and after reading Gus' book, something in my playing just clicked, and I started WINNING right away. The loose aggressive style is described theoretically in other books, but it's handled expertly in this one.
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. 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. I recommend this for devotees/players and casual fans alike. 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. 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.
He shows how and explains why he played it that way, why he went aggressive at some points and laid back at others. Instead of pages full of mathematical views on what is the right thing to do, this book takes you into every hand Gus played at the tournament. You will read through it in a heart beat. Gus' book is a simple and no-nonsense approach. It is not a learning-book, but just a great view into the mind of one of poker's best.
There are lots of bad cards that he played with (5-3 offsuite, for example), and he gives good reasoning for those plays, but he never talks about similar hands that he might have folded and reasons for those folds.One more thing that I felt required more explanation was the reason behind selecting the amount of raise or re-raise. He also explains the mistakes that he made and what could have been the more appropriate course of action. Also, Gus Hansen has jotted down all the hands that he played. First and foremost, this book is not the correct one if you are looking to know the basics of math involved in poker.
Every Hand Revealed is a different book as compared to other poker books. He mentions his raise amount, but does not delve into details of what made him decide that particular amount.All in all, a very instructive and entertaining book that I would certainly recommend. But he does not mention what type of hands he folded pre-flop. Gus Hansen has brought in this book a lot of practical play, rather than mudane theory and mathematics.
This book assumes you know the mathematical basics. But be ready to have some unknowns at the end of the read. This book, as the title suggests, is about all the hands he played in a tournament-winning performance.He explains in a very lucid way the logic behind all his decisions at the poker table. The book is entertaining and easy to read, and helps us know how top players play poker.However, this book does not answer all questions that we might have about his tournament play.
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