[_GUN_]

Has anyone seen this DVD? I was curious if it actually revealed useful insight into Hansen's play or if it was just another beginner video, made for a quick buck.

[PFunk]

Hansen uses strategy?

heh, j/k...Never even heard he had a DVD out-


P.

[carstairs]

FWIW, here's a (pretty lousy) review from Amazon.

"Gus Hansen's Advanced Strategies DVD was a general disappointment. Much of the DVD was Gus speaking in front of the camera in generalities with few concrete examples. He'd say something like "well if I have a mediocre hand maybe I bet big or maybe I just fold, depending how I feel about the opponents hands." Well, thanks. It doesn't really help me.

I was hoping to see some solid examples. For example, you are the dealer, hold a King & Ten and 3 people called the big blind. The flop is a ten, nine, four. Everyone checks to you. What do you do? You figure your pair of tens is best right now, but it may not hold up. People are likely on the straight draw and want to see a free card. If you bet big now, you make people determine whether they want to chance chasing the straight.

While obviously a poker player may not act the same way every time in an attempt to be unpredictable and change things up, what should a advanced amateur do here MOST of the time? What should a player be thinking about when he sees his hole cards, sees other peoples bets, and sees a flop?

There are a few tips, like adding up the "points" of your starting hands. If you are early to bet, betting a little can show you where you stand. Checking doesn't help reveal anything about what your opponents may be holding. He also went over pots odds and outs, but these are beginner tactics not "advanced."

Overall, I think I learn more watching an hour of world poker tour or celebrity poker can be more helpful, when the commentators talk about what the players are doing or should have done."

[yeltzen]

People always want guys like Gus to give strategy lessons.
Here's the lesson: become a master at reading people and then playing in a way that makes them think they're beat.

There's no book or video or anything that can teach you how to do that. You either have that instinct to develop or you don't. This is why guys like Ivey and D'agostino can become world class players before they have pubes. Not because they're smarter than anyone.

Case closed.

[_GUN_]

Originally Posted by yeltzen

People always want guys like Gus to give strategy lessons.
Here's the lesson: become a master at reading people and then playing in a way that makes them think they're beat.

There's no book or video or anything that can teach you how to do that. You either have that instinct to develop or you don't.
Case closed.

Yeltzen, your assessment is 100%. I understand that Michael Jordan can't make anyone else Michael Jordan and Hansen can't make anyone else Hansen. I was more interested in Hansen's image of himself--personal relfection more than a how-to guide. I was mostly curious if it was revealing in that sense. I like hearing people evaluate themselves, it gives new perspective on the individual.

[yeltzen]

Originally Posted by _GUN_

Yeltzen, your assessment is 100%. I understand that Michael Jordan can't make anyone else Michael Jordan and Hansen can't make anyone else Hansen. I was more interested in Hansen's image of himself--personal relfection more than a how-to guide. I was mostly curious if it was revealing in that sense. I like hearing people evaluate themselves, it gives new perspective on the individual.

From what I've seen, Gus is pretty low key when he talks about himself. Like, even he doesn't really know how exactly he does what he does. They had him on the FullTilt show and he really seemed to just BS a lot. Phil Ivey is the same way... he just never reveals a lot about how he plays. I think these guys have no interest in talking about it, which is probably a good idea.

[PFunk]

As corny as this may sound, I think these guys (Hansen and Ivey for example) have a certain innate ablility which is just undescribable and cannot be put into words period...They are just naturally born with an ability and feel for the game-


P.