Gus Hansen
Encyclopedia
Gustav "Gus" Hansen is a professional Danish poker
player who lives in Monaco
. In his poker career, Hansen has won three World Poker Tour
open titles, the 2007 Aussie Millions main event and was the season one winner of the Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament
. Before turning to playing poker professionally in 1997, Hansen was already a world class backgammon
player and a youth tennis
champion.
Hansen was voted one of People
magazine's 50 Sexiest Men in 2004.
He calls himself a professional gambler and has been known to take private bets on various personal athletic challenges (such as a boxing match against WSOPE bracelet winner Theo Jorgensen) other than poker and professional sports. Hansen has been involved previously or currently in several online business ventures, including PokerChamps.com (now Betfair Poker
), ThePlayr.com and GusHansenTV. He is also involved with Full Tilt Poker
.
. while he was an exchange student at UC Santa Cruz
. Hansen finished in the money in 150th place in the 2004 Main Event. In the 2006 Tournament of Champions
, Hansen made a World Series of Poker final table, but lost on the very first hand with Ace King against a pair of 9s. In 2007
Hansen cashed in the money in the $10,000 no limit Texas hold 'em championship, coming in 61st place out of a field of 6,358 players, winning $154,194. In 2008
he came in 160th place out of a field of 6,844 players to win a prize of $41,816.
Hansen was the first player to win three World Poker Tour
(WPT) open tournaments. He also won the first WPT Bad Boys of Poker invitational event. In 2004, he was inducted into the World Poker Tour Walk of Fame, along with Doyle Brunson
and James Garner
. On April 27, 2008 Hansen came in second to David Chiu
at the Season 6
WPT Championship, earning $1,714,800. In September 2006 Hansen won the inaugural EPM event, The London All Star Challenge
, eventually beating Marc Goodwin heads-up to take home the title and cheque for £53,600 ($US102,000). Hansen won the inaugural $400,000 Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament
, winning the $1,000,000 first prize in a one-table event featuring some of the most well-known players today. He did not appear in the second series whilst losing to Antonio Esfandiari
in the semifinals in the third.
Hansen finished in the money of the 2004 World Series of Poker
main event, and also made the final table of a European Poker Tour
(EPT) event in Barcelona
. In 2006, Hansen was a member of the winning Danish team in the PartyPoker.com Football & Poker Legends Cup
tournament, alongside Theo Jørgensen
and Kim Christofte
. He is currently featured in the Professional Poker Tour
and the second season of High Stakes Poker
, where he won the fifth biggest pot in the show's history ($575,700) when his defeated Daniel Negreanu
's on a board of . He was in Singapore
in November 12–17, 2006 to participate in the Betfair
Asian Poker Tour
. Hansen was the first winner on NBC
's Poker After Dark
earning him $120,000, as he outlasted a field of six pros including Phil Hellmuth
and Huck Seed
. In January 2007, Hansen won the $10,500 main event at the Aussie Millions in Melbourne
, Australia
, beating a field of 747 players to take home the A$
1,500,000 first prize. His book Every Hand Revealed (ISBN 978-0818407277) is a detailed account of many of the hands he played en route to the title.
In 2010, Hansen won the £10,350 No Limit Hold'em High Roller Heads-Up event at the WSOPE, winning his first WSOP bracelet and £288,409, equivalent to $451,880. He also defeated Tony Bloom
heads-up to win the Poker Million IX tournament, taking $1,000,000 for first prize.
As of 2010, his total live tournament winnings exceed $9,000,000.
site pokerchamps.com, launched in 2003. In 2005 the company and game software technology were sold to the British company Betfair, for over 100 million Danish krone
r (approximately £
8.8 million / 13 million euro
/ $15,000,000 USD). Despite the sale, Hansen was involved in a PokerChamps Danish championship in October 2005. In 2005, Hansen appeared in Texas Hold'Em Poker Advanced Strategies With Gus Hansen, which is part of the Going All In instructional series of DVDs.
In 2007, Hansen launched a poker forum and strategy website, ThePlayr.com. Prior to selling his interest in that site in 2008, it housed his blog, articles and a "Gus Tracker" to track his worldwide poker play along with other poker news, videos and content. In 2008, Hansen joined the commentary team on World Series of Backgammon
, a high stakes televised backgammon
tour broadcasting on Eurosport across Europe. In May 2008 Lyle Stuart Kensington published Hansen's book Every Hand Revealed, a hand-by-hand account of his triumph in the 2007 Aussie Millions. In February 2009, Hansen launched GusHansenTV branded as a free poker channel broadcast over the internet.
