As Poker Goes Hollywood Hansen is Seen as Icon
In People magazine’s December 2004 issue, Gus Hansen was voted one of the 50 sexiest men alive. He was in good company with the likes of Jude Law, Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Sacha Baron Cohen, Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, Jimmy Smits, Donald Trump, Blair Underwood, and Bruce Willis, to name a few. What does he think of such recognition? Gus smiled, shrugged nonchalantly, and said, “It is pretty cool, but it’s not a life-changing event. I’m still little ol’ me. Sometimes things that happen are random coincidences with effort and skill involved in the mix. It’s all good.” Gus is easy-going, comfortable with himself, charming, a total flirt, philosophical about life, and, mostly, easy to like. He’s fun; he smiles easily and has no pretenses. In 1993, Gus moved from his native land, Copenhagen, Denmark, to Santa Cruz, California, where he lived for a few years. “I started playing poker in Santa Cruz. I saw one guy who always seemed to be winning. He helped me out a little. He was a good player for the game that was there, and he did funky, unconventional things. I said to myself, if he can do it, why can’t I? “I have always liked to try out new things and test the waters. Maybe it is ridiculous, but I don’t like to exclude anything from my game plan. Every option is an option. Nothing is off-limits. Sometimes I would try something and then overdo it. So, in Santa Cruz, when I would overdo it and show some garbage hand, it became known as a ‘Gus.’ When someone would win with a funky hand, he would turn it over and say, ‘I have a Gus.’” Learning to Play Poker “I learned poker the same way I learned backgammon, by experience. I didn’t do much reading. I read one book when I started out, Hold’em for Beginners by David Sklansky. I played alot on the internet. The internet is a great place to learn how to play." “In general, I think it’s best to learn by looking at your own mistakes. A very good way to do it is to analyze with other people. It’s interesting to get other people’s opinions. I think it’s very difficult to honestly analyze a situation correctly and think about your own mistakes. Sometimes at the moment it’s difficult to make the correct decision. That’s why it’s important to sit calmly afterward and come up with the right answer. Then, you will know the next time a similar situation comes up. I analyze mostly with myself and sometimes with Howard Lederer. We go to the gym and work out our bodies and minds at the same time.” Fame and Fortune Gustav Hansen’s fame can be directly linked to the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) televised events. However, his fortune can be linked only to his skill, combined with his unpredictable play and mathematical ability. It all started when Gus was 28 years old. He entered the Five-Diamond World Poker Classic in May of 2002 at Bellagio in Las Vegas, along with 146 other hopefuls. That was the premiere event of the WPT. With a prize pool of $1,416,200, it was an exciting event, with the winner taking home more than half a million dollars. After the first day of play, Gus was in 10th place with $56,150. After the second and third day, he was in fourth place with $158,000 and $313,700, respectively. He was the leader after the fourth day with more than $1 million. Gus held on to his lead, and won the title, the trophy, and $556,480. People said he was lucky then and continue to say he’s lucky now, even though statistics prove that he has one of the best tournament records of anyone. “He’s Just Lucky” “One thing I think is funny is the fact that people attribute my success to luck. I have been very successful in tournaments over the last couple of years, yet I am the only one with whom the work luck is associated. Perhaps some of the things I do aren’t that bad after all. Everybody can see when somebody gets lucky in a hand, but what is not so readily apparent is that a good understanding of the structure of the game creates its own “luck.” In my forthcoming book, I will reveal and analyze the hidden structure that I believe only a few players are aware of. “I am definitely more aggressive than most players, but I also have a different philosophy about my game. My outlook is a little more from a mathematical perspective. Other players rely too much on their instincts and reading abilities. Sometimes they allow that to overshadow the mathematical truth. Usually, I let the math do its thing. Sometimes, people put too much into their reads, and ante off all of their chips and then suddenly have no chips at all. “On TV, they show something I did that was unconventional, making it look like I always play like a wild man. But part of my success is that people always know I will call. Suddenly, I get a free ride because people won’t bet, knowing there’s a good chance I’ll raise. One moment I’m on a total bluff, and the next moment I am playing a mathematical game; I think that makes it very hard for my opponents to read me.” In six WPT tournaments, Gus has won a whopping $1,830,876; yet, people are still saying he’s just lucky! Actually, there’s a method to his ostensible madness. It’s just not readily apparent! Girls, Girls, Girls Gus loves girls, and with his Danish charm and piercing eyes, girls seem to be crazy about him, too. Steve Lipscomb noticed that on the WPT set, girls in the audience were staring, flirting, and falling all over him. He’s just so easy to be around — fun, articulate, and playful. I asked him how he became so amazingly articulate, since his native tongue is Danish. He explained that when he was