Poker Book Review: 'Every Hand Revealed' By Gus Hansen

Gus Hansen, aka ‘The Great Dane’ is a true poker legend having amassed over $7 million in tournament wins alone including a record three titles at World Poker Tour open tournaments.
Gus Hansen’s latest book could become a real classic for poker tournament enthusiasts as he talks us through 329 hands he played on his way to take down the 2007 Aussie Millions poker tournament for $1.2 million. He even devotes additional analysis to 21 hands he highlights as being pivotal hands in helping him win the tournament.
The book may be unique in the amount of details devoted to each hand, but this is unsurprising considering Hansen walked away from the table to relay his thoughts into a hand held recorder between each hand.  ‘Every Hand Revealed’ is divided into 8 chapter; one chapter for each of the first three days of the tournament, 4 chapters for the final day, and a last chapter which provides a statistical analysis and strategy advise recap.
Despite being quite heavily weighted in hand histories one thing that is clear is Hansen was dealt more than his fair share of poor starting cards throughout the tournament and was able to progress forward by stealing antes and blinds. Hansen is particularly noticed in the community as a loose aggressive player (LAG) and in his book the reader is privy to some of Hansen’s bluffing techniques, such as confidently raising with unplayable hands out of position.
Gus also emphasises the importance of paying close attention to blind/ante structures and table dynamics when deciding certain moves and that the key was reading different scenarios at different stages rather than a one move fits all approach.
Hansen’s book has an effortless, conversational style about it and clearly explains the reasoning behind some of his seemingly crazy plays, providing the reader with a real insight into the mind of one of the loosest, aggressive and best poker players to ever have played the game..