. Hansen is a regular in the The Big Game
normally held in "Bobby’s Room" at the Bellagio Casino
in Las Vegas
. He has said that his losses are not a secret and has admitted to losing a million or so at a couple of games.
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
player who lives in Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
. In his poker career, Hansen has won three World Poker Tour
World Poker Tour
The World Poker Tour is a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting the final table of each tournament. It was started in the United States by attorney/television producer Steven Lipscomb, who served as CEO of WPT Enterprises , the firm that...
open titles, the 2007 Aussie Millions main event and was the season one winner of the Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament
Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament
The Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament is a series of no limit Texas hold 'em poker tournaments. The first season is available on NTSC DVD. It airs on Fox Sports Net in the United States, Rogers Sportsnet in Canada and ftn in the United Kingdom.-Crew:...
. Before turning to playing poker professionally in 1997, Hansen was already a world class backgammon
Backgammon
Backgammon is one of the oldest board games for two players. The playing pieces are moved according to the roll of dice, and players win by removing all of their pieces from the board. There are many variants of backgammon, most of which share common traits...
player and a youth tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
champion.
Hansen was voted one of People
People (magazine)
In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...
magazine's 50 Sexiest Men in 2004.
He calls himself a professional gambler and has been known to take private bets on various personal athletic challenges (such as a boxing match against WSOPE bracelet winner Theo Jorgensen) other than poker and professional sports. Hansen has been involved previously or currently in several online business ventures, including PokerChamps.com (now Betfair Poker
Betfair
Betfair is the world's largest Internet betting exchange. The company is based in Hammersmith in West London, England. Since Betfair was launched in June 2000 it has become the largest online betting company in the UK and the largest betting exchange in the world. Betfair claim to have over 3...
), ThePlayr.com and GusHansenTV. He is also involved with Full Tilt Poker
Full Tilt Poker
Full Tilt Poker is an online poker card room that opened in June 2004 with the involvement of poker professionals Howard Lederer, Phil Ivey, Andy Bloch, Mike Matusow, Jennifer Harman and Chris Ferguson...
.
Tournaments
Hansen started playing poker at the Ocean View Card Room in Santa Cruz, CaliforniaSanta Cruz, California
Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946...
. while he was an exchange student at UC Santa Cruz
University of California, Santa Cruz
The University of California, Santa Cruz, also known as UC Santa Cruz or UCSC, is a public, collegiate university; one of ten campuses in the University of California...
. Hansen finished in the money in 150th place in the 2004 Main Event. In the 2006 Tournament of Champions
World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions
The World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions is an invitational freeroll poker event. Wins in this event do not count as official WSOP bracelets, but the winner receives a large trophy in the shape of the official World Series of Poker logo. In 2010, the WSOP Tournament of Champions returned...
, Hansen made a World Series of Poker final table, but lost on the very first hand with Ace King against a pair of 9s. In 2007
2007 World Series of Poker
The 2007 World Series of Poker began on June 1, 2007. The $10,000 no-limit Texas hold 'em Main Event began on July 6 and was completed on the morning of July 18...
Hansen cashed in the money in the $10,000 no limit Texas hold 'em championship, coming in 61st place out of a field of 6,358 players, winning $154,194. In 2008
2008 World Series of Poker
The 2008 World Series of Poker was the 39th annual World Series of Poker . Held in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino, the series began on May 30, 2008, and featured 55 poker championships in several variants. All events but the $10,000 World Championship No Limit Texas hold...
he came in 160th place out of a field of 6,844 players to win a prize of $41,816.
Hansen was the first player to win three World Poker Tour
World Poker Tour
The World Poker Tour is a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting the final table of each tournament. It was started in the United States by attorney/television producer Steven Lipscomb, who served as CEO of WPT Enterprises , the firm that...
(WPT) open tournaments. He also won the first WPT Bad Boys of Poker invitational event. In 2004, he was inducted into the World Poker Tour Walk of Fame, along with Doyle Brunson
Doyle Brunson
Doyle F. Brunson is an American professional poker player who has played professionally for over 50 years. He is the first two-time World Series of Poker main event champion to win consecutively, a Poker Hall of Fame inductee, and the author of several books on poker.Brunson is the first player to...
and James Garner
James Garner
James Garner is an American film and television actor, one of the first Hollywood actors to excel in both media. He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades...
