Tournaments
Hansen started playing poker at the Ocean View Card Room in Santa Cruz, California, [5] while he was an exchange student at UC Santa Cruz. Hansen recorded his first major tournament cash with a victory in the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic in May 2002. He won $556,460 for his victory. [6] In February 2003, Hansen won the $10,000 No Limit Hold'em Championship at the WPT LA Poker Classic for $532,490. [7] In January 2004, he won the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $7,500 No Limit Hold'em event for $455,780. [8] Hansen was the first player to win three World Poker Tour (WPT) open tournaments. In addition, he won the first WPT Bad Boys of Poker invitational event. [9] Hansen finished in the money in 150th place in the 2004 WSOP Main Event. [10] In the 2006 Tournament of Champions, Hansen made a World Series of Poker final table, but lost on the very first hand with ace king against a pair of 9s. In 2007, Hansen cashed in the $10,000 no limit Texas hold 'em championship, coming in 61st place out of 6,358 players, winning $154,194. [11] In 2008, he came in 160th place out of 6,844 players to win a prize of $41,816. [12]
In 2004, he was inducted into the World Poker Tour Walk of Fame, along with Doyle Brunson and James Garner. [13] On 27 April 2008, Hansen came in second to David Chiu at the Season 6 WPT Championship, earning $1,714,800. [14] In September 2006, Hansen won the inaugural EPM event, The London All Star Challenge, beating Marc Goodwin to take home the title and a cheque for £53,600 ($US100,275). [15] Hansen won the inaugural $400,000 Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament, winning the $1,000,000 first prize in a one-table event featuring some of the best-known players. [16] He did not appear in the second series, and lost to Antonio Esfandiari in the semifinals of the third. [17]
Hansen made the final table of a European Poker Tour (EPT) event in Barcelona in September 2005. [18] In 2006, Hansen was a member of the winning Danish team in the PartyPoker.com Football & Poker Legends Cup tournament, alongside Theo Jørgensen and Kim Christofte. He was featured in the Professional Poker Tour and the second season of High Stakes Poker , where he won the fifth biggest pot in the show's history ($575,700), when his 5♦ 5♣ defeated Daniel Negreanu's 6♠ 6♥ on a board of 9♣ 6♦ 5♥ 5♠ 8♠. [19] [20] He was in Singapore in 12–17 November 2006, to participate in the Betfair Asian Poker Tour. Hansen was the first winner on NBC's Poker After Dark , earning $120,000, as he outlasted a field of six pros, including Phil Hellmuth and Huck Seed. [21] In January 2007, Hansen won the $10,500 main event at the Aussie Millions in Melbourne, Australia, beating a field of 747 players to take home the A$1,500,000 first prize. [22] In 2008, Lyle Stuart Kensington published Hansen's book Every Hand Revealed ( ISBN 978-0818407277), a hand-by-hand account of his win. [23]
In 2010, Hansen won the £10,350 No Limit Hold'em High Roller Heads-Up event at the WSOPE, winning his first WSOP bracelet and £288,409, equivalent to $451,880. [24] He also defeated Tony Bloom heads-up to win the Poker Million IX tournament, taking $1,000,000 for first prize. [25] [26] In January 2012, he finished 3rd in the A$ 250,000 No Limit Hold'em - $250,000 Challenge at the Aussie Millions Poker Championship in Melbourne for $823,579. [27]
