Gus Hansen, originally born Gustav Hansen, is one of the most popular professional poker players in the world. Hansen was born on February 13, 1974 not far from Copenhagen, Denmark. Currently, he makes his home in Monaco.
Hansen’s story is a usual one by poker professional standards. At the ripe age of 23, he began playing poker for a living. Before that, he was one of the best backgammon players in the world and he’s also experienced lots of success in tennis over the years. Like many of the world’s best poker players, Hansen developed a competitive streak while playing competitive sports as a youngster. He made his move to the New York in 2000, where he brought some pretty lofty dreams and ideals. There, he was set on being a professional backgammon player, but he soon realized that there was no money and no challenge associated with that profession.
Hansen’s gambling doesn’t stop at the poker tables, either. He is a self described pro gambler who is willing to take a bet on just about anything. From personal bets to sports betting, Hansen seems up to doing it all if that’s an option.
As far as poker is concerned, Hansen got his start playing live games in California while attending The University of California at Santa Cruz. Before too long, he developed a reputation for being one of the most aggressive, loose players in the world. Some saw this as a fault in Hansen’s game, but it has made him a tremendous player in his older age. Over the course of his career, Hansen has become known as one who will make a play with just about any cards.
He has certainly been successful with his unique style, winning more than $5 million in tournaments during his poker career. He has also become a recognizable face on televised broadcasts, as his engaging personality makes him an intriguing character.
Hansen has experienced a good amount of success at some of poker ’s biggest events. He made the money in 2004 at the World Series of Poker’s Main Event. Later, in 2006, he made it to the final table of the Tournament of Champions. He didn’t stay around very long in that one, though, as his big slick couldn’t stand up to a lowly pair of 9s.
Hansen also made the money at the Main Event in 2007, when he finished in 61st place. That was no small task, as the field included more than 6,000 players. His finish there earned Hansen $154,194.
Hansen ’s prowess has been on display during World Poket Tour events. Currently, he is the only professional player to take home three WPT open tourneys. In addition to those victories, he also claimed the first ever World Poker Tour “Bad Boys of Poker” tournament. The tour rewarded his success in 2004 when they put Hansen into the Walk of Fame, along with legend Doyle Brunson and James Garner.
Hansen also likes to get back to his European roots a little bit with his poker play. He has taken a particular interest in the European Poker Masters, where he ’s been one of the leading players. He won the first ever EPM tournament in 2006 at the London All-Star Challenge. There, he took home more than $100,000 in winnings and cemented his place as one of the best of all-time.
Among his other conquests was the tournament championship at the Poker Superstars Invitational. He won $1 million in that event after defeating some of the world ’s best players.
Hansen hasn’t settled for just being a poker star. Like many of the world’s top players, he has tried to get into business, as well. In 2003, he founded PokerChamps.com, an online poker website. Prior to 2005, you could find Hansen playing cash games at the site and mingling with the masses. In 2005, he sold the company to BetFair, a British company, for more than $15 million. These days, he plays all of his poker at Full Tilt Poker, along with stars like Chris Ferguson. He often participates in high stakes games on that site.
He has also put out an instructional poker video which aims to help new players understand the game and get better. If you think that Hansen looks well dressed in these videos and other appearances, then you are probably right. He is signed with Frank Q., a Danish fashion company, to represent their brand.
It has been well documented that Gus Hansen has faced some struggles to go along with his enormous success. Despite winning a ton of big money tournaments, Hansen has had financial issues in the last few years. These have reportedly stemmed from his huge losses in certain cash games. One of those games is “The Big Game”, which is held at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Hansen isn’t shy about admitting these things, either. He has, on occasion, admitted to losing more than $1 million at an individual setting. In addition, he has admitted losing his shirt in sports gambling to the point where he would like to stop.
Gus Hansen is playing at Full Tilt Poker!
