Generation Next -- Christoffer Hansen

Christoffer "-NoName-" Hansen is quickly becoming not only a Danish, but an international, online phenomenon. With a poker career still in its toddler stages, Hansen is living proof that some people were just born to play poker. Online is definitely his forté, but this is purely because he has been making appearances at major live tournaments over only the past year. Adapting to the live circuit, Hansen is determined, like many young online pros, to hit it big off the screen.

Rebecca McAdam: Have you been going to many EPTs?

Christoffer Hansen: Yeah, I've played most of the EPTs but haven't had great success so far.

RM: Do you usually qualify online?

CH: I'm sponsored by Unibet, so they pay the trip and the buy-in as well.

RM: How did you get that sponsorship?

CH: It's because I'm doing quite well online. I'm playing $50-$100 no-limit, and I'm up quite a lot this year.

RM: How much is quite a lot?

CH: More than one million dollars.

RM: How long have you been playing live?

CH: I got my sponsorship one year ago, maybe. I've been playing the big live tournaments since I got the sponsorship. Before that, just small tournaments.

RM: What is the main difference you noticed since playing live as well as online?

CH: The main difference for me is - online, I play cash games, but live, it's tournaments. That's the biggest difference for me.

RM: Why don't you play tournaments online?

CH: It's because I think I win lots more in cash games.

RM: What's the poker scene like in Denmark at the moment?
CH: We've got many very good players, many big names, and many big results lately; we've even got Peter Eastgate [the World Series of Poker main-event winner]. I think it's just getting bigger.

RM: How did you get on in the London EPT? The last time I saw you, you were quite short-stacked.

CH: I was playing quite tight to try and pick up some hands, trying to make some moves to double up.

RM: What happened? Were there any key pots you lost?

CH: Not really. The very first hand I played was K-J, where I flopped top two pair. I reraised a guy on the turn and he called me with middle pair, and hit his trips. So, right away I got quite short. I tried to build my way back up, but without much success.

RM: Do you feel pressure to do well when you're playing these tournaments?

CH: No, Unibet has been very good to me and hasn't told me that I need to win a tournament to keep my sponsorship or anything, but since I haven't cashed in the tournaments so far, I'm beginning to feel a little pressure. It's not because of Unibet, it's myself. I want to do better than I've done so far.

RM: You've lots of time because you're so young. How old are you now?

CH: I'm 21.

RM: What's it like being a young poker player, do you think people give you the respect they should?

CH: It's fun. Yeah, many of the young guys are good online players, and generally I think the young guys get a lot of respect because they are normally good players.

RM: How did you get into poker in the first place?

CH: It was four years ago when a friend of mine introduced me to the game, and then we just started playing home games for pennies. I heard about freeroll tournaments on the Internet, and started playing them, and won some cash in those. I began to play cash games as well, and just increased the blinds from 25¢-50¢ to $50-$100 no-limit.

RM: How long did it take you to get that far?

CH: It took me about three years.

RM: Whom do you most respect both online and live?

CH: Online, I play only Unibet, so I don't know good players from all the other sites. "LarsLuzak" is a very good player. Live? Gus Hansen has won a lot of tournaments, but I have never played against him. There are so many good players.

RM: What is your favourite place to travel on the international circuit?

CH: I think it's probably Barcelona.

RM: Has anyone impressed you on the live circuit?

CH: I don't know about that one. There are so many good players at the EPTs.

RM: What's your goal now?

CH: To win an EPT or just a big tournament, because now I have success online, but I'd like to do well live, also.