2009 40th Annual World Series of Poker
No-Limit Hold’em (Event 34)
Date:
Tuesday, June 16, 2009 to Thursday, June 18, 2009
Buy-In:
$1,500
Prize Pool:
$2,859,675
Entrants:
2,095
Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:17:53
Jonas Klausen Eliminated in 2nd Place ($322,371)
Eric Baldwin had the button, and he raised it up to 165,000. Without wasting any time, Jonas Klausen moved all in, and Baldwin instantly called.
Showdown
Baldwin:
Klausen: 
Klausen was at risk of elimination, and the race was on! The crowd (which had grown hush over the last few orbits) came to life as everyone in attendance stood and took one step closer to the table. The dealer ran out the flop: 
. Baldwin was still in the lead, but Klausen added a couple outs as the other two tens in the deck were now good for him as well.
Everyone in the gallery inched foreward once again, with a cacophony of cheers being yelled full throat: "Ten! Ace! Brick! Queen! Six! Ace! Ten!" in an overlapping chorus. The dealer turned fourth street: 
. It was a safe card once more for Baldwin, and it took away those two outs that Klausen had picked up. A ten was no good now.
Left drawing to just an ace or a queen, Klausen peered down at the board to catch what would be the final river card of the night: 
. An eruption of celebration came from across the arena as a throng of supporters rushed in on Eric Baldwin. The Danish side fell silent though, as they too made their way onto the stage to console their runner-up.
Jonas Klausen put on a fine performance in this event, and in particular, in this final day. He traded the chip lead back and forth all day, and his well-timed maneuvers put him in a good spot to win this event. He'll walk away with $322,371 but fall just one spot shy of claiming the gold bracelet.
Thu, 18 Jun 2009 23:57:51
Big Flop for Baldwin
Eric Baldwin raised to 190,000 from the button, and Jonas Klausen called. The flop came 
, and Klausen checked. Baldwin bet 255,000, and Klausen check-raised to 805,000 total. Baldwin suddenly moved all in, and Klausen snap-called.
Another bit of bad timing for Klausen -- though potentially much more damaging here than in that previous hand when wasn't able to play his pocket aces -- as Baldwin showed 
for the set, and Klausen 
for top two pair.
The turn was the 
and the river 
, and now Baldwin has a commanding lead. He's up over 8 million chips, while Klausen tumbles down to about 1.35 million.
Thu, 18 Jun 2009 23:53:03
You Would Fold That One
Eric Baldwin just folded a hand preflop -- something we haven't seen happen hardly at all here in the first two dozen hands of heads up -- and afterwards Jonas Klausen showed his hand: 
.
Thu, 18 Jun 2009 23:51:00
Klausen Continues to Claw Forward
Eric Baldwin limped from the button, and Jonas Klausen checked. The flop came 
. Klausen checked, Baldwin bet 80,000, and Klausen called.
Both checked the on the turn. The river brought the 
. Klausen bet 205,000, and Baldwin looked out from beneath the brim of his black baseball cap, eyes darting back and forth between his opponent and the board. Finally, he folded.
Thu, 18 Jun 2009 23:50:00
Klausen Moves Ahead
Jonas Klausen raised to 180,000 from the button. Eric Baldwin began stacking chips, and he slid out a stack of greens and oranges totaling 610,000. Klausen wasted little time calling.
The flop rolled out 
. Baldwin reached for his stack again, and he slid out another 610,000 chips in the same green-and-orange tower as before. Klausen cocked his head to the side as he considered his action for a bit. After a minute or so, he very quietly announced, "I'm all in." Before the words were even out of his mouth, Baldwin's cards were in the muck.
After raking in a big pile of chips, Jonas Klausen has re-taken the chip lead with 5,550,000.
Thu, 18 Jun 2009 23:40:35
Baldwin Value Bet
Eric Baldwin limped from the button, and Jonas Klausen called. The flop came . Klausen checked, Baldwin bet 105,000, and Klausen called. Both checked the on the turn.
The river brought the 
. Klausen checked, Baldwin bet 305,000, and Klausen called.
Baldwin flipped over 
for two pair, and Klausen mucked. Baldwin has 5.25 million, and Klausen 4.18 million.
Thu, 18 Jun 2009 23:34:59
The Battle Begins
Small steps here as these two players -- stacks nearly even -- enter into their heads up battle in earnest.
After trading the first few small pots following the break, Eric Baldwin limped from the small blind/button, and Jonas Klausen checked behind. The flop came 
, and both checked. The turn was the , and this time Klausen bet 80,000. Baldwin called.
The river was the , and both checked. Klausen flipped over what appeared to be 8-2 for a pair of deuces, and took the pot.
Thu, 18 Jun 2009 23:15:27
Chip Counts
As the players walk off to break, they find themselves in a dead heat for the chip lead. With more than 9.3 million chips in play, the two men are separated by just 300,000.
Eric Baldwin - 4,865,000
Jonas Klausen - 4,565,000
Thu, 18 Jun 2009 23:10:33
Break Time
Our last two survivors are taking a well-deserved 20-minute break.
Thu, 18 Jun 2009 23:08:45
Heads Up Begins
Eric Baldwin has an advantage as we begin heads up, with about 5.1 million to Jonas Klausen's 4.5 million.
Before the level concluded, we saw five hands of heads up play. The first four ended in small pots and little incident.
In the fifth, Eric Baldwin raised from the small blind/button, and and Jonas Klausen called. The flop came 
, and both checked. The turn was the 
. Klausen bet 245,000, and Baldwin let it go.
