Learning From Thor Hansen: Should You Insure Your Health?

Thor Hansen and the entire poker world received the most unfortunate of news this past week. Thor, complaining of kidney pains, made a trip to the hospital only to find out he has terminal cancer throughout his body and may only have two more years to live.

Thor has always been an asset to the poker community. He is a great example of a straight-up nice guy at the poker table. When it comes to setting the example for the younger guys in the game, there is no one better than Thor. We all are rooting for Thor as he has always been one of the finest men we have in the community.

Thor’s situation brings us to a harsh reality for poker players. Like most professional poker players, Thor has no health insurance. Most players I know don’t have health insurance simply because they never got around to it. This situation might bring the up the idea of health insurance to many players that otherwise would never consider it.

Like any insurance you must weigh the cost versus the risk. Someone like myself with a wife and kids has no decision when it comes to health insurance. It is a must. But most of us in the poker world are without dependents and that leaves you with a real choice. The cost is so high in our country that I don’t think there is a clear-cut answer for a single guy. But the only way to make that decision is actually do a little work and investigate what is right for you individually in this matter of health insurance. Without doing that, you are making a very big life decision without gathering the necessary information; something a good poker player would never do.

I urge you to read a great piece on the current situation with Thor Hansen by the author Michael Craig.