And now, a break from our regularly scheduled strategy insights as I transform into a complete and total pimp. My sequin shirt, alligator boots, chartreuse jacket with shoulder pads, and 14 pounds of bling are on. Grab a bottle of Cristal and take a seat.

I'm proud to announce the release of my latest contribution to the pantheon of poker literature: "Phil Gordon's Little Blue Book." (pimp) It's thick. It's chock full of valuable insight. And, it's blue.

A year ago to the day, my "Little Green Book" (pimp) hit the shelves. Without question, the response from you, my readers, has been overwhelming. I can't begin to tell you how happy I am that the book helped your game. When I started to write the "Little Green Book," I really wanted to write a book that would stand the test of time. I set out to write a book that was simple, straightforward, honest, and a tribute to this great game.

And, when I finished up and sent the manuscript to my friends at Simon Spotlight Entertainment (pimp), I thought, "OK, that was the hardest thing I've ever done. Never again."

As your e-mails poured in, and reviews (both critical and laudatory) were published, the one criticism the "Little Green Book" received more than any other was this: "Great information, but not enough examples." And that, my friends, is why I took on the "Little Blue Book."

The Blue is all about hands. There are 74 hands from real-life play fully annotated in excruciating detail. In this book, I recreate the ambiance of the casino, accurately recall the stack sizes, state of mind, and attitudes of my opponents. And then, we're dealt a hand. Together.

Together, I walk you through my thoughts as I do my best to make winning decisions at the table. At times, I was successful. At others times, not so much. But win or lose, each hand taught me something important about the game. And in learning about the game, I learned about myself.

And now, without further ado, one of my favorite hands from my new "Little Blue Book" (pimp):

Rocket Man

The Situation: The middle stages of a small buy-in tournament. About 100 players remain. The average stack is about $60,000.

No-limit hold 'em tournament: Blinds $1,000/$2,000 with $100 antes

Player
Seat 1 $90,000 FOLD
Seat 2 $75,000 FOLD
Seat 3 $33,000 FOLD
Seat 4 $25,000 FOLD
Seat 5 $89,000 FOLD
Shorty $10,000 RAISE TO $8,000
Seat 7 (D) $130,000 FOLD
Phil G. (SB) $55,000 Ah-Ad
??? Seat 9 (BB) $84,000` ??

POT: $11,900
TO CALL: $7,000
POT ODDS: 1.7-1

This is my first hand at a new table, and I don't recognize a soul. Nor does anyone acknowledge me as I take my seat. Maybe they don't watch "Celebrity Poker Showdown." "Must not be Dave Foley fans," I say to myself.

I'm whipped out of my little internal monologue the moment I look at my cards … yes, my first hand at a new table, I get "Pocket Rockets," and there's action to boot. Perfect! I couldn't be more thrilled.

When the poker gods smile on me and deal me "bullets," the question isn't whether or not to play, but how to get my opponents to risk as much money as possible. I have two options at this point:

(1) Reraise and isolate: there's little doubt that the preflop raiser will call his last $10,000, as he'll be getting almost 3-to-1 on his money.

(2) Call and hope to "trap" my opponent after the flop. Doing so will give the Big Blind behind me fairly decent odds to call, but (in a perfect world) might induce him to try an isolation raise of his own.

What would you do?

The devil on my shoulder is screaming into my ear: "Just call! Try to suck in the Big Blind!" As a general rule, however, I ignore the devil unless I'm in Amsterdam. It's clear that a reraise is the better play:

• Calling gives the Big Blind pretty decent odds to follow me into the pot. I don't want the Big Blind to call. Playing pocket aces against a single opponent, I'm (likely to be) a one-man wrecking crew. Playing them against two or more opponents, and there's a much better chance of getting wrecked.
• I'm out of position. Let's say Shorty is holding 9-9 and the flop comes A-K-J … what are the odds that he puts another dime into the pot? Or what if the flop brings 9-8-7 with three spades -- do I want to put another dime into the pot? Once we see the cards, there are all kinds of scenarios that might get him to chicken out and save the last $10,000. Putting him all-in before the flop cures those problems.
• I've already got him on the hook! This is, far and away, the best argument for reraising all-in right now. He's risked nearly half his stack on this hand, and will be getting about 3-1 odds to call my all-in raise. Unless he's sure that I'm holding a bigger pocket pair than him, there's no way he can fold to my raise. I may have some tells -- at least according to Mike Matusow -- but I'm not completely transparent. No, for sure he's going to call.

I reraise to $20,000. No reason to move all-in here … if the Big Blind finds A-K or Q-Q, I definitely want him to play, and I want it to look like I'm trying to isolate Shorty.

The Big Blind folds, and Shorty calls instantly with A-K. The board fails to help him. As he rises from his seat to take the long walk of shame, he snarls over his shoulder: "Gordon, you really should look for a better job … Bravo? And tell Dave Foley to lay off the scotch."

Turns out we do have a fan after all!

KEY ANALYSIS:

Keep an eye on your opponents' stacks. When they've put more than half their chips into a pot, they're usually committed to risk the rest. Choose your actions accordingly.