Gus Hansen was born on February 13, 1974, outside of Copenhagen, Denmark. As a sports enthusiast, he grew up playing soccer and tennis and was a youth champion at tennis. He also played a lot of games such as backgammon and gin rummy. He had a fascination with math and was naturally attracted to the numbers-heavy games, particularly backgammon.

During the summers between school sessions, Hansen went to camp and was introduced to poker, but backgammon remained his game of choice. He eventually became a professional poker player and followed the tournament circuit all throughout Denmark.

In 1993, Gus Hansen relocated to Santa Cruz, California. His interest in poker was rekindled and he spent much of his time in the local casinos. His understanding of the English language was not very strong ,and he learned to speak English from reading Pink Floyd albums.

It ended up helping his poker game. Because he did not understand all that was said, he learned to watch and read his opponents’ body language and mannerisms. However, Gus Hansen’s casino run came to an end when he had to return to Denmark to serve his country’s mandatory nine-month service in the military.

Gus Hansen later returned to the U.S. and this time moved to New York to pursue his backgammon career. He hung out at all the local gaming clubs and met fellow professionals Huck Seed and Phil Laak. Since the backgammon field in the U.S. was too small for Hansen’s tastes, it was inevitable that he would switch his game to poker. He was introduced to Texas Hold’Em and Stud and began to travel back and forth from New York to Las Vegas.

Gus Hansen World Series of Poker

Gus Hansen entered his first World Series of Poker in 1996 but did not do well. He had never really played No Limit Hold’Em before and was knocked out on the first day of the tournament. The defeat caused him to go back and rethink his game. He practiced more and tested different styles. He eventually learned to change up his game and he has stuck with the style ever since.

Gus Hansen World Poker Tour

In 2002, Gus Hansen entered the inaugural World Poker Tour $10,000 Five Diamond World Poker Classic. He had spent the last few years perfecting his loose and unpredictable style and the practice paid off. He took first place in the No Limit Hold’Em event and earned $550,000. A few months later he won the $10,000 No Limit Hold’Em Championship at the L.A. Poker Classic where he earned another half million dollars. It was the beginning of his success.

Gus Hansen Poker Tournament Winnings

During the WPT second season at the Caribbean Adventure event, Hansen took first place in No Limit Hold’Em which earned him $455,780. Then in April of that same year, he was invited to play at the WPT Bad Boys of Poker tournament. He took another first place in No Limit Hold’Em and took home $25,000. In 2003, he had a third place finish during the WPT season three and won $320,000.

Then is 2006, Gus Hansen won the inaugural European Poker Masters tournament, The London All Star Challenge. He beat out Marc Goodwin in heads-up in the No Limit Hold’Em event and won 53,600 British pounds (approximately $102,000 in U.S. dollars). Four months later in January, 2007, Hansen won the $10,500 main event at the Crown Aussie Millions Championship. He outlasted a field of over 700 players to win the $1,139,000 grand prize.

Despite not having a World Series of Poker win, Gus Hansen has won a total of four World Poker Tour titles and in 2004 was inducted into the World Poker Tour Walk of Fame, along with legendary player Doyle Brunson and the actor James Garner. In 2005, he played in fewer tournaments, deciding to concentrate on his cash games. He still managed to make it to the final table at Full Tilt Poker’s Poker Invitational from Monaco and won the Grand Final of the Inaugural Poker Superstars Invitational. It was a one-table event that featured some of the biggest names in the industry with a grand prize of $1 million. Then in 2006 during the second season of High Stakes Poker, he took down the largest pot in the show’s history, $575,000. He was also the first winner of NBC’s Poker After Dark series which earned him $120,000. One of his more recent finishes was back in April, 2008 at the Season 6 WPT Championships. He came in second to David Chiu and took home $1,714,800.

Gus Hansen - The Great Dane

Gus Hansen’s style is loose and aggressive, said to be very unpredictable. He pressures his opponents by causing them to risk a substantial amount of their chips to find out if he is running a bluff. He has been known to raise big when he has a poor hand in order to throw his opponent off for a future hand. His erratic style has earned him the nickname The Great Dane.

Gus Hansen Poker DVD

Gus Hansen has had other ventures besides at the felt. In 2005, he released an instructional DVD called Texas Hold’Em Poker Advanced Strategies with Gus Hansen. It was part of the All-In instructional DVD series. In 2004, he was named in People magazine as one of the 50 Sexiest Men. He is currently the spokesmodel for the Danish line of men’s fashion by Frank Q and is contracted to wear their clothing during all public appearances. He has launched a poker community website called The Player.com. The site contains blogs, articles, and information on Hansen’s upcoming appearances. In 2008, his book Every Hand Revealed was published, which is a play-by-play of his victory at the Aussie Millions tournament.

Gus Hansen Big Game Bellagio

Gus Hansen is a regular player in ‘The Big Game’ at the Bellagio which features such players as Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, and Barry Greenstein. He has also stated that he has experienced big losses at those games. Sometimes he has lost a million dollars in one night. Being an avid sports better has not helped his financial situation. Hansen is a sponsored player at Full Tilt Poker and he plays there regularly online. He also still likes to play tennis and squash and works out at the gym with pro player Howard Lederer.

He currently lives in Monte Carlo, Monaco near his family and has stated that his niece will probably be his first poker protégé. As of 2008, his estimated winnings from live tournaments exceed $7 million.