Gus Hanson
Gus Hanson Poker Profile
Many successful poker players have a background in
another type of gambling; whether it is sports
betting, blackjack, or some other card game, many
have their roots in other games. But you might be
surprised to learn that one of the more prolific and
winning poker players on the World Poker Tour (WPT)
has his background as a backgammon player.
Gustav (Gus) Hanson was born in Copenhagen, Denmark
and grew up to be a world-ranked backgammon player.
He had no aspirations of becoming a poker player at
the time. When he was a ranked backgammon player,
poker was not nearly as popular as it is now. There
were few televised events; the top poker players
were not household names, and only those in gambling
circles knew what the World Series of Poker (WSOP)
was.
It
is players just like Gus Hanson that changed all
that. Young, charming, and fearless, he became one
of many new players who helped inject new life into
the poker circles and garner them some much-needed
attention. Players like Daniel Negreanu and Gus
Hanson had all these traits, plus one more--they
know how to play poker, and they know how to play it
well.
Gus
Hanson does not play in every WPT event. In fact,
Hanson only plays in tourneys that will bring him a
lot of attention. By playing in only select
tournaments, he has received criticism from many
seasoned vets. If you look closely though, his
strategy might be good--the less he plays, the less
chance experienced poker players have in trying to
figure out his game, or get a “tell” from him. This
could be a big reason for his success in the events
he does play--including numerous appearances at the
Final Table of several WPT events.
Of
course, if you are trying to figure out how a
backgammon player such as Gus Hanson can be such a
huge success at poker, you have to look for the
obvious, as well as the way he plays the game.Gus
Hanson plays poker unlike anyone else in the game,
and he is especially good at no-limit poker. The
reason he excels at a game like no-limit is because
he has an uncanny knack for getting others at his
table to throw money into the pot, even when he has
a bad hand. In fact, Hanson is notorious for
playing bad hands and somehow managing to win with
them.
There are a couple of ways that a great no-limit
Texas Hold ‘Em player such as Hanson manages to play
bad cards and win. The first way is by never
betraying the fact that he has a bad hand. The way
he bets a hand, you would have no idea that he may
be holding a 2-7 off suit, one of the worst starting
hands in all of poker. Players will throw chips
into the pot with a good hand, thinking they have
won, and perhaps they would, but Hanson will
continue to bet, even with a bad hand. The more he
ups his bets, the more concerned opposing players
become thinking that perhaps Gus Hanson’s hand is
good after all. This may cause a player to fold the
better hand to Hanson, but not before dropping a
sizeable amount of chips into the pot for Gus Hanson
to build his stack with.
The
other way Gus Hanson manages to be so successful
when having bad hands is to keep his opponents
guessing. Not only does he not give them any
“tells,” but he also plays his good hands equally
well. When a player plays both good and bad hands
with equal aggression, it is hard for even the most
experienced of poker players to tell if he is
bluffing or not. Therein lies the beauty of a
player like Gus Hanson; if you keep your opponents
guessing, you will likely keep on winning.
Interested in learning more about some of the top
poker players in the world. Read our other
profiles here:
Clonie Gowen
Daniel Negreanu
Phil Ivey
Erin Ness
JC Tran
