Gus Hansen's Master Class (PSI on FSN

[CrisBrown]

Hi All,

For anyone who missed this week's Poker Superstars Invitational on FSN, Gus Hansen gave a master class in tournament poker. Yes, he caught great cards (pair over pair) almost every time he needed them, and hit a 3-outer vs. Barry Greenstein. But once it got heads-up, he played a very patient game. He had a 7:1 chip lead over T.J. Cloutier, and he wasn't about to double up T.J. on a loose call. Instead, he took a shot at a pot, but then laid it down, waiting for the right situation to go all-in as a 3:1 favorite (JJ vs. T.J.'s 55).

The announcers discussed whether Gus Hansen can unsettle an entire table full of world-class players. The answer, quite clearly, was "yes." Several times during this round, the other players were discussing aloud what they thought Gus held. When seven of the best poker players in the world are trying to figure out what to do to counter you, you've definitely unsettled the table.

Is Gus the "best" player in the world? Who knows? But he is certainly not the suckout artist that casual viewers may think.

Cris

[dakine]

Gus Hansen is the Luckiest player in the world. He admitted he plays on instinct, and is aggressive (Lucky). There has been a few times he gets called and bumped from the games.
He's the type who is probably thinking.."It Aint Over 'Till the River"
"Luck is like spilling a drink, eventually it dry's up"
[img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[durron597]

Are you really saying that busting a shortstack with a TT SB raise, BB pushes with 77 is masterful poker? Are you saying that rivering Barry was masterful poker? Are you saying that getting TJ to go allin with a small PP when he had a big PP early in HU was good poker?

I think the single biggest contributing factor to Gus's win (at least in the last episode) was Barry letting himself get run over every pot. He didn't check behind once, and against a big stack who's shown himself willing to raise your bets that's poor poker.

I'd like to commend TJ here for realizing that he wasn't going to take first without a lot of luck and waiting for Barry to bust himself before playing hands, because second is better than third.

[CrisBrown]

Hi durron,

Gus is "crazy like a fox." Yes, he plays wild. But Howard Lederer said, "Gus can play hands like King-five offsuit because he's so good post-flop." Hansen evaluates steal equities better than anyone else in the game right now, and that's why he can play "crazy" and still be so successful.

No, he's not perfect. Yes, he makes misreads sometimes. And yes, with his style, he puts a TON of read-pressure on himself, because his style relies on accurate reads. Most people can't play Gus Hansen poker successfully. I know I can't. But it's fun to watch him, and yes, he handled the heads-up with T.J. masterfully. He backed off and DIDN'T play his usual fast-and-loose style, choosing instead to preserve his chip lead until he had the right hand for the kill shot.

Let's put it another way. Say Gus is dealt the 55, and T.J. catches the JJ. Gus raises, and T.J. moves in. Do you think Gus would have called him? I don't. Not in that situation, where he had more to gain by letting that pot go and waiting for a better hand for the kill shot. He was playing stack equity at that point.

Yes, I think T.J. played very well. I also think Barry played well, although unfortunately he kept running into situations where Gus had flopped something and he hadn't, until the final outdraw hand. And yes, as I said, Gus caught VERY well, having pair-over-pair whenever a short stack was forced to push in.

But there was a reason that Gus had the big stack, and the leverage to force people to move in on marginal pairs. Time and again, players said "I caught a good hand and had to push in, and he happened to have a bigger pair." That "and hand to push in" had to do with stack equity, and Gus built that stack equity with skillful evaluations of steal equity.

The best players in the world think Gus is a scary, dangerous player. I'll take their word for it.

Cris

[dakine]

"BS" 99.9% of his so called skill is "Luck". I'm not trying to put the man down. Sh!t I wish I had the "Luck" he has. He scares the "Turd" out of the other players with his so called wild plays. Remember..."It aint over 'till the River"

[RowdyZ]

okay Rd 2 was master class then Rd 1 would have been play stupid, suckout on a couple of people then keep playing stupid but stop catching your miracle cards and get bounced from the tournament.

[The_Tracker]

[ QUOTE ]
"BS" 99.9% of his so called skill is "Luck".

[/ QUOTE ]

99.9% of this statment is ignorant.

The .1% that isn't is the punctuation.

[Boris]

[ QUOTE ]
But he is certainly not the suckout artist that casual viewers may think.

[/ QUOTE ]

How can you say that? The only time he was put to a decision for most of his chips, he put his money in as a huge dog.

[NUReedy]

You peopleare stupid. Chris Brown is clearly the only correct person here. Gus Hanson IS a world class player. I guarentee if you all Gus haters couldn't see Gus's cards you would think he was some sort of card playing genius. But you can see is cards, so you all experts believe what he does is terrible poker. Don't believe everything you see on TV. The simple fact is (which is basic and I will admit I know NOTHING other than it) is that Hanson has had massive success winning huge poker tournaments. Jesus, if you are right, then Hanson literally is the luckiest person EVER.

[SQUi5HiiFiSH]

didn't he win some big WPT event, more than once.. if he's so lucky