Gus Hansen

Gus Hansen Poker Pro Profile

Gus was born on February 13th, 1974 just outside of Copenhagen, Denmark and grew up playing a lot of sports, especially tennis. In the locker rooms and in summer camps, somebody always had a deck of cards and, from early ages, playing cards for dimes and nickels become part of the fun. Gradually the stakes increased...

Gus has always been fascinated by numbers and math. When he was introduced to backgammon in high-school, it became a challenge and he practised intensively until he was ready to test his skills around the world. Gus ended up in New York, touring backgammon and gin rummy clubs, and hanging out with guys like Huckleberry Seed and Phil Laak. It was during this time that Gus was introduced to various types of poker, including Stud games.

Gus played his first World Series of Poker in 1996 but, looking back, says he had absolutely no chance of winning, as he had never really played No-Limit Hold 'em before then. After being knocked out on the first day, Gus decided to start practising more, testing new plays and experimenting with different styles. Experimentation and mixing-up his style has been part of Gus' game ever since.

By 1998, Gus found himself playing more poker than backgammon, and making more frequent trips to Las Vegas. When the World Poker Tour kicked off in 2002, Gus had developed a loose, aggressive style that immediately paid off, both in terms of money and recognition.

Gus won the WPT's inaugural event, the $10,000 No-Limit Hold 'em tournament at the Five Diamond World Poker Classic. Later that year, Gus took down another event, the $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Championship at the WPT's L.A. Poker Classic.

During the WPT's second season, Gus won the invitation-only Bad Boys of Poker tournament and, in early 2004, earned his fourth WPT title at the Caribbean Adventure tournament. Gus was also in contention for another title that season, but had to settle for third place in the Bellagio Five Diamond tournament when his pocket 10s failed to hold up against his opponent's A-Q.

Gus reached yet another final table during the WPT's third season, but ended up with a third-place finish in the Bay 101 Shooting Stars tournament. All in all, those four WPT wins and five final table appearances earned Gus induction into the WPT's Walk of Fame the first year they launched it. To this day, Gus remains the only player on the WPT with four titles to his credit.

In 2005, Gus decided to play fewer tournaments in order to focus on his cash game. Still, even with the reduction in tournament play, Gus made it the final table at the FullTiltPoker.Net Poker Invitational from Monaco and won the Grand Final of the inaugural Poker Superstars Invitational.

In 2006, Gus has been even more selective about his participation in tournaments and other events. Recently, he played in the second season of High Stakes Poker where he won the biggest pot in the show's history ($575,700) defeating Daniel Negreanu's 6 6 with his 5 5 on a board of 9 6 5 5 8.

When not playing tournament poker, Gus is a regular participant in the "Big Game" at the Bellagio battling it out in as many as 13 different poker games with players such as Phil Ivey, Chip Reese, Doyle Brunson, Barry Greenstein, and David Benyamine.

Online, Gus can often be found in a high-limit Pot-Limit Omaha game or an Omaha 8/B Limit game on FullTiltPoker.com. On occasion, he can also be found in low-stakes Limit Hold 'em and Razz games, along with low-limit SNGs and some of FullTiltPoker.com's larger tournaments.

If Gus isn't playing poker, there is a good chance you can find him on the golf course, the tennis court, the squash court or playing soccer with his friends, as he finds that playing sports and working out help him maintain the physical stamina he believes is needed to be a successful poker player.

Gus also finds time in his schedule to provide poker commentary for both Danish and American television shows, and is always ready to play a high-stakes backgammon match against anybody who would like to challenge him.

Gus is currently single and resides in Monte-Carlo, Monaco where he spends a lot of time with his family, including his one-year old niece Sally, who he believes will be his first poker protégé.

Courtesy of FullTilt Poker.