I bought this book because I am researching the analytics of hold'em poker. In it, top professional poker player Gus Hansen reviews each hand he played in the 2007 Aussie Millions tournament, which he won. For each hand, he summarizes the situation -- his hand, stack size, position, blinds, and ante and then describes his thought process for making his decision. He is not afraid to point out when he made a bad play. For some hands, it is a simple review, such as "I just felt that I had him beat so I raised and he folded." However, there are many hands that are illuminating, where Hansen summarizes the mathematics, psychology, opponent characteristics, pattern matching, etc. that a top player uses to make good decisions. Because Hansen is an aggressive player, the reader will gain insight into when and how aggressive play can work for him. Hansen also includes a summary chapter that contains interesting statistics on his play, such as the number of times and the hand holdings when he was all-in, and the frequency distribution of the hands he was dealt. I believe that anyone interested in improving his play in tournament poker will benefit by reading this book.Read full review
This book completely dispels the (T.V.-generated) fiction that Gus H. plays like a "maniac" Gus dissects his results from the 2007 "Aussie Millions" a major tournament that he won - 329 hands that he played over 5 days. The book finishes with some stats on how he played; e.g. he was All-In and at risk precisely 4 times. It is a quick and easy read. Very suitable for a day at the beach. It could prove helpful to a tourney player - but it is not like reading Dan Harrington !
GREAT STUFF. Learn by reading Gus Hansen's mind, both from his smart moves as well as from his mistakes.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Gus’ book was the first chance to jump into the mind of a “crazy” player. He passes on a lot of knowledge and shows good spots to bluff in.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
The book gets a little repetitive and boring sometimes. I do love that the person reading it can feel as if they are playing the game. That is, the reader learns to play poker by metacognition, by seeing how Hanson thinks mentally and gain insight about how/why he makes his choices. I bought it because love Texas Hold'em and previously went to Vegas and won 1st place at a tournament (which was probably due to luck b/c I'm just a beginner).
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