Thu, 18 Jun 2009 23:07:31
James Taylor Eliminated in 3rd Place ($213,046)
With Jonas Klausen folding the button, James Taylor came in with a raise from the small blind, making it 180,000 straight. After a long stare and a bit of chatter, Eric Baldwin made the call out of the big.
The flop came down 
, and Taylor continued out with a bet of 175,000. Baldwin took his time eyeing up his opponent before turning his gaze toward his own chip stack. After a minute or more, he announced, "All in." Taylor sunk back into his chair, frustration over Baldwin's aggression maybe just now starting to become visible on his face. After a few minutes of deep thought, he made the call to put his tournament life on the line.
Showdown
Taylor:
Baldwin: 
Baldwin was ahead with top pair, and Taylor was looking for one of his six overcard outs to stay alive. The turn was a blank though, and the that filled out the board would be the last river card of the night for Taylor.
After running over the field on Day 1, Taylor took the overnight chip lead into the second day. His stack was middling for most of yesterday's action, but Taylor won some big key pots to run deep into the final table. In the end though, his king-queen couldn't find any help, and he has exited in 3rd place.
Thu, 18 Jun 2009 22:55:21
River Club Sends Klausen Into Chip Lead
It was another blind-vs.-blind battle between Eric Baldwin (small) and Jonas Klausen (big). The pot was 365,000 when the flop came 
. Baldwin bet 185,000, and Klausen made the call.
The turn was the 
. This time Baldwin bet 540,000. Klausen took a couple of minutes, then announced he was all in. Baldwin instantly called.
Baldwin
Klausen
Baldwin had the flush, but Klausen had outs to survive. And the river brought the 
, sending Klausen's colorfully-dressed Danish cheering section into song.
Klausen doubles up into the chip lead with more than 5 million, while Baldwin tumbles back close to 2 million.
Thu, 18 Jun 2009 22:44:17
Baldwin Means Business
Eric Baldwin raised to 130,000 from the button, and Jonas Klausen reraised to 430,000 from the small blind. James Taylor folded, and Baldwin didn't take too long to move all in.
Klausen took about fifteen seconds to think about it, then folded. Baldwin has more than 5 million now, while Klausen has slipped back around 2.5 million.
Thu, 18 Jun 2009 22:35:28
Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stack
James Taylor folded from the button, Eric Baldwin completed from the small blind, and Jonas Klausen checked.
The flop came 
. Baldwin bet 90,000, and Klausen promptly raised to 205,000. Baldwin took about a half-minute, then quietly announced he was raising. He pushed out a tall stack of green chips, topped by three orange ones -- a total of 590,000.
Klausen looked at the board for a moment, then let it go.
Baldwin moves up to 4.75 million, while Klausen has 3.275 million. Taylor still has 1.4 million.
Thu, 18 Jun 2009 22:30:07
Klausen Checks Behind
On a flop of , Eric Baldwin led out with a bet of 120,000. His lone opponent was Jonas Klausen, and he quickly made the call. Both players checked the on the turn, and the action repeated when the hit the river.
Baldwin looked disappointed when Klausen checked behind him on the river. He turned over for the straight, winning that small battle.
Thu, 18 Jun 2009 22:23:08
Final Table Tension
Jonas Klausen folded from the button, and James Taylor raised to 180,000 (3x) from the small blind. Eric Baldwin called from the big blind.
The flop came 
. Taylor bet 235,000 (about two-thirds the pot), and after shuffling his chips for a bit Baldwin made the call.
The turn was the . With great deliberation, Taylor carefully set out a bet of 425,000. Baldwin took about five seconds to announce he was raising all in. As Baldwin had Taylor well covered, Taylor had a big decision to make.
And he took his time. About five minutes' worth, in fact. Most of that period he spent staring at the board, though occasionally would look to his left and ask brief questions of Baldwin, none of which did his opponent answer.
Finally, though it obviously pained him to do so, Taylor let it go. After that hand, Taylor dips down to about 1.4 million. Baldwin is up to 4.34 million, the new chip leader, pushing past Jonas Klausen who has 3.68 million.
Thu, 18 Jun 2009 22:07:41
Updated Chip Counts
Jonas Klausen -- 3.685 million
Eric Baldwin -- 3.345 million
James Taylor -- 2.45 million
Thu, 18 Jun 2009 22:01:02
A Baldwin Win
In the last hand of the level, James Taylor folded from the button, Eric Baldwin raised to 135,000 from the small blind, and Jonas Klausen called from the big blind. The flop came 
. Baldwin bet 180,000, and Klausen called.
The turn was the . This time Baldwin bet 380,000, and Klausen sat in contemplation for about a minute before letting it go.
Thu, 18 Jun 2009 21:55:56
Benjamin Scholl Eliminated in 4th Place ($150,133)
A short-stacked Benjamin Scholl moved all in from the button for 235,000, and James Taylor called him from the big blind.
Taylor 
Scholl
The flop brought a king -- 
, and Scholl was in the lead. The turn was the 
, meaning there were only a couple of cards left in the deck that could sink Scholl. And one of them came on the river, the 
.
Scholl is out, and we are down to three. Taylor has about 2.3 million now.
Thu, 18 Jun 2009 21:55:44
Scholl Crippled
In a heads-up battle of the blinds, Benjamin Scholl and Jonas Klausen saw a flop of 
, and they both checked.
The turn was the , and Scholl opted to lead out with a bet of 75,000. After some deliberation, Klausen made the call. The river brought the , and Scholl passed this time. Klausen fired out a bet now, 225,000 to play. Scholl mulled it over for a good while before putting in the call.
Klausen tabled 
, and his trip sevens were easily good enough to win the pot. Scholl sent his cards into the muck, and he has slipped all the way down to 240,000.
