WSOP: Jesper Hougaard Wins Event No. 36Hougaard Prevails in the $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Event with his Aggressive Style |
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Jesper Hougaard proved to the world once again that when an aggressive player from Denmark is at a final table, every other player at the table should take notice. Hougaard was inspired to play more poker when he first saw Gus Hansen dominate on the World Poker Tour a few years ago. Now Hougaard owns something that Hansen does not, a World Series of Poker gold bracelet. Hougaard defeated a huge field of 2,447 in a $1,500 no-limit hold'em event to win $610,304. He dominated play at every stretch of the final table, but his toughest challenge came heads up. Cody Slaubaugh stole the chip lead from him just before the dinner break, but dinner was just what the doctor ordered for Hougaard. He regained the the upper hand after the break and slammed the door shut on Slaubaugh shortly thereafter to win his first bracelet.
Here were the chip counts at the start of play:
Jesper Hougaard: 1,582,000
Cody Slaubaugh: 1,419,000
Danny Wong: 1,105,000
Rick Solis: 900,000
Justin Wald: 873,000
Owen Crowe: 674,000
Doug Middleton: 356,000
John Shipley: 269,000
Aaron Kanter: 165,000
Here are highlights from all of the action, as featured in CardPlayer.com’s live coverage of the final table:
Aaron Kanter Doubles Up on the First Hand
Aaron Kanter wasted no time moving all in preflop for 163,000 on the first hand at the final table and Cody Slaubaugh called him down. Their cards:
Kanter: A
7
Slaubaugh: A
J
Board: 9 8 2 Q
7
Despite being dominated preflop, Kanter spiked a 7 on the river to survive the hand.
John Shipley Eliminated in Ninth Place ($56,783)
Slaubaugh raised to 55,000 preflop and Shipley reraised all in. Slaubaugh made the call and they flipped up their hands:
Slaubaugh: J J
Shipley: K Q
Board: 9 5 4 6 10
Shipley was eliminated in ninth place, and he took home $56,783 in prize money.
Owen Crowe Eliminated in Eighth Place ($81,833)
Owen Crowe raised to 55,000 preflop and Danny Wong made the call. The flop was dealt A 9 8 and Crowe bet 70,000. Wong made the call and the turn fell A. Wong checked, Crowe bet 225,000, and Wong raised all in to more than cover Crowe. Crowe made the all-in call and flipped over A 7. Wong showed down K 6 and he made a flush when the 5 fell on the river. Crowe was eliminated in eighth place, and he took home $81,833 in prize money.
Rick Solis Eliminated in Seventh Place ($106,884)
Jesper Hougaard raised to 62,000 preflop and Rick Solis made the call. The flop was dealt Q 10 9 and both players checked. The turn fell 9 and Hougaard bet 76,000. Solis raised all in and Hougaard made the call with A 3. Solis showed down J 10 and he found no solace in the J on the river. Solis was knocked out by Hougaard's flopped flush, and he took home $106,884 in prize money.
Justin Wald Eliminated in Sixth Place ($140,286)
Justin Wald got the last of his chips into the middle with a board of J J 4 K 5 sitting on the table and Danny Wong made the call. He flipped over Q-J, but Wong showed down two diamonds for a flush. Wald was eliminated in sixth place, and he took home $140,286 in prize money. 
Doug Middleton Eliminated in Fifth Place ($177,028)
Jesper Hougaard raised to 78,000 and Doug Middleton reraised to 412,000 preflop. Hougaard made the call and both players turned up their hands:
Hougaard: 3 3
Middleton: A Q
Board: J J 2 5 10
Middleton was eliminated in fifth place, and he took home $177,028 in prize money.
Tight Play Dominates
The final four players at this final table are all playing not to lose right now. Flops are far and few between, and river cards are almost unheard of on the felt. During a 30-minute stretch only three hands went to a flop during the last level.
Danny Wong Eliminated in Fourth Place ($217,110)
Aaron Kanter raised to 130,000 preflop and Danny Wong reraised all in for 380,000. Jesper Hougaard reraised all in over the top of both of them and Kanter got out of the way. The two players then turned up their hands:
Hougaard: A 5
Wong: K K
Board: Q 10 6 8 J
Wong was eliminated on the hand in sixth place, and he took home $217,110 in prize money.
Aaron Kanter Eliminated in Third Place ($258,862)
Hougaard raised to 150,000 preflop and Kanter reraised all in for 750,000. Hougaard made the call and they flipped up their hands:
Hougaard: K J
Kanter: Q Q
Board: A 4 3 7 K
Kanter was eliminated by the K on the river in third place, and he took home $258,862 in prize money.
Heads-Up: All Slaubaugh All the Time
Cody Slaubaugh came into the heads-up match with a major disadvantage in chips. He was all in for his tournamen life soon in the match, but he doubled up when his A-10 dominated Hougaard's Q-10. Then came the hand that defined the turning point in their match. Slaubaugh raised to 125,000 preflop and Hougaard reraised to 320,000. Slaubaugh made the call and the flop was dealt K 10 3. Hougaard bet 375,000 and Slaubaugh raised all in. Hougaard quickly mucked and as he collected the large pot, Slaubaugh flipped over Q-9 for a bluff. Slaubaugh's side ot the crowd went wild as he grinned from ear-to-ear. Hougaards' body language immediately switched from invincible chip leader to dejected loser. Slaubaugh continued his rush by winning huge pots with a straight and a pair of aces to knock Hougaard down even further. The two players then went on dinner break at a good time for Hougaard. He needed some time to collect his thoughts.
Jesper Hougaard Wins Event No. 36 ($610,304)
Jesper Hougaard came back from dinner a new man. He won some crucial pots and then poured on the all-in aggression to take back the chip lead. The turning point hand for Hougaard after dinner came when Slaubaugh raised to 480,000 preflop and Hougaard reraised to 1 million. Slaubaugh called and the the flop was dealt Q
7
4. Hougaard bet 450,000 and Slaubaugh mucked. Hougaard picked up the 2 million pot and he never looked back.
He held a slight advantage when Cody Slaubaugh raised to 150,000 preflop. Hougaard reraised to 500,000 and Slaubaugh reraised to 1.3 million. Hougaard reraised all in for 3.7 million and Slaubaugh made the all-in call. Their cards:
Hougaard: Q Q
Slaubaugh: A 10
Board: Q 8 2
5 A
Hougaard won the bracelet and $610,304 in prize money. Slaubaugh took home $389,128 in prize money for his runner-up finish.
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