Gus Hansen - biggest poker players

Gus Hansen, also known as The Great Dane, was born just outside of Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1974. Hansen grew up playing a variety of sports, especially tennis.

Hansen was always fascinated by numbers and maths. When he was introduced to backgammon, he took a keen liking towards the game, and practiced intensively until he was ready to test his skills around the world. He ended up in New York, touring backgammon and gin rummy clubs, and hanging out with professional poker players such as Huckleberry Seed and Phil Laak. It was during that time that Hansen was introduced to various types of poker, including Stud games.

Hansen played his first World Series of Poker in 1996 , despite never having really played No-Limit Hold ‘em before then. After being knocked out on the first day, he decided to start practicing more, testing new plays and experimenting with different styles. Experimentation and mixing-up his style has been part of his game ever since.

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

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

During the WPT’s second season, Hansen won the invitation-only Bad Boys of Poker tournament and, in early 2004, earned his fourth WPT title at the Caribbean Adventure tournament. He 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.

Hansen reached 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 him induction into the WPT’s Walk of Fame the first year they launched it.

In 2005, Hansen decided to play fewer tournaments in order to focus on his cash game.

Hansen had another memorable year in 2006. First, he made television history in the second season of High Stakes Poker when he took down the show’s biggest pot ever (US$575,700) by defeating Daniel Negreanu’s 6-6 with his 5-5 on a board of 9-6-5-5-8. Then, in September that year, he took first place at the FullTiltPoker.com London All Star Challenge, winning US$100,000.

2007 was a good year for Hansen also. In January, he won the Aussie Millions Main Event – the biggest tournament outside of North America – and took home his biggest prize ever, a whopping $AUD1.2 million.

When not playing tournament poker, Hansen is a regular participant in the Big Gameat 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, Hansen often plays high-limit Pot-Limit Omaha games or Omaha 8/B Limit games on FullTiltPoker.com. On occasion, he can also be found in low-stakes Limit Hold ‘em and Razz games.

If he’s not playing poker, there is a good chance you can find Hansen 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 needs to be a successful poker player.

Hansen also provides 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.

Hansen currently 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.

Top 10: Right Risks To Take In Poker

Your girlfriend hosts a weekly game for her friends. Your little sister plays online daily. Your coworkers cleaned you out just last night. Today, it's no exaggeration to say that everyone and their brother is playing poker. And they all have advice to give, most of it misleading (whether unintentionally so or by design).

If you really want solid poker advice, it's best to bypass the rooks and go straight to the pros. That's why we sat down with Phil Gordon, multi-time winner on the World Poker Tour and host of Celebrity Poker Showdown.

Seeing as Phil's made his fortune by taking risks, we wanted his input on a debate that plagues amateurs and pros alike: When is the right time to take a risk in poker? Read on for his take on 10 situations where it's right to roll the dice. So at least the next time you lose your pants at the card table, it won't be entirely your own fault.

Number 10

Raise on strong hands

Aggressive poker is winning poker. When you bet and raise, you have two ways to win: Either you can make the best hand or your opponent might fold. If you play passively and just check and call, the only way to win is by having the best hand. Remember this: Calling is never "right" on the river. If you have the best hand, you should be raising; if you have the worst hand, you should be folding.

Number 9

React to clues

Every action and inaction at the table gives you clues about the strengths of your opponents' hand. Watch them even when you're not in the hand, and your results will improve. I was playing in a game and was watching intently when I noticed a huge tell from the real sucker at the table. The very next hand, he bet $5,000 into me and did the same exact thing I had just noticed. I busted him.

Number 8

Raise before the flop

If you're the first person to voluntarily commit chips to the pot before the flop, I believe it's right to risk coming in for a raise of about three times the big blind. When you raise before the flop, you have several things working for you:

• You take control of the betting
• You have a chance to steal the blinds
• You conceal the strength of your hand
• You get your opponents to define the strength of their hand
• You limit the competition

If you limp into the pot and just call the blind trying to see the flop cheaply, you lose almost all the advantages of raising. Raise it.

