Card Player, Gambler or Business Man?by Gus Hansen | Published: Feb 07, '08 |
 
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My name is Gus Hansen and I never thought I was going to ask myself that headline question.
From now on I'll be your regular columnist with random thoughts on gambling, sex and everything in between.
Don't worry too much though I'll mainly stick to my field of expertise "Poker". I will be here at least every Friday but look for my extra contribution during tournament weeks and when there is something I just have to tell you.
Traveling around the World for a while, I'm once again back in my birthplace Copenhagen, Denmark, where I will try to collect my thoughts after a hectic couple of months.
A mixture of Backgammon/ Poker-tournaments, sports-betting, business-meetings etc. has filled in the calendar and it brings me right back to my initial question.
Multiple Personalities?
I always write 'poker player' in the occupation-bracket on the US immigration-form that US foreigners have to fill in every time we enter The States. Not a very exact description if you ask me.
My affiliation and sponsorship-agreement with Full Tilt Poker makes me feel like a professional athlete. My continuous unsuccessful sports-betting endeavors remind me of my friend's description of the people he encounters at GA-meetings (GA=Gamblers Anonymous). My hopefully continued success at the poker tables makes me think that poker is my true calling. But then again my involvement in TV-deals, book-signings, mobile phone games as well as countless other ventures leads me to believe that I am somewhat of a businessman.
Bottom line: With the increased popularity of poker lots of new opportunities have emerged on the scene.
Instead of depending solely on financial success at the poker tables a possible career as a business-mogul has been added to the equation. Some prefer to stay incognito and focus strictly on poker while others like Phil Hellmuth is trying to build an empire.
Me - I'm somewhere in between.
I have always had a passion for games. Whether it is called Chess, Go, Bridge, Gin-Rummy, Yatzy, Backgammon or Poker, I'm there. That is where I roam and not on some wooden floors at board-meetings.
Just because some money-making propositions come along I'm not going to change the scenery and give up on gambling. Luckily I have some good people around me that I can count on (my family) to help me make the right decisions away from the table. Therefore I'm able keep my attention directed at the game of choice and only stray away if and when my opinion is needed somewhere else.
Usually to resolve a discussion I find it rewarding to put out some numbers in the end. Throw in some math where it doesn't normally belong and quantify the unquantifiable!
Sometimes it gives me, and hopefully others, a better understanding of what is going on thereby making some concepts easier to grasp. There will be plenty of examples of my love for numbers in the next couple of weeks.
There is one question lurking out there, which I have never really been able to tackle - at least not to a satisfying degree. "How much skill and how much luck is there in Poker?"
I doubt anyone will ever come up with the right answer for the right reason, so in this particular instance I won't event try. As far as the main question for this column goes I think I have a pretty good idea:
60% poker-player, 30% business-man, 10% degenerate gambler!
I would normally have started out with a poker-hand or two from the real world, but since I got caught up in this rather existential rambling I'm going to wait till next time.
If you are craving technical poker input please check out my latest poker analyses by becoming part of my community, ThePlayr.com.
Should you be looking for action then challenge me this Friday, the 8th of February, when I will be playing two tournaments on Full Tilt at 2 PM Eastern Time/ 8 PM Central European Time:
* FTOPS VII, Event #4, $200 PLH.
* Gus Invitational, tournament ID: 37513257, $5 NLH - for further details on this tourney, please check out this link.
C Ya
Gus
Be a part of Gus Hansen's poker community at ThePlayr.com, where among other cool stuff you can check out Gus' blogs, poker articles, Gus TV, Tips&Tricks, "Ask Gus" and even play against Gus in exclusive tournaments.
From now on I'll be your regular columnist with random thoughts on gambling, sex and everything in between.
Don't worry too much though I'll mainly stick to my field of expertise "Poker". I will be here at least every Friday but look for my extra contribution during tournament weeks and when there is something I just have to tell you.
Traveling around the World for a while, I'm once again back in my birthplace Copenhagen, Denmark, where I will try to collect my thoughts after a hectic couple of months.
A mixture of Backgammon/ Poker-tournaments, sports-betting, business-meetings etc. has filled in the calendar and it brings me right back to my initial question.
Multiple Personalities?
I always write 'poker player' in the occupation-bracket on the US immigration-form that US foreigners have to fill in every time we enter The States. Not a very exact description if you ask me.
My affiliation and sponsorship-agreement with Full Tilt Poker makes me feel like a professional athlete. My continuous unsuccessful sports-betting endeavors remind me of my friend's description of the people he encounters at GA-meetings (GA=Gamblers Anonymous). My hopefully continued success at the poker tables makes me think that poker is my true calling. But then again my involvement in TV-deals, book-signings, mobile phone games as well as countless other ventures leads me to believe that I am somewhat of a businessman.
Bottom line: With the increased popularity of poker lots of new opportunities have emerged on the scene.
Instead of depending solely on financial success at the poker tables a possible career as a business-mogul has been added to the equation. Some prefer to stay incognito and focus strictly on poker while others like Phil Hellmuth is trying to build an empire.
Me - I'm somewhere in between.
I have always had a passion for games. Whether it is called Chess, Go, Bridge, Gin-Rummy, Yatzy, Backgammon or Poker, I'm there. That is where I roam and not on some wooden floors at board-meetings.
Just because some money-making propositions come along I'm not going to change the scenery and give up on gambling. Luckily I have some good people around me that I can count on (my family) to help me make the right decisions away from the table. Therefore I'm able keep my attention directed at the game of choice and only stray away if and when my opinion is needed somewhere else.
Usually to resolve a discussion I find it rewarding to put out some numbers in the end. Throw in some math where it doesn't normally belong and quantify the unquantifiable!
Sometimes it gives me, and hopefully others, a better understanding of what is going on thereby making some concepts easier to grasp. There will be plenty of examples of my love for numbers in the next couple of weeks.
There is one question lurking out there, which I have never really been able to tackle - at least not to a satisfying degree. "How much skill and how much luck is there in Poker?"
I doubt anyone will ever come up with the right answer for the right reason, so in this particular instance I won't event try. As far as the main question for this column goes I think I have a pretty good idea:
60% poker-player, 30% business-man, 10% degenerate gambler!
I would normally have started out with a poker-hand or two from the real world, but since I got caught up in this rather existential rambling I'm going to wait till next time.
If you are craving technical poker input please check out my latest poker analyses by becoming part of my community, ThePlayr.com.
Should you be looking for action then challenge me this Friday, the 8th of February, when I will be playing two tournaments on Full Tilt at 2 PM Eastern Time/ 8 PM Central European Time:
* FTOPS VII, Event #4, $200 PLH.
* Gus Invitational, tournament ID: 37513257, $5 NLH - for further details on this tourney, please check out this link.
C Ya
Gus
Be a part of Gus Hansen's poker community at ThePlayr.com, where among other cool stuff you can check out Gus' blogs, poker articles, Gus TV, Tips&Tricks, "Ask Gus" and even play against Gus in exclusive tournaments.