. On April 27, 2008 Hansen came in second to David Chiu
David Chiu (poker player)
David Chiu is a Chinese American professional poker player, based in Rowland Heights, California, who has won four World Series of Poker bracelets. He is also the winner of the 2008 World Poker Tour's WPT World Championship, and the first winner of the Tournament of Champions of Poker.Chiu was a...
at the Season 6
World Poker Tour season 6 results
Below are the results of season six of the World Poker Tour .Towards the end of season 6 the World Poker Tour announced that they would award a Tiffany designed titanium and diamond championship bracelet for all previous 96 players....
WPT Championship, earning $1,714,800. In September 2006 Hansen won the inaugural EPM event, The London All Star Challenge
The Poker Channel
The Poker Channel is a dedicated gaming TV network and broadcasts to over 30 million TV homes in 30 countries.The Channel is typically carried in the basic packages of cable and satellite operators in Europe and classified as a sport or entertainment channel in electronic programme guides...
, eventually beating Marc Goodwin heads-up to take home the title and cheque for £53,600 ($US102,000). Hansen won the inaugural $400,000 Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament
Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament
The Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament is a series of no limit Texas hold 'em poker tournaments. The first season is available on NTSC DVD. It airs on Fox Sports Net in the United States, Rogers Sportsnet in Canada and ftn in the United Kingdom.-Crew:...
, winning the $1,000,000 first prize in a one-table event featuring some of the most well-known players today. He did not appear in the second series whilst losing to Antonio Esfandiari
Antonio Esfandiari
Antonio Esfandiari is a professional poker player, known for his elaborate chip tricks.-Early life:When he was 9 years old his family moved to San Jose, California...
in the semifinals in the third.
Hansen finished in the money of the 2004 World Series of Poker
2004 World Series of Poker
The 2004 World Series of Poker was held at Binion's Horseshoe after Harrah's Entertainment purchased the casino and the rights to the tournament in January...
main event, and also made the final table of a European Poker Tour
European Poker Tour
The Pokerstars European Poker Tour is a series of poker tournaments similar to those in the World Poker Tour , created by John Duthie, winner of the inaugural Poker Million tournament. It began in 2004 as part of the worldwide explosion in Texas Hold 'em popularity...
(EPT) event in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
. In 2006, Hansen was a member of the winning Danish team in the PartyPoker.com Football & Poker Legends Cup
PartyPoker.com Football & Poker Legends Cup
The PartyPoker.com Football & Poker Legends Cup is a televised poker tournament, airing in the United Kingdom on Five from April 2006 onwards, in the lead-up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup.- Format :...
tournament, alongside Theo Jørgensen
Theo Jørgensen
Theo Jørgensen is a Danish professional poker player, based in Copenhagen who has made two European Poker Tour final tables.Jørgensen began playing poker in the early 1990s...
and Kim Christofte
Kim Christofte
Kim Piitala Christofte is a former Danish professional footballer, who was part of the Denmark national football team that won the 1992 European Championship...
. He is currently featured in the Professional Poker Tour
Professional Poker Tour
The Professional Poker Tour was a series of televised poker tournaments, spinning off from the World Poker Tour television series. It billed itself as the first professional poker league, and was limited to players who have established themselves on the World Poker Tour, World Series of Poker,...
and the second season of High Stakes Poker
High Stakes Poker
High Stakes Poker is a cash game poker television program broadcast by the cable television network GSN in the United States. The poker variant played on the show is no limit Texas hold 'em. It premiered on January 16, 2006 and ended on December 17, 2007 and it returns back on March 1, 2009 and is...
, where he won the fifth biggest pot in the show's history ($575,700) when his defeated Daniel Negreanu
Daniel Negreanu
Daniel Negreanu is a Canadian professional poker player. He has won four World Series of Poker bracelets and two World Poker Tour Championship titles. He is currently ranked second in the all-time career earnings list and is the star of poker game show Million Dollar Challenge. He plays a big...
's on a board of . He was in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
in November 12–17, 2006 to participate in the Betfair
Betfair
Betfair is the world's largest Internet betting exchange. The company is based in Hammersmith in West London, England. Since Betfair was launched in June 2000 it has become the largest online betting company in the UK and the largest betting exchange in the world. Betfair claim to have over 3...
Asian Poker Tour
Asian Poker Tour
The Asian Poker Tour is a major poker tour focusing on the Asia-Pacific region. It aims to promote poker by conducting poker tournaments and events in major Asia-Pacific cities such as Macau and Philippines...