Number 7

Risk big on a big pot

Be more willing to risk going broke if the pot is big. When the pot is small, take a lot fewer risks. In most cases, calling a big bet after the flop with only one pair will be a mistake. One pair is rarely a big enough hand to warrant going all-in with after the flop.

Number 6

Risk the bluff

Risking a bluff is one of the "arts" in No Limit Texas Hold 'Em -- or any poker game for that matter. Here are some factors that should lead you to be more willing to bluff:

• You've shown strength throughout the hand
• Your opponent has shown weakness at his last opportunity
• Your opponent is capable of folding (you can't bluff a guy that won't fold)
• The pot is big
• You can't win unless you bet
• You haven't been caught bluffing recently
• Your opponent hasn't been bluffed out and has shown a bluff recently
• Your opponent hasn't caught anyone bluffing recently

Flopping a straight...

Number 5

Risk big after flopping a straight

When you flop a straight, in all likelihood you're going to end up with a straight. Be very aggressive with the flopped straights -- people on flush draws or draws to a full house will come after you, and you need to make them pay an appropriate price to continue with their draw. Too many novice players slow play the flopped straight and then pay off their opponents with a big bet after they are drawing dead.

Number 4

Risk the all-in when you have to

With half of your chips or more committed to the pot before the flop, if an opponent raises you all-in, you are forced to call no matter what two cards you hold. You'll always be getting at least three to one on your money, and folding will be a mistake. Risk going all-in regardless of the strength of your hand.

Number 3

Act on tells from actors

When a player at the table is acting, figure out what response they are trying to elicit, and then do the opposite. If a player is acting weak, they are doing so because they want you to put chips into the pot. In other words, this is a good time to fold. If a player is acting strong, they are doing so to conceal the weakness in their real hand -- raise or call.

Number 2

Check with a medium-strength hand after the river

When the river card is dealt and you have a medium-strength hand (with regard to all the previous rounds of betting and everything you know about your opponent), be very cautious. Risking a bet in this circumstance is always a losing tactic. If you bet, your opponent will normally only call if they have you beat, or fold if you have them beat. Give your opponent a chance to make a mistake by checking. When you check, they can check a hand that beats you that they would have called with, or they can put chips into the pot that you can call when they would have folded to a bet.

Number 1

Risk the right amount

When you're considering a bet after the flop, I suggest betting at least half the pot to the full size of the pot. Bet more if there are many draws out there that could beat you. Bet less if there are very few draws. Remember, the goal in poker is not to win the pot, but to win the best hand. When you have the best hand, you really want your opponent to put as many chips into the pot as possible. When you have the worst hand, you want to put as few chips into the pot as possible.

know the right risks to take

Poker is a game of risks -- but they don't have to be blind risks. Play aggressive but smart, and you may find yourself a wealthier man for it.
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Texas Hold' em Poker - The Basics

Texas Hold'em Poker is a community card game that can be played with anywhere from 2-10 players.

1. One player acts as dealer. This position is called the button and it rotates clockwise after every hand.
2. The two players to the left of the dealer are called the small blind and the big blind, respectively.
3. These two positions require forced bets of a pre-determined amount and are the only players to put money in the pot before the cards are dealt (if no ante in place).
4. Every player then receives two cards face down. These are called "hole" cards.
5. Once all hole cards have been dealt, the first betting round begins with the player sitting immediately to the left of the big blind. This player can fold, call (match the amount of the big blind) or raise.
6. Betting then continues clockwise, with each player having the option to fold, call the amount of the highest bet before them, bet or raise.
7. When the first betting round is completed, three community cards are flipped face up on the table. This is called the flop.
8. The second round of betting begins with the first remaining player seated to the left of the button. The betting resumes, clockwise, with each player having the option to check (if no bet in front of them), bet (or raise if a bet before them), call or fold.
9. When the second round of betting is finished, a fourth community card is flipped face up on the table. This is called the turn.
10. The third round of betting commences with the first remaining player sitting to the left of the button.
11. When the third round of betting is over, a fifth community card is flipped face up on the table. This is called the river.
12. The fourth round of betting starts with the first remaining player seated to the left of the button. The betting continues to move clockwise.

Poker hands:

 

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