Gus Hansen Profile

Gus "The Great Dane" Hansen has one witty sense of humor but it's all serious business for the poor fools who have to share a poker table with him. His playing style is erratic and unpredictable. He'll show up in the weirdest spots with the unlikeliest of cards and either bluff the socks off you or flip over the nuts. His wild play has been berated by countless professionals but his record is undeniable.

With over $7,000,000 in earnings, there's really nothing anyone can say about his playing style except that it works. His wild play throws his opponents off but there's a methodical mind working behind the scenes. As an ex backgammon player, Gus Hansen knows all about odds and game theory.

He was born in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1974 where he started out as a promising tennis youth champion. Eventually he moved on to backgammon where he became a world class player. He took his backgammon skills with him to the United States in 1993 when he attended a year at UC Santa Cruz as a part of a student exchange program.

It was there that he got his first taste of poker and began developing his loose, aggressive style. Backgammon remained his main game, however, until he moved permanently to New York City in 2000. He found the backgammon industry too small to accommodate his desire to go professional so he delved more deeply into poker.

By the time 2002 rolled around, Gus's poker skills had improved so much so that he won two major events that year. He took down the WPT's main event, the $10,000 No Limit Holdem tournament at the Five Diamond World Poker Classic. That same year, he took first place in the WPT's $10,000 No Limit Holdem event at the L.A. Poker Classic.

With two major victories under his belt after just two years of serious poker play, Gus Hansen was ready to prove his viability as a long term player. He played in the WPT's second season and won the invitational Bad Boys of Poker tournament. Then, in 2004, he went on to win his fourth WPT title at the Caribbean Adventure tournament.

After that he focused more on his cash game but still final tabled several major events and cashed in several others. He had another big year in 2006 that was kicked off by winning a $575,700 pot in a cash game during the TV show High Stakes Poker. Later on that year, he won the Full Tilt Poker London All Star Challenge for a $100,000 payday.

He's continued to do well at the tables since then and in 2007 he won $1,500,000 for taking first place in the Aussie Millions main event. Then in 2008 he took second place in the Season 6 WPT Championship and took home $1,714,800.

Gus has done well for himself outside the tables as well thanks to several successful business ventures. He was a founding partner of PokerChamps.com, which was later sold to Betfair for over $15,000,000. He's also sold several poker training DVDs and even models for the Danish men's fashion company, Frank Q.

Despite his success, Gus has run into money problems thanks to losses in ultra high stakes cash games in Las Vegas. He's also admitted to being a big time loser in sports betting, a habit he's working on breaking. Even so, the guy has worked hard and earned a reputation as a fearsome opponent.

He's also one of the world's most eligible bachelors but says he plans on keeping it that way for a while. In 2004, People Magazine named Gus one of the "50 Sexiest People." Even so, he said he prefers his bachelor lifestyle and doesn't plan on settling down any time too soon.

Gus Facts

Over $7,000,000 in tournament winnings
Named in the "50 Sexiest People" article in People Magazine
Won the 5th largest pot in the history of the TV show High Stakes Poker
Nicknamed "The Great Dane" in reference to his birthplace