. Hansen was the first winner on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Poker After Dark
Poker After Dark
Poker After Dark was an hour-long poker television program on NBC. The show made its debut on January 1, 2007, and was cancelled as another victim of the "Black Friday" criminal case due to the show's sponsorship by Full Tilt Poker, one of that case's defendants. on September 23, 2011 For its first...
earning him $120,000, as he outlasted a field of six pros including Phil Hellmuth
Phil Hellmuth
Phil Hellmuth is an American professional poker player. He is best known for holding a record 11 World Series of Poker bracelets, for winning the Main Event of the 1989 World Series of Poker and for his temperamental, "poker brat" personality...
and Huck Seed
Huck Seed
Huckleberry Seed is an American professional poker player best known for winning the main event of the 1996 World Series of Poker.-Early Life:...
. In January 2007, Hansen won the $10,500 main event at the Aussie Millions in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, beating a field of 747 players to take home the A$
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
1,500,000 first prize. His book Every Hand Revealed (ISBN 978-0818407277) is a detailed account of many of the hands he played en route to the title.
In 2010, Hansen won the £10,350 No Limit Hold'em High Roller Heads-Up event at the WSOPE, winning his first WSOP bracelet and £288,409, equivalent to $451,880. He also defeated Tony Bloom
Tony Bloom
Anthony Grant "Tony" Bloom is a football club chairman and successful poker player.-Poker and betting:Bloom made a name for himself as a successful sports bettor and property investor...
heads-up to win the Poker Million IX tournament, taking $1,000,000 for first prize.
As of 2010, his total live tournament winnings exceed $9,000,000.
World Series of Poker Bracelets
| Year | Event | Prize Money |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 WSOPE 2010 World Series of Poker Europe The fourth World Series of Poker Europe took place from September 14, 2010 to September 28, 2010. There were five bracelet events, culminating in the £10,350 WSOPE Championship No-Limit Hold'em event... |
£10,350 No Limit Hold'em High Roller Heads-Up | £288,409 |
Other ventures
Hansen was a founding partner and house pro of the online pokerOnline poker
Online poker is the game of poker played over the Internet. It has been partly responsible for a dramatic increase in the number of poker players worldwide...
site pokerchamps.com, launched in 2003. In 2005 the company and game software technology were sold to the British company Betfair, for over 100 million Danish krone
Danish krone
The krone is the official currency of the Kingdom of Denmark consisting of Denmark, the Faroe Islands and Greenland. It is subdivided into 100 øre...
r (approximately £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
8.8 million / 13 million euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
/ $15,000,000 USD). Despite the sale, Hansen was involved in a PokerChamps Danish championship in October 2005. In 2005, Hansen appeared in Texas Hold'Em Poker Advanced Strategies With Gus Hansen, which is part of the Going All In instructional series of DVDs.
In 2007, Hansen launched a poker forum and strategy website, ThePlayr.com. Prior to selling his interest in that site in 2008, it housed his blog, articles and a "Gus Tracker" to track his worldwide poker play along with other poker news, videos and content. In 2008, Hansen joined the commentary team on World Series of Backgammon
World Series of Backgammon
World Series of Backgammon is a major televised live tour. The television shows capture the match action, jeopardy and background around some of the world’s largest backgammon tournaments, and have broadcast throughout Europe on Eurosport 1 and 2 whilst being distributed worldwide by ESPN...
, a high stakes televised backgammon
Backgammon
Backgammon is one of the oldest board games for two players. The playing pieces are moved according to the roll of dice, and players win by removing all of their pieces from the board. There are many variants of backgammon, most of which share common traits...
tour broadcasting on Eurosport across Europe. In May 2008 Lyle Stuart Kensington published Hansen's book Every Hand Revealed, a hand-by-hand account of his triumph in the 2007 Aussie Millions. In February 2009, Hansen launched GusHansenTV branded as a free poker channel broadcast over the internet.
Losses
Despite his ongoing success, Hansen has struggled with money problems, reportedly because of losses during live cash gamesRing game
Ring game may refer to:*Ring game , a general class of multi-player pocket billiards gambling games*Ring game, a.k.a. cash game, a poker game played with "real" chips and each player's own money at stake, as opposed to a poker tournament with a prize money pool...
. Hansen is a regular in the The Big Game
Big Game (poker)
The Big Game refers to a famous high-stakes poker ring game played in "Bobby's Room", a cardroom named after Bobby Baldwin, at the Bellagio casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The table features no-limit and pot-limit games with wagers up to $100,000 per hand...
normally held in "Bobby’s Room" at the Bellagio Casino
Bellagio (hotel and casino)
Bellagio is a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in the Paradise area of unincorporated Clark County, Nevada, USA and a member of The Leading Hotels of the World. It is owned by MGM Resorts International and was built on the site of the demolished Dunes hotel and casino.Inspired by the...
in Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
. He has said that his losses are not a secret and has admitted to losing a million or so at a couple of games.