Gus Hansen's Downswing.

Can you say Tilt? Can you say the woes of variance? Puggy Pearson has a great quote (found here with others):

“The real things to know is that folks will stand to lose more than they will to win. That’s the most important percentage there is. I mean, if they lose, they’re willin’ to lose everything. If they win, they’re usually satisfied to win enough to pay for dinner and a show. The best gamblers know that.”

Sounds like Gus Hansen is dealing with just one of those swings. The high stakes pro who just earlier this year was crushing the games is discovering just how painful variance can be. Tom Dwan was able to regroup and regather after some brutal soul searching. Can Gus Hansen do the same? It's ironic that just this week Daniel Negreanu when discussing the Poker Hall of Fame talked about Dwan's credentials.

Negreanu mentioned being a great young player winning everything and then struggling to become a young player who couldn't win anything. He said Dwan still has to endure that, pull himself up by bootstraps and rebuild himself as a player. Maybe Negreanu wasn't following the trials and tribulations of Durrrrr who went on a streak almost as bad as Hansen's. And Dwan seemed to rise from the ashes.

The question is can Hansen. Perhaps no other player has struggled so quickly and for so much as Gus Hansen. Right now he is down 5 million. Like the gambler in Pearson's quote how far will Hansen let this downswing take him? Until he loses it all? Will he be satisfied with winning anything?

Poker is a brutal game even for the pros that play the highest stakes. David Benyamine was recently noted for his downswings and now he's back winning again. Hansen has a couple of role models, who like himself, had the talent to survive their rough patches and hand on. We hope Hansen can do the same.