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Poker pros - Bios - Gus Hansen
Gus Hansen is a name most people know because of his success on
the World Poker Tour. During the first season alone he made
final tables at the Bellagio Casino and the Commerce Casino, and
he won both events. He also won the
Pokerstars Caribbean Poker Adventure and The Bad Boys of
Poker WPT event in the second season. I have only briefly met
Gus, but he is still one of my top ten tournament players
because he plays No Limit so well. He showed in these events
what No Limit Holdem is all about. It's not about playing the
cards; it is about playing the players. He puts the pressure on
the other players to decide if they want to risk a substantial
amount to find out if he is bluffing. He has an aggressive style
with cards that others might think are unplayable. They probably
are unplayable by most players, but Gus knows how to play
them great. He can play weak cards because his post-flop play is
excellent.
I recently had a conversation with one of my friends who played
with Gus several years ago. He told me Gus always played like
that. My friend said when Gus would turn his hand over that he
would say, "I have a Gus" meaning that he was about to turn over
74 offsuit or something like that. An example of him "having a
Gus" is when he was on the World Poker Tour at Commerce Casino
and held T3 against Andy Bloch's AT. He raises the $10,000 big
blind to $37,000 and Andy called him (just called him). The flop
came down J53, Andy checked and Gus checked behind him. The turn
was a ten and Andy checked again. Gus bet $35,000 and Andy
called him. The river was a three and Gus bets $140,000. It
almost looked as if he was trying to buy the pot. After Andy
thought about it for awhile, Andy called. This hand showed what
many players just don't understand. It is okay to play that junk
if you are capable of getting players to throw money at you. He
also assured me Gus is a really nice guy.
Gustav
Hansen has been a competitor for many years. Before he played
poker, he was a ranked backgammon player. He started playing
poker in Santa Cruz, California and is originally from
Copenhagen, Denmark. He does not travel the tournament circuit,
but will play in some of the larger buy-in events. Although he
does not play in many tournaments, he has succeeded in the ones
that bring him recognition. During the World Poker Tour,
contestant Andy Bloch said Gus is going to play a lot of hands
and play them perfectly. He can get away with playing K7 and J5
and things like that because he is so good. Gus is a little more
humble about his ability. He merely says, "Not to say that I am
a great player or anything, but somebody has to win." Gus almost
defended his inaugural World Poker Tour title, finishing third
at the Bellagio Casino second season event. In 2004 he was one
of the first three inductees into the World Poker Tour Walk of
Fame, with
Doyle Brunsun and actor James Garner.
Visit Gus Hansen's
online poker room!
[Profile by Shirley Rosario]