Gustav (Gus) Hansen, originally from Copenhagen, Denmark, is one of the most aggressive players in Poker. From humble beginnings as an unknown amateur in Santa Cruz, California, Gus Hansen has quickly developed a reputation as one of the most difficult players to play against.
He is a mercurial study of opposites; at times he represents his methodical, calculated Backgammon-based background, and two hands later you’ll see him making an enormous raise on a 4-7 off suit! Often so-called experts will berate his aggressive play as foolish or even stupid, however Gus’s resume speaks for itself; In his first season of World Poker Tour play, Gus won events at the Bellagio and the Commerce. Along the way, he took out some of the most respected players in Poker, such as Canadian ace Daniel Negreanu, and Vietnamese legend Scotty “Win” Nguyen. He followed that success up with a second season that featured wins in the Pokerstars Caribbean Poker Adventure, and the WPTBad Boys tournament.
Many have commented that his success is based on luck, however if you watch “The Great Dane” play enough hands, it becomes clear that his true strength at the poker tables isn’t his own hand, but rather reading his opponents and their hands. His ability to read opposing players, and force them into a fold of a potentially winning hand can border on witchcraft. His aggression is so well known in the Poker world that a new term has been coined; “Pulling a Gus”, happens when you beat an opponent with a hand that’s marginal at best!
While Gus doesn’t tour regularly, he will frequent a high buy-in tournament. In watching Gus play, it’s clear why he prefers big pot, no limit tournaments, as his intensely aggressive play is not suited to limit Poker. When asked about his daredevil style of play, Gus remains thoughtful and philosophical: “One of my strengths is that I definitely make mistakes that other - I would call them solid poker players - wouldn't make, but I definitely also make some good plays that they probably wouldn't dream about.” This quote highlights Gus’s realistic and modest view on his success. It also characterizes the way he approaches life in general, carrying himself in a simpler, less flashy than many of Poker’s top players- however it doesn’t take much to be less flashy than a character like David Ulliott!
His modesty may be misplaced however, as he continues to surprise opponents and prove traditionalist poker experts wrong. His unprecedented success against the established kings of poker has earned him international recognition, and to date almost two million dollars in cash. He has also had the honour of being one of the first three inductees on the WPT walk of fame, joining actor James Garner, and living legend Doyle “Texas Dolly” Brunson. Played correctly, his aggressive style has the potential to revolutionize the modern no-limit Hold’em game, and as the next generation of poker stars comes through, one can’t help but expect Gus Hansen will be an influence on many upcoming stars. Only trouble is, they will have to prove themselves against players with mind-reading talent like the Great Dane himself!
It's never too early to ensure a seat in a $7 million tournament. So with next year's Aussie Millions action still eight months away, forward-thinkers should be quick to jump on an early qualifier at Pacific Poker this weekend.
Action goes May 19 at 7:30 p.m. (GMT), with a direct buy-in of $75+$5.
Winner scores a seat and travel expenses totaling $11,000 to the next Aussie Millions, the biggest poker tournament in the Southern Hemisphere - and one that paid out $1.5 million to 2007 winner Gus Hansen.
Satellites to the qualifier are ongoing from as little as 50¢.
Patrik Antonius and Gus Hansen are about to clash again, but this time at the tennis court instead of the poker table. To make the game a little more interesting, the two are putting up $200,000 each.
Both Patrik Antonius and Gus Hansen were promising tennis players in their younger years, so most like it will be an even-matched and well-played contest.
The two played a little tennis against each other for fun during the European Poker Tour finals in Monte Carlo, and Antonius has great respect for his opponent.
"I could tell that Gus is a really good player. Right now he is in better shape so I have to prepare myself, but I believe in my chances. I'm at least sure that it will be a very tough game," Antonius said according to the Danish newspaper Ekstrabladet.
The original plan was for the match to be played in March or April, but since Antonius suffered a minor neck injury, and Hansen had some problems with a hand, it has been postponed, and will probably take place in the fall.
