Gus Hansen
Gustav “Gus” Hansen was born on February 13th, 1974 near Copenhagen, Denmark. Early in his life, Hansen was a sports enthusiast; a prodigy on the tennis court. Gus was interested in cards, and eventually became a professional Backgammon player, touring with guys such as now poker pro’s Phil Laak and Huckleberry Seed. Seed and Laak introduced him to various types of poker. Slowly, backgammom took the backseat and poker became the fore front of his career.
In 1996, Hansen decided to enter his first World Series of Poker; although, Hansen admits,
“...looking back, I had absolutely no chance of winning, as I had never really played No-Limit Hold 'em before then.”
[Hansen Profile, http://www.gushansenpoker.com/gus-hansen-about.php]
Hansen continually went to the casinos and work on his game. Apparently, Hansen mastered the game quickly. In the first year of the World Poker Tour, Hansen won the inaugural event and the L.A. poker classic for over a combined million dollars! Hansen became so successful on the WPT, four tournament wins, that he was the first player inducted into their “Walk of Fame.” On January 19th, 2007, Hansen won the Aussie Millions Main Event for over one million more dollars. Hansen was on the winning end of the largest pot in the history of High Stakes Poker on Game Show Network, where Hansen’s quads beat Daniel Negreneau full house. Gus is now one of the most recognized poker players in the world.
However, looking at his near five million dollars in live tournament winnings doesn’t do justice. Hansen may be one of the best hand readers in the entire world. Just look at a hand versus Antonio Esfandiari for proof.
2004; a WPT special, “The bad boys of poker” is airing. “Bad Boy” Gus Hansen is in the chip lead, followed by Antonio Esfandiari, another pro with nearly the same amount of chips. Only four people are left in the tournament.
Esfandiari put Hansen all in preflop after Hansen reraised him. It appears that Esfandiari has a great hand, but Hansen thinks otherwise. With a smile on his face, Hansen tells Esfandiari
“Well I have ten high there is no way I’m folding... I call.” As he flips over ten eight suited.
Calling an all in with ten high to the average poker player is crazy, but for Hansen it’s not crazy, just crazy good. Hansen was right, Esfandiari flips over pocket sevens. Hansen wins the coinflip, and essentially the tournament, showing that he may be the best, sickest, and the craziest poker player in the world.
This hand shows why Hansen refers to himself not as a professional poker player, but a “professional gambler.” Hansen is known for making private bets on everything, mostly sporting events, but especially on tennis matches with fellow poker pro Patrik Antonious.
“We probably put, you know, 100,000 (dollars) on each match. You know not that much money, just a little bit, just to motivate us to go out and practice.” Antonious said with no hint of sarcasm.
[ Antonious Interview http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70wjOjvuRH0]
To some, Gus may seem crazy, but well respected poker Barry Greenstein begs to differ.
“Gus is often mischaracterized as a hyper-aggressive player when he is actually an active or loose player. He plays a lot of pots and his success is a combination of this volatile style and good decision making after the flop.”
[ Barry Greenstein comments http://www.barrygreenstein.com/ghansen.htm]
Gus continues to roll in the winnings. Recently, he was on the winning end of the largest pot in the history of High Stakes Poker on Game Show Network, over a half million dollars, where Hansen’s quads beat Daniel Negreaneu full house. You can watch Hansen yourself on the high stakes Pot Limit Omaha tables on Full Tilt poker.
Common Misspellings: Gus Hanson, Gaus Hansen, Gus Hansan, Guss Hansen, Gus Handson
Learn more about Gus Hansen at Full Tilt Poker.
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