How Does Gus Hansen Do on Day 1? Hands 30-40.

Hand 30:
Blinds 300/600/75
Position: 1st
Hand Ah-Qs
Chips: 66.7k

Gus opens for 1850, and the short-stacked player moves in for 11000. Gus calls. His opponent has Ac-5c. He hits runner-runner 5's to win pot.

Learning:
Call if opponent is desperate for chips, you have a strong hand, and it won't cost you more than 20% of your stack. Frankly, I'm not sure what the learning is here.

Hand 31:
Blinds 300/600/75
Position: 2 off button
Hand Ac-Td
Chips: 54k

Gus opens for 1800, and button and BB calls. Flop is 10s-8d-3s. Gus bets 4800 into 6450 pot and button calls. 8s on the turn and Gus checks as does his opponent. The river is 6c and Gus wins after his 6300 bet is called on the river.

Learning:
Check the turn when you think you may be in trouble when middle card pairs or it completes flush draw. If opponent checks, than bet the river when a rag falls as a value bet--about half the pot.

Hand 32 and Hand 33 are just pre-flop raises that don't get called. Nothing new.

Hand 34:
Blinds 300/600/75
Position: BB
Hand 5c-7c
Chips: 71.3k

Gus calls the early position raisers bet of 1800. He misses the flop and folds when opponent bets.

Learning:
Gus calls a lot of pre-flop raises in the BB with suited connectors.

Hands 35, 36 and 37 are again pre-flop raises that don't get called. The only interesting thing is that Gus raised 2 off the button with 5-3 offsuit, and the reason is the learning below:

Learning:
When antes increase (especially a 4:1 ratio between SB and ante) be more aggressive. Also figure out the cost of a round when blinds and antes go up. The average stack compared to your stack.
If players are hesitant to enter pots--since they want to survive another day--you can also be more aggressive.

Hand 38:
Blinds 400/800/100
Position: 2 off the button
Hand Jc-3c
Chips: 73.4k

Gus raises to 2500 and gets called by the BB. The flop is Jh-8c-6s, and his opponent bets 6000. Gus folds top pair and his opponent shows pocket 10's.

Learning:
Sometimes you will fold the best hand.
If someone makes a play at you heads-up before you can make a c-bet, analyze the upside and downside of calling the flop bet and evaluate your opponent's strength or weakness.

Hand 39:
Blinds 400/800/100
Position: SB
Hand Th-9h
Chips: 69.6k

Gus calls a raise of 2400. The flop is 8h-7-h-5c. Gus leads out since he doesn't want to give a free card. Gus bets 5000 into the 8000 pot and wins. He notes that he is 43% against a set, 57% against an overpair, and 69% against an A8. He is willing to gamble with the hand.

Learning:
Don't give your opponent a free card if you know he will check a hand behind you like AK or AQ on the flop.

Hand 40:
Blinds 400/800/100
Position: 3rd
Hand Ah-Jh
Chips: 74.8k

Gus raises to 2600 and is called by the SB. The flop is Qs-8h-6s. The SB checks and Gus checks thinking his opponent has a big hand--he has played very tight.

The turn is Qc and Gus bets when his opponent checks. However, his opponent check raises and forces Gus to fold.

Learning:
You don't always have to make a c-bet--especially if your opponent has been playing very tight.
When it is two checks to you, make a stab at the pot.

This ended Day 1.

My previous posts show the learning from the other hands on Day 1. I will summarize to better understand Gus' play.