Gus Hansen has cashed for more than $9.8 million in live poker tournaments over his career. He is one of only three players to ever win three World Poker Tour main event titles, alongside Carlos Mortensen and Anthony Zinno. He has also won the Aussie Millions main event, a run he documented in his popular book Every Hand Revealed.
All of that is just to say, when it comes to live tournaments, Hansen definitely has some insight worth listening to.
One of the Great Dane’s other crowning achievements was his title run in the 2010 World Series of Poker Europe £10,000 no-limit hold’em heads-up event. He topped a field of 103 entries in that tournament to win his first WSOP gold bracelet.
Hansen’s win drew plenty of attention, not only because he was able to cross his name off the ‘best players without a bracelet’ list, but also for the slightly unusual strategic approach he utilized throughout the event.
In heads-up poker it is common for the player on the button to open for a raise with a wide variety of hands, putting more chips in the pot while they have the paramount advantage of being in position.
Hansen pointedly shirked this convention, limping in from the button instead of starting with a raise.
Card Player TV caught up with Hansen after his win to discuss the reasons behind his approach and how it helped him to win his first WSOP title. Check out the interview below:
