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There is some very useful information in it if you can take the time and have the patience to assimilate it. A pretty boring book. I set it down a few weeks ago after reading half way through and haven't picked it up again. I will finish it, but I have to wait for the right mindset. I like Gus Hansen and I would like to find out what it is that makes him so good.
This is the first book that I've read that not only talks about techniques such as slow play, aggressive play etc but shows you in a REAL situation how it was used. Then I read Gus's book and my level of play went through the roof. And I just learned to play the last 6 months. The first one is by Ken Warren "Texas Holdem" which goes into a Conservative Basic Strategy to Intermediate, and Daniel Negreanu's "Hold'em Wisdom for all Players" which goes into Medium type strategy. This book is on how he won a tournament hand by hand, and goes through his thinking process before calling, folding, raising, re-raising etc. This book teaches you how to play AGRESSIVE to BALLS OUT strategy, but most importantly how and when to play them. There are two books I recommend to read prior to this one. Now I am so confident and knowledgeable about my game that I expect to make every final table.
There is a time and a place and this will teach you when. Before reading the first two books I went from lasting 30-60 minutes in a tournament to lasting 2-3 hours. This is not your typical book so don't expect an A-Z explanation. Enjoy and have fun.
Just make sure that you have Step 3 in the tool box or you're never going to win unless EVERYTHING goes your way in a tournament. Get the blinds. It can happen, but don't hold your breath. I think people TALK about shifting gears, but don't do it enough.
Maybe you get a lot of chips somewhere and win a tournament.Step 2: Dan Harrington - Survive, but if all conditions are right, play a hand like J-T suited or 9-8 suited if you have three callers, tight players in the blinds, and then proceed from there.Step 3: Gus Hansen - Survival sucks. Cloutier/McEvoy - Survive, survive, survive. GO FOR IT.For years I was in Step 1 mode: Play your coin flips with 99 vs. Raise with a K-T suited in middle position 3 x the BB and see what happens.
You have to get in there with a Q-J suited in late position for some of your chips. Know BEP. AK and pray they hold up. Double up a few times, don't play the "chip burners" like J-T suited or K-Q suited. Here's the sequence of the books I've read about NLHE Tournaments:Step 1: T.J.
If you get raised and can make the call and get a great flop then go for it. Yeah, it sounds crazy to "go for it" but you know what I've discovered.Sitting around getting blinded to death watching people get chips and win millions of dollars while I hope my caveman coin-flip strategy holds up doesn't work. You don't get the AA or KK often enough, and if you do get those hands do you really accumulate enough chips to win the tournament. No.I liked Gus Hansen's book. Basically, you're always in Step 1/Survivor mode unless all the stars and planets align at the poker table and we know that doesn't happen very often.Step 3. Accumulate chips. I know I don't.
Waaaaaaaaay too tight to consistently win let alone confuse my opponents with my play.Now, Step 2 was nice, but how often do you really get 3 or 4 callers in front of you AND tight players in the blinds. Go for it. But I've gone further in tournaments and actually been the chip leader or in the top 10 more often during the tournament since I read this book and used his advice.You can still incorporate the wisdom from Step 1 and Step 2. Get this book if you want to win NLHE tournaments.
Interesting read. great to test your hand and strategic analysis against one of the great no limit players of our time.
May be he didn't want to tell the world about other players tells but this is a book after all for prosperity, and who knows it would help the other players to know they have those tells. My opinion of Gus Hansen'sEvery Hand RevealedFirst of all let me say it took me seven to eight hours to read that should tell you it is a page-turner, I liked it very much. Like in hand 306 the phrase sensing his opponent's feelings, what clues were given or was it just projecting, or wishful thinking on his part.I would have liked to have had this book written just as it was but with the TV results given showing the actual results, and if his thinking was correct. What I would like to have read; is more of what Gus meant by terms like "it seem to me that " this and that what tells did he see what patterns were there for his feelings, what does he look at there eyes, there chip handling etc. There was one mention of how fast the chips went into the pot if he thought there was bluffing going on, from this book it seems that numbers is his main concern. If possible the tape or CD could have been sold along with the book, after reading this book I would be willing to pay a little more for the next one.One more observation the picture holding the wining hand AA, made Gus look like Nusferatu not a good look.
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