Title: “Every Hand Revealed”
Author: Gus Hansen
Facts: “Every Hand Revealed” has 370 pages, available in 3 formats and editions on Amazon.com, with the paperback version at $12.58.
About The Author
There are not many people on the professional poker circuit that are as appreciated and as analyzed as Gus Hansen. Everything started when “The Great Dane” appeared on the World Poker Tour Season 1 Episode 1 and won the 2002 Five Diamond World Poker Classic. Many believe that he played badly but as time moved on, everyone started to realize that there is much more to Gus Hansen than bad play. Many were left wondering what he was thinking. This is exactly what “Every Hand Revealed” is about, Hansen’s thoughts. If you want to learn more about Gus Hansen, click here.
Review
As already mentioned, “Every Hand Revealed” puts you right in the mind of Gus Hansen. While many poker books give examples, in this one written by The Great Dane, we find a minutely chronicle of the 2007 Aussie Millions win, one that practically put the player on the map, becoming known and anticipated by every single person interested in poker. Every hand played is chronicled, thus making for an interesting account of one of the really exciting poker tournament wins in history.
The Aussie Millions triumph does not cover absolutely all the hands since those that were folded without preflop action were not covered as they were useless. This leaves us with 329 hands, which is quite enough for most tournament poker players. Many of the details were actually preserved as Gus recorded himself after them with a portable tape recorder.
Out of all the hands presented, Hansen chooses 21 that are seen as “Crucial Hands”. He sees them as vital in the success he managed to achieve. At the end of the book you will also find a data collection that highlights his play style, in a chapter with a catchy title: “Stats and Tips for all My Fellow Poker Nerds.”
What Can We Learn?
When looking at a book that documents all the hands a player played in a tournament, we might ask ourselves this very question. We can say that the one thing we clearly understand is the importance of ante/blind structures, together with the difference in strategy for full table game and short-handed game. The reader also understands how important it is to know pot odds and to be aware of the stack sizes. You will often find yourself seeing Gus taking advantage of the timid play of some of the players.
A Book For Beginners?
The truth is that if you are a beginner and you do not have much MTT experience, you will find this book as contradicting most of what you learned in the past. However, if you are experienced, you will find so much interesting information. This is a poker book that manages to catch your attention as it is filled with humor and sarcasm, combined with unexpected wit.
Beginners will see that many of the hands discussed showcases errors that were made. However, most of the really good, strategic decisions that Hansen made tipped the balance towards his stellar Aussie Millions victory, which including coming back from a 3 to 1 deficit 2 times during heads-up play against Jimmy Fricke.
Conclusions
“Every Hand Revealed” is a very interesting book to read for a medium to advanced level poker player. You will love the way in which the hands are presented and getting right into the mind of Gus Hansen is something that everyone can learn much from. While it is obvious that you need to re-read the book several times, you have to go through it if you are serious about poker and want to see exactly how a world class poker player with a unique playing style thinks. It can give you the edge you have been looking for. However, the book will not help you when your main focus is put on online MTTs. The extra information you gain from “Every Hand Revealed” is really valuable in live poker tournaments.