Gus Hansen Mulls His Huge Online Poker Swings

Gus Hansen first started playing at Full Tilt Poker in 2007, and since then has had just one winning year out of seven for a total loss of -$9,845,422. So far this year alone, the “Great Dane” is already down by -$3,434,150 and at this rate could end up surpassing the huge -$5,575,624 he dropped back in 2009. However, during all the years bar the last two Hansen was in profit by millions before sliding into the red, and not surprisingly the Full Tilt sponsored pro has spent a great deal of time trying to make sense of his online swings.
Recently, in a revealing interview with pokerlistings the 39-year-old provided an interesting insight into the frustration he has experienced on his online poker roller-coaster ride, explaining:
“..I’ve been doing a lot of losing lately and I’ve been frustrated. I feel like I am missing something. Maybe I’m outdated. I used to be the biggest winner on Omaha HiLo while in the last six months I’m the biggest loser on Omaha HiLo..I am kind of questioning myself. I think every competitive player has to question himself at some point and ask ‘has the game surpassed me? Am I rusty? Am I not good enough in this game anymore?”
In the midst of his 2011 upswing, Gus managed to make some major adjustments to his game in order to gain a competitive edge over his opponent, explaining at the time:
“My focus is a little better, and I stopped playing too loose in some situations..I don’t mind playing a big pot, but all within reason. I don’t have $200 million to play coin flips for a million at a time and neither does anyone else. I shy away from the insane deep-stacked games.”
Nevertheless, this time around the solutions to his latest online dilemma seem a little more elusive, with Gus commenting; “So, I wonder: what happened in the mean time? I know I haven’t been running good but, at the same time, I don’t think I have been running THAT bad.”
Despite his huge losses online, however, Gus Hansen maintains that on balance he is still doing rather well across all his gambling ventures, comparing his career as a carousel in which you lose on one round and win on another. Explaining how the large swings affect his overall approach to the game, Gus Hansen simply states:
“I sleep better after a big win than after a big loss, I think that’s no secret..[however] I’m kind of used to the big swings. Of course it’s more fun to win than to lose but then it’s kind of part of what I do.”