Gus Hansen Playing More Tournaments in 2018 – Says 2008 Poker Book Hurt his Game

Gus Hansen was one of the most recognizable faces during the poker boom. He was featured on several poker TV shows, and also gained fame through winning major tournament titles.

The Great Dane hasn't been as visible in the poker world lately. But this might change in 2018, because Hansen plans to play more tournaments next year.

Let's discuss what he recently said about his poker tournament schedule, along with how Hansen thinks that his 2008 poker book hurt his success rate.

Expect to See Hansen in More Poker Tournaments Next Year

It's been years since Gus Hansen has played much tournament poker. One reason why is because he dedicated a large amount of his time towards online poker from 2007-2015. This proved disastrous, as he lost over $20 million in online cash games.

Despite his internet losses, Hansen does have a very successful live tournament career, having won over $10.2 million and three WPT titles.

Another good thing for Hansen is that he wasn’t completely ruined by the online losses, because he’s operated several successful poker-related businesses in the past.

This has allowed him to start playing some tournaments recently, including the WSOP Europe One Drop and WPT Five Diamond. Hansen recently spoke with WPT.com about his tourney appearances.

“I really have left the poker tournament scene during the last five years,” he said. “Probably a little bit random because I played the One Drop and I really enjoyed it.

"Even though I kind of bubbled, which is never too much fun, I thought I played pretty decent. Of course, I made a few mistakes along the way, but we all do. So, I was actually planning on coming over here no matter what, but the tournament made me feel like I would play the main event here."

Hansen has always been known for his aggressive style of play. And he put this on full display during the Five Diamond event. However, he's also looking to add some new wrinkles to his game in order to adapt to a new poker environment.

“I have to re-discover and re-invent things,” Hansen explained. “Now that I’ve played the One Drop there and a little poker here the last couple months, I’m getting into a rhythm.”
This rhythm has led Hansen to plan on entering more poker events in the near future.

"I’m probably going to play more poker next year. There’s a chance you’ll see me in a couple more tournaments.”

Hansen Says Poker Book Gave Away His Strategy

Many poker pros freely offer their strategy through articles, training videos, and Twitch streams. But few players have had the impact that Hansen did when he released his 2008 book Every Hand Revealed.

Launched during the boom area, Every Hand Revealed discusses Hansen's mindset while playing hands. The book explained just how aggressive the Great Dane can be on the felt.

While it's likely that Hansen made plenty of money through book sales, he also believes that the book hurt his chances of winning.

“What really changed a lot was after my book came out, it seemed like people just never believed I had a hand, in their mind,” he said. “I don’t think I did a good job of adjusting because as we all know, I like to play a lot of hands.

"I made a lot of mistakes along the way not adjusting to the perceived image of me. Now, I haven’t played in a long time so maybe sometimes they believe I have something, I don’t know.”

Hansen isn't making the same mistake of failing to adjust to modern players. He's noticed how both pros and amateurs are better these days. And he's making the proper changes in an attempt to earn his first live cash since 2014.

“The good players are better and what’s probably more important is the bad players have gotten better,” said Hansen. “You could find a lot of bad players back in the day. Now, the so-called ‘bad players’ put pressure on you, they re-raise you, do different kinds of things. It’s just tougher.”

Hansen Still Having Fun with Poker

It's been a while since Hansen won three WPT titles in the early 2000s. Back in these days, he dealt with much smaller field sizes. For example, he only had to top a field of 146 players when he won the 2002 WPT Five Diamond Main Event.

Contrast that to this year's Five Diamond, where there were around 146 players left midway through the third day. Thanks to the larger field sizes and higher skill level, it's harder than ever to be a poker champion today. But Hanson certainly isn't backing down from a challenge.

“I’m enjoying the poker tournaments again,” the 43-year-old said. “We’ll see, hopefully, I can stick around for a few more days in this tournament.

"I would be lying, I think most of the field would like to win that $2 million [top prize]. It’s a little bit of both. I’m obviously a gambler. I’m a games player and, obviously, poker is one of them. It’s fun, but I’m also trying my best to win.”

Regardless of how much tougher poker is today, Hansen plans to stick around the game for a while. And as his earlier comments suggest, we should see him in quite a few major tournaments next year.