No exact date for the game has been revealed, but according Patrik Antonius the match will most likely be televised due to the great interest.
Unless you’ve had your head up your ass for decades you know that pretty much every poker pro and poker commentator has been preaching the value of aggressive tournament play for a long time now.
With WSOP qualifiers heating up and the WSOP itself just around the corner, let's take a look at some of the tournament poker advice that’s been offered by one of the top poker pros. This week - with a little help from Gus Hansen we’re looking at why aggression works in tournament play and when it’s the right time to pull on the reins.
Hansen has been categorized by some as a loose player. It's a term that borders on insulting in that it implies a certain recklessness. But the proof is in the pudding, and Hansen’s pudding is his place in the World Poker Tour Hall of Fame, his four WPT titles and a first place finish at this year’s Aussie Millions Main Event. He has total tournament winnings of $3,461,846 – that’s a lot of pudding.
The success of the aggressive tournament player stems from the need to collect every last chip in the tournament and let’s face it, even if you make the final table, your chances are severely reduced if you’re the short stack. And it’s easy to think in terms of just trying to make it to the money but it’s more important to keep in mind what the payout structure is.
Take the recent WSOP Circuit Tournament at Caesars Palace as an example. Chad Brown and Cory Carroll both made the final table; Brown as the short stack with $136K in chips and Carroll as chip leader with $713K. Not too surprisingly Brown went out first and Carroll won the whole thing using his chip lead to make plays that would be impossible if he were short stacked. Everyone knows the importance of getting a big chipstack but this should help illustrate how important it is in tournament play. Brown ended up walking away with $32,592 in cash. Not bad, but just eight spots ahead of him, Carroll made over half a million dollars. In other words Brown would have to finish ninth in the exact same tournament another 15.5 times in order to earn what Carroll did in one. That’s the value of a big chipstack and that’s why so many pros endorse a more aggressive tournament style.
Despite all the crazy online action going on, the legendary "Big Game" is still running in Las Vegas. In a column in the Danish newspaper Ekstrabladet, Gus Hansen gives a glimpse of what's happening in the biggest live poker game in the world. He tells a story of a stone-cold bluff and two amazing calls.
The Big Game was originally played at the Venetian in Las Vegas, but has in recent years moved to the Bellagio.
It's a mixed game consisting of everything from 2-7 Triple-Draw to No-Limit Texas Hold'em, and the stakes are ultra-high - up to $4,000/$8,000.
All the best players in the world visit the Big Game regularly: the night Gus Hanses writes about, "The Great Dane" himself, David Benyamine , Barry Greenstein, Chip Reese, Eli Elezra, Lyle Berman, Doyle Brunson and Silent Jim were seated at the table.
In what Hansen refers to as the "hand of the day", he re-raised to $9,000 from the button in a $3,000/$6,000 Limit Hold'em game with Ad-Jd in his hand. David Benyamine and the original raiser Eli Elezra stayed in the hand.
The flop came 7h-6s-4c, and everyone checked. The turn was the 8d, and Benyamine bet $6,000, Elezra folded, but Gus Hansen decided to call with only ace-high.
Another 8 came on the river and once again David Benyamine fired a $6,000 bet, and once again Gus Hansen called. The Frenchman showed Q-T for a stone-cold bluff, and Hansen took home the $54,000 pot thanks to two great calls.
When Hansen analyses the hand in his column in Ekstrabladet he says that he made the tough decision to go all the way already on the turn.
"As you can see, you will be put under a lot of pressure in the Big Game. If you haven't come to play, you should leave you nickels and dimes at home," Hansen writes.
Gustav (Gus) Hansen, originally from Copenhagen, Denmark, is one of the most aggressive players in Poker. From humble beginnings as an unknown amateur in Santa Cruz, California, Gus Hansen has quickly developed a reputation as one of the most difficult players to play against.