young, he listened to Pink Floyd and knew all the lyrics, so his pronunciation of words was natural and easy. He is philosophical, and expressing himself comes easy to him. I asked Gus about his love life. He is 30, and free and single. “I am a very individual person. I like gambling. I love what I do and I love the fact that I don’t have to answer to anyone. It sounds egotistical, but if I have to choose between you and me, it’s me, baby. As far as my situation is concerned right now, this way of life gives me a lot of freedom — no girlfriend, no ties, and I’m not looking. I like to hang out and have fun. I like my independence. I don’t want to make promises I can’t keep.” His Best and Worst “I think my greatest weakness is probably that I am very curious. I’m trying to improve that aspect of my game, and it’s probably true that curiosity killed the cat. Sometimes, I’m too stubborn. I become a little too curious and make some bad calls.” That reminded me of the bad poker joke about the player who always went home broke, but never curious! About his strengths, Gus said, “I think the strength of my game is my mathematical and analytical way of looking at things. When I am focused, I feel I can compete with everybody. Because I mix it up, I am hard to read. I don’t really play my hand, but I play my opponent’s hand. If I know someone won’t commit all of his chips, I just have to bet. The next time, I might bet with the nuts, and players can’t tell the difference.” Why Gus is a Winner “I think I am very good at adjusting to the situation at hand. A lot of people have one game style; they tend not to adjust at all. I am fairly good at switching from one situation to one with other parameters, but sometimes I overdo it. If I have a plan that works, it usually can have a great impact on my tournament result; if I try something and I’m wrong, everyone talks about it. I think it’s right to try out new things. Most people have rules. It’s OK to do one thing but not another. In my game, every option is an option. I’m not saying that style would work for other people, but it suits me.” In the final analysis, statistics speak for themselves. In the last two years alone, Gustav Hansen has won almost $2 million in WPT events alone, to say nothing of his many other wins. He is a young, fierce winner who has only just begun demolishing opponents at the poker table.
Other Poker Bonus Articles
How to Become an Early Riser - Part II Last Monday’s post How to Become an Early Riser obviously struck a chord with many people. That post has generated more links than I can count, sending more new traffic to this site than any other post or article I’ve written. And the traffic logs indicate that the surge was decentralized (not attributable to a mention in any one major source). ...5 Tips for Winning the Daily Lottery Games 1. Obviously you need to play to win. But it's not enough to just play. You need to play consistently. I suggest you play in every drawing. There is no worse feeling as a lottery player than to have your picks come in, only to realize that you didn't play that drawing.2. You must track previous drawings. Tracking can be very complicate ...Playing Let It Ride Poker - The Thrill of Winning The Big Pot Playing let it Ride Poker is easy, and it’s a thrilling to play and suitable for all players whatever their experience.Playing Let it Ride Poker has the added advantage of being able to let your bets ride and possibly win a huge pot quickly!Here are the main points to consider when playing let it ride poker and some strategies to w ...Premiership Football - First Goalscorer Betting One of the most popular areas of football betting in the first goalscorer sector, despite the fact that bookmakers are less than generous via the compiling of the relevant odds. There is still money to be made however, though the following FACTS might surprise a few readers.Try not to look at the following stats first, and hazard a guess ...Poker Table Tops For Home Enthusiasts Poker table tops like those used for Texas Hold’em are very popular poker accessories right now, along with all manner of Poker chips, Poker clothing and other Poker merchandise. The popularity of Poker table tops is largely because of the increasing popularity of poker these days. Riding on the coat tails of the popularity of the weekly te ...Poker Bettinq Strategy - Advanced Live Poker Tips Bettinq Strategy GETTING THE MOST BANG FOR YOUR BUCKEach game has its different nuances when it comes to betting. However, here are some general tips on betting that can help you in any game: In the long run, knowing when not to bet is one of the most important skills to have in poker. It is also important to make the pots ...Online Casinos: Mathematics of Bonuses Online casino players know that the latter ones offer various bonuses. “Free-load” looks attractive, however, are they really useful these bonuses? Are they profitable for gamblers? The answer to this question depends on a lot of conditions. Mathematics will help us answer this question.Let’s begin with an ordinary bonus on deposit: you t ...Texas Holdem Tournament Strategy - Sit and Go Poker Tournaments Welcome to the fourth in my Texas Holdem Strategy Series, focusing on no limit Texas Holdem poker tournament play and associated strategies. In this article, we’ll examine the "Sit and Go" tournament - the most popular online poker tournament format today.When I first started playing in Sit and Go tournaments, I was beginning to think th ...Sports Betting While surfing through sports betting you will see the many sportsbooks that are offering their betting services through the