Gus Hansen had a wonderful year on the WPT where he was the only participant to make it to the last table in 3 of the events. Gus Hansen has been seen on High Stakes Poker on The Game Show Network where he paid $400, 000 to play. You might recall one of the biggest pots in big stakes poker history competing against Daniel Negreanu. Hansen secured a huge pot with quads against Daniel’s full house. Gus has earned many televised poker appearances and is considered to be one of the strongest players around the world. While competing in net poker, another side of Hansen has emerged. He regularly participates in the 200/400 No Limit max buy-in of $40, 000. Gus more often than not buys in for the min of $16, 000 and plays very poorly. He waits patiently for a good hand and then pushes all in. I accept that Hansen is an amazing poker player but not even close to the everyday players at 200/400NL. Unless Gus is broke, he has absolutely no reason to sit at the game with the min buy in.
Buying in for the minimum takes a majority of the ability out of big stack poker. Hansen is assumed to be one of the greatest poker players in the world but he can’t buy in for the total dollar value. I think television can alter our perception of the real world every now and then. The greatest players in the world could be players you have never heard of before. Gus can be seen wagering on online poker on Full Tilt. He usually participates in high stakes omaha/8 and texas hold’em. Gus Hansen has shown himself as a tournament player. Can he use his abilities in money rounds?