Gus Hansen is a professional poker player from Denmark. Nicknamed "The Great Dane", Gus has been a fixture across the Atlantic for most poker fans for over a decade. One of the most intelligent and exciting players, Gus is a ton of fun to watch when he hits the felt.
Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, Hansen grew up in search of competition. The young Gus was a young tennis champion and an excellent backgammon player. As an exchange student, Hansen studied at the University of California, Santa Cruz. While studying, Gus picked up a new hobby, poker.
While he was one of the most skilled backgammon players around, he was drawn to poker. Just as, Hansen was getting into the game, he received a letter from the Danish military requesting that he come back to fulfill his compulsory service in the military.
After two years in the military, Gus came back to America, but this time went to New York. He played gin and backgammon for a while, before picking up a book on Texas Hold'Em. The game began to grow in the 90s, and Gus had a talent for it. He was playing in games across New York, and he was winning big.
Gus is known for his all over style, and his propensity to play starting hands that may be out of other people range. He is certainly not afraid to bluff other players or make loose call. His unpredictably, in his mind, is what makes him so hard to read.
He first burst onto the tournament scene in 2002, when he bought into a World Poker Tour event. It was the Bellagio's Five-Diamond Poker Classic, the tournament that would propel his career onto the international stage. Gus took down the first place prize of over a half million dollars.
Gus is a WPT legend and in the WPT Hall of Fame. He has taken down three WPT titles and made seven final tables and finished in the money nine times. He has just one WSOP bracelet, but his overall tournament earnings exceed $11 million.
Gus was a member of team Full Tilt before the Black Friday seizures, but since he was so beloved by the poker community, he was again made the face of the new Full Tilt Poker in November of 2012.
Gus also has a poker strategy website. He has published several poker books and is a regular in the The Big Game in Las Vegas. He currently resides in Copenhagen, Denmark but is a regular on the tournament circuit and in the world’s biggest cash games.
