Gus Hansen’s effect on the world of 21st Century tournament poker is hard to exaggerate. “The Great Dane’s” success in the WPT is almost unrivalled, with a record four titles and seven final tables in the four years the WPT has been running. But it is Gus’ style of play as much as his success that has made him such a superstar.
Background
Gus Hansen was born in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1973. Like so many other poker players Gus grew up with a keen interest in sports and no little talent either. As a teenager Gus was a champion tennis player, a skilled racquet sports all rounder and a keen footballer.
But ever the competitor Gus wasn’t satisfied with merely physical challenges and sought out the intellectual thrill of chess and backgammon, quickly becoming a formidable force in the latter.
When Gus travelled to America in 1993 he was on the look out for more experiences and more challenges, by which you might read “more backgammon opponents.” With a grasp of English gained almost entirely from listening to Pink Floyd albums Gus found the cash backgammon games in America much more to his liking. But backgammon is a limited game for a gambler – when a player has established a reputation it becomes hard to find games; it wasn’t long before Gus was looking elsewhere to earn his money.
Settling in California Gus became a regular face in the cardrooms of Santa Cruz and began to play poker, learning quickly and adding his own now famous touch to the game. Indeed Gus stamped his identity on the game so forcefully that his name even became used to describe a hand – and that hand is ‘junk’! His propensity to win with apparently the most useless cards led to players winning hands with junk pocket cards saying “I have a Gus Hansen” before turning over hands like 7-4os.
WPT
Gus won the first ever WPT event, The Five Diamond Classic, a $10,000 buy-in tournament at the Bellagio, earning over $500,000. Not so much the victory but the manner of his victory caused a sensation in the poker world.
Playing any two cards with thoughtful aggression Gus’s post flop play was sensational; he stole countless pots with rags by making well timed bets, got away from dangerous situations by making great reads, and often got paid off with his monster hands because he was known to be playing so much junk.
The others found it hard to live with him, so much so that Freddy Deeb, who finished in third place, remarked peevishly that: “He played very bad, I would like to play this game with him every day for the rest of my life.”
Perhaps Deeb has since reconsidered that comment. Gus went on to win the WPT player of the Year for season one, and in the three years since his first WPT win he has gone on to win another three WPT events along with a number of other titles, including the Poker Superstars Invitational with a first prize of over $500,000. Along with his wins Gus has plenty of final table finishes and cashes to back up his credentials. He is currently listed on the WPT website as the number one player in the WPT – try that on for ‘lucky’.
Cash Games
Gus has recently been reported as a visitor to ‘The Big Game’ in Vegas where Doyle Brunson, Chip Reese, Barry Greenstein and co practice their trade. Hansen has reportedly lost large sums of money at the game, although he says the reports are exaggerated. Nonetheless, Barry Greenstein says Gus is the only player he has ever seen lose over $1 million and then win over $1 million in one session at The Big Game!
Outside of Poker
Besides sports Gus has one major interest outside of poker, which appears to be women. Luckily for him he seems to be of great interest to them as well, and Gus was bestowed with the great honour of being listed as one of People Magazine’s ‘Sexiest Men’ in 2004, winning the “Sexiest Poker Player” category at a canter!
Despite this accolade Gus has kept his feet in touching distance of the ground, and is an immensely popular figure on the tour, with both players and fans alike.