One of the most interesting, luckiest, “craziest”, not few times seen as a sort of divinity in poker, ladies and gentlemen, the “Madman” or Great Dane, Gus Hansen!
Born on February 13th 1974 in a small town near Copenhagen, Gus Hansen is one of the most famous and most formidable professional poker players, his appearances broadcasted on TV always taking the adrenalin to peak levels. TV presenters love his courageous bluffs, the way he affords to raise even when he doesn’t have anything in his hand, but Hansen says that the problem with television is that it only displays the interesting hands and even though it always seems that he is playing a 2-4 suite, it’s not always like that. The Dane says he doesn’t play cards, but rather he is playing his opponents, and he is famous for having a keen knowledge of the game psychology which he uses all the time to his advantage.
THE BEGINNING
Hansen’s first steps in poker happened in 1993 when he moved to the California, USA, where he attended Santa Cruz University. He started with a local casino, watched other players’ game styles and forged his own unique, unconventional style. In 1995 he returned to Denmark for nine months to fulfill his military service and then returned to the USA. He also returned to poker, next to two more professionals to be, Phil Laak and Huckleberry Seed. His practical experience boosted his courage into playing at the first World Series of Poker, in 1996, in a Hold’em game, a game in which he had no experience and which, he now admits looking back, he stood no chance of winning.
A PRIZE WITH EACH YEAR
Years of preparation followed, and when the World Poker Tour made itsdebut, in 2002, Hansen was once again ready for the great challenge. And his success did not fail to appear, the Dane winning his first World Poker Tour title and more than $500,000. The following year would bring the second WPT title and another prize of more than $500,000. Also in 2003 he won the Bad Boys of Poker event held in Las Vegas and then the third place at the WPT Championship. Year 2004 brought along the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure title and $500,000 and year 2005 the Poker Superstars Invitational, the inaugural edition, and a prize of $1 million. In 2007, Hansen won 1.5 million dollars by taking the main event of Aussie Millions. Year 2010 was yet another good year for the Dane, judging by his two major accomplishments: in September – the much desired golden bracelet of the World Series of Poker and in December the title of the prestigious tour 2010 Full Tilt Poker Million IX, along with a prize of $1 million.
DRAWN TO VEGAS
Apart from his activity in tours, Hansen is a regular client of Big Game at Bellagio, where he often sits at the same table with famous names of poker. His live games triggered many of the gossips according to which the Great Dane was broke, after serious losing suffered in Vegas. Hansen says that it’s no secret that he lost big amounts, but that he is far from broke. In fact, his total winnings from tours add up to more than $8 million. Hansen is one of the founders of the poker website Pokerchamps.com, launched in 2003 and sold in 2005 to the British company Betfair. In 2007, he also launched a strategy website for poker playing, The Playr.com, also sold in 2008. In that same year, Lyle Stuart Kensington published Hansen’s book, “Every Hand Revealed”, the history of the more than de 300 hands played by the Dane at Aussie Million in 2007. In February 2009, GusHansen TV was launched, a free poker TV station on the Internet, with the statement āFor poker players by poker players”. Currently, Gus is playing online at Full Tilt Poker, being one of the members of the team of professionals of the famous poker website.
ARTE VIZUALE/MEDIA