net. They have the best tools for making your betting experience worth and the best promotions for you to make more money on online sports wagering.Many sports betting sites offer you special signup bonuses which you ...Poker Strategy Tip: When Not to Bluff Some players have the automated reaction to bluff frequently, and that is not recommended. They should just pay attention to the table ad maybe even feel it a little bit before they decide to bluff. Keep in mind that the other players are probably looking themselves for an occasion to bluff. You can tell sometimes when they are bluffing, and the ...WSOP: The World Series of Poker The world series of poker is the ultimate challenge out there for both internet and real poker rooms players. The truth is that if you enter the WSOP you stand a chance to win lots and lots of money. But that is not the only reason. Just the fact that you made it there is a huge realization both for you as a player and for you as a person. If yo ...How to Play Online Casino Safely There is nothing more exciting than betting on the World Cup online, melting gambling odds with soccer passion, and feeling like being on the football field. The 2006 World Cup betting is already up in most gambling sites with sportsbook betting, however, many people have a safety concerns when it comes to placing a bet on the Internet.No ...Poker Strategy Article: Min Raising at Party Poker and oh What a Mistake! One of the biggest mistakes I see online players making is the dreaded MIN-RAISE whereby from any position players will make the minimum bet in order to accomplish. er.. well, it actually rarely accomplishes anything except in building the pot for one of your opponents. It also has the tendency of alarming shrewd players to your inexperience, an ...Bankroll Building Part II - Non-Deposit Bonuses In part one, we talked about building a bankroll through freerolls. And while there are many big freerolls out there, and it can be a great place to build your bankroll quickly, especially if you win a big freeroll, it is not the only way.In this article, we are going to talk about non- deposit bonuses. By the end of this article you sh ...Poker Pitfalls: Beware of the Trap Beginners make a very severe mistake when playing limit Texas hold’em and this mistake is falling into the trap set by cards that seem as if they could be part of a winning streak. There are traps set by the game of poker that can even get to more experienced players as well. These trap cards are considered often any two big cards that players g ...Playing Poker Online - How to Have Fun Without Being Scammed Playing poker online can be a scary experience for some people. There are a lot of scams that are being conducted everyday on the internet and you do not want to be involved in one. The best way to ensure that you won't be taken in by a scammer is to research where you will be playing poker online. This is a great first step in your research p ...How Can You Make Money Using Online Poker Bonuses Many people gamble using the internet. This means that there is a pretty high demand for poker, casino, and gambling sites on the Internet. Because of this there’s a vast online poker market. With such steep competition in the online poker market, how is one casino or corporation to stay ahead? The answer comes in the form of online poker bo ...Video Poker Slots – The Basics You Need To Know To Win Although a slot machine game, Video Poker slots if you use strategy you can put the odds in your favor, which makes them highly attractive compared to normal online slots.Video poker slots also bridge the gap between simple slot machines and more complex table games, so it’s easy, you can use some skill and if you do, it can be a really r ...Multi Table Poker Tournament Tips You want to enter a limit tournament so you have to have in mind the gap concept. This is the most obvious change you will have o consider when revising your strategy for a tournament like this. You will pay mare attentions to actually winning every pot you get into and the pot odds will be somewhat disregarded here. This doesn't mean you will d ...Online Casino Bonus Review 2006-9-12 Action Online Casino BonusesAction Online Casino have over 70 games on offer, including blackjack although I was unable to ascertain which rules they played by. It is a software download casino which looks very pretty and has an interesting novelty of live dealer games where the game is controlled by a real dealer who ...Odds Comparison - Increasing Your Winnings After being in sports betting for about 23 years you have come to see many things such as a hairy chimpanzee putting down the winner for a horse race 10 times in a row, leaving me with a severe insomnia problem. I have also experienced the amazing growth of the internet and especially seen the difference it made to the sports betting community. ...Why Do Sites Offer an Online Poker Bonus Everyone likes to get a little something added onto whatever they are already getting. This is a natural human condition. For example, we are far more likely to buy the shampoo in it that has 20% more free, than the plain original bottle without the extra 20%. This is true even of gamblers. Each one is looking for an online poker bonus. But ...Multiplayer Slots - Win An Extra Bonus! Multiplayer Slots - Win An Extra Bonus!Slots are exciting and fun, but even more fun if you play with your friends, or make new ones online.Multiplayer slots allow you to do this and Community slots allow you to earn other players in the slot room a bonus (as well as winning yourself) and they can do the same for you.Multi- ...
|
