“You’ve got to have the heart of a lion — play fearless, don’t be afraid and, when you roar, they better back up.” – Hans “Tuna” Lund.

It was probably arrogance. But by early 2007, I figured I had met most all of the “old school” players who still had game. A lot of them never left poker. A few more of them straggled back after the boom, hoping for a comeback fueled by larger fields and prizepools. So I was a little surprised when John Caldwell said, “Well lookie there. It’s the Tuna.”

I had heard of Hans “Tuna” Lund. His dramatic heads-up hand (thanks for the link Kevmath) against a chain-smoking Mansour Matloubi in the 1990 Main Event was legendary. After his second place finish in 1990, he cashed in 1991, and made the final table again in 1992.

He won his first WSOP bracelet in 1978 in the $1,500 No Limit Event. Eighteen years later, Lund took home his second WSOP bracelet in the $1,500 Ace to Five Draw Event. In his career, he grossed nearly $3 million. This is especially impressive considering the many years Lund was absent from the poker circuit to spend more time with his family.

Hans “Tuna” Lund died on November 6th of cancer. He was 59.

It wasn’t until the 2007 LAPC Championship that I got to see the Tuna, up close and personal. There was some talk that Jesse Jones backed him in the event. If the rumor was true, Jesse backed a good horse; Lund finished 20th for $45,560. He also had cashed in two preliminary events at the LAPC, grossing another 40 grand.

I’m sure Jesse backed plenty of horses that failed to cross the money line. But the only other player I know, for a fact, that Jesse backed was Scotty Nguyen in the 1998 WSOP Main Event. Three players backed Scotty in a $1000 satellite. Mike Matusow put up $500 and Jesse put up $250. No one can remember who the last contributor was. It was the last night of the Main Event satellites and only two more were scheduled. Scotty won his seat in one. Jesse won the seat in the other. Unfortunately Jesse was too sick to play. Days later, Jesse would learn that Scotty made the final table.

Back at the LAPC, I wondered how the Tuna would relate to the now-younger field. I remember being disappointed with a number Old School players who had trouble with the influx of new players back in 2004 and 2005. But Lund, thankfully, harbored no Ciaffone-esque bitterness. Lund was a class act.

He was a fairly reserved guy, but he seemed to light up at the poker table. You could just tell he felt at home there. And I got the impression that he enjoyed the company of the next generation. Jonathan Little also did well at the LAPC that year, finishing in 35th. During the event, Tuna apparently called Little “the young guppy” — maybe seeing a younger version of his “big Tuna” self in Little.

Lund once said, “I’d like to see poker viewed as a game of honor and dignity.”

When Lund played, it was.

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Photo notes: Lund and Jesse Jones at the 2007 LAPC. Lund at the 2007 WSOP.