Profiting at Poker Making Money at Online Poker & Live Poker
Personal Life
Gustav (Gus) Hansen, born in Denmark on 13 February 1974 in a little town near Copenhagen, was a champion tennis player during his growing up years. He was also a skilled backgammon player and turned his full attention to poker early in life.
Poker Beginnings
During his years in Santa Cruz, where he attended university, he discovered poker. Hansen started playing live poker games in Santa Cruz on a small scale during the first few years. He returned to Denmark in 1995 to sign up for military service for nine months. After his military stint, he moved to New York, intending to make a professional career playing Backgammon. He did not make as much money as he had hoped and his interest in poker grew. It was only in 2002 that he decided to take on tournament poker.
Poker Success
In his very first game, Hansen surprised everyone, maybe even himself by winning the title in the first major tournament he played. In the first World Poker Tour, the Five Diamond Classic in 2002, he took $556,460 home. A couple of months after that triumph, Hansen won another $532,490, by winning the WPT Poker Classic. Only two months later when playing the Bad Boys event which was an invitational game only he gained yet another title. In the beginning of 2004, during the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, he took anther WPT title with winnings of $455,780.
His success that came so quick did not stop there, as he came third during the Shooting Stars Main Event, a WPT event, in 2005. He continued his success by winning $1 million in 2005, taking first place in the WPT Grand Final.
He kept on winning, taking the Poker After Dark first prize in 2007. He also collected AUD$1.5 million after taking down the 2007 Aussie Millions Main Event.
Hansen successfully claimed a WSOP bracelet in 2010, during WSOP Europe, and took home winnings of 288,409 Euros. He also took down the Full Tilt Poker Millions for a million dollars.
Poker Fame
Gus Hansen is known in the poker world for playing unbelievably high stakes during live and online games. He subsequently founded the online site, PokerChamps in 2003, which was later sold to Betfair. Later in the decade, he became a Full Tilt member as well as launched another online poker website, ThePlayr.com. This website has a forum where he openly discusses poker tips and techniques with members.
In 2008 Hansen published, “Every Hand Revealed” giving readers insight into his Aussie Millions win in 2007.
He has racked up over $9 million in live tournament winnings alone, and is recognized widely in the poker world for his success with three WPT titles to his name. In 2004, he received the greatest honor yet, an induction to the WPT Walk of Fame.
He is currently living in Monaco and plays high stakes online poker as whenever possible.
