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London Pro Chris Bjorin Wins His Second Event
at the Four Queens Poker Classic
Chris Bjorin, the winner of numerous major poker tournaments in both the United States and Europe, added a second Four Queens title to his resume, with a win the $1,000 buy-in holdem event. Bjorin arrived at the final table with a sizable chip lead, lost it at one point, then stormed back to seize the victory. The win gave Bjorin another $40,350 in prize money to add to his previous first-prize win of $31,420 in the pot-limit Omaha event.
From the instant the cards were dealt to the final nine players -- and with the antes set at $75, with blinds at $300-600 -- Bjorin showed absolutely no fear, constantly raising and re-raising to keep his opponents off balance. Early on, it looked like it might be a runaway for Bjorin, but things were just about to get interesting. Mark Seif arrived at the final table short stacked with only $6,975 in chips and couldn't catch a hand during his short stay. After a few rounds, he was blinded down and decided to move all-in with Ad-Qd. Hon Le, picked up pocket Jacks which held up and Seif was the first player to exit. Seif, who is a Los Angeles-based criminal attorney, lost his case and accepted the $1,610 verdict for 9th place.
That would be the lone bright spot for Hon Le, who was next in line to fall. Le arrived with a respectable amount of chips ($18,325) and played aggressively, involving himself in many pots within the first hour. Unfortunately, Le couldn't connect with a big hand and slowly saw this stack dwindle down. He decided to take his final stand with 9-9. Germany's Norbert Hoelting (appearing at his second-consecutive final table) made a move and tried to steal the blinds and antes with Q-J, and Le moved over the top with his pocket nines. Hoetling, with more than enough chips to cover Le, was pretty much pot-commited at this point and called. The flop brought Hoetling a much-needed face card -- a magical queen which put Le out in 8th place with $2,020.
Joe Belofsky has been a regular on the tournament trail for about a year. He has made three final tables at the Four Queens and came to the final table in a tough spot with just $5,600. Belofsky moved his last chips into the pot with A-J and was called by Las Vegan Paul Kroh with K-Q suited. A king flopped and Belofsky was out in 7th place with $2,420 in prize money.
One interesting development at this final table was the effectiveness of the pre-flop "all-in" re-raise. Time and time again, Eskimo Clark was its victim. Clark tried to make a move at the pot on at least four occasions, but was forced to lay down his hand when either Dan McGuire or Chris Bjorin (in the blinds) came over the top of the Eskimo-man with an all-in re-raise. Eskimo -- known for being a very aggressive player -- appeared flustered at not being able to call, and to the surprise of many was not much of a factor at the final table.
Paul Kroh, the self-described "king of bad beats," remained short-stacked throughout the final table and took a stand with 2-2, hoping to double through. He made a raise from the small blind, and Erick Lindgren in the big blind woke up with A-A. Surprise! The aces held up, sending Kroh back to Battle Mountain, NV with 6th place prize money of $3,430.
On the very next hand, pocket rockets struck again. This time, Lindgren was the victim. Lindgren picked up A-Q and made a standard three-unit raise and was re-raised by Dan McGuire with A-A. Again, the aces held up (it happens sometimes) and $15,000 was cut out of Lindgren's stack and placed into McGuire's. Suddenly, McGuire -- who came into the final table with a paltry $1,400 -- was now a serious threat with over $30,000 in chips. The moral of the story -- never give up.
With Bjorin still enjoying nearly a 3-2 chip advantage over Lindgren, Eskimo Clark got fed up with being knocked out of the pot with re-raises. He was dealt K-Q suited and raised, which predicatably was popped by Bjorin. Sick of the situation, the Eskimo-man quickly called, hoping the move by Bjorin was a bluff. It wasn't. "He has a hand, this time!" Eskimo shouted with disgust as he stared down at Bjorin's A-K. Eskimo's hand was totally dominated and when an ace flopped it was all over for Clark, who backed away from the table in 5th place with $4,440.
Lindgren then went card-cold for the next half-hour and gradually saw his tall towers of chips skrink. With the antes now up to $300 and blinds at $1000-$2000, finally found a playable hand with A-J and made a raise. Bjorin again woke up with a hand (A-K) and moved over the top. Lindgren called and was disappointed to see a king come on board -- which meant a 4th place finish ($5,450). Lindgren, who lives in Folsom, CA and who was cheered on by a loyal group a freinds in attendance, was disappointed he didn't win, but still made a gallant effort with the 4th place showing.
Perhaps the most impressive performance of the night belonged to Las Vegas tax attorney, Dan McGuire -- who sat quietly in the one-seat most of the evening. He came in with only one round of blinds, but managed to survive over four hours and came to within $10,000 of the chip lead. However, his momentum ran out when he ran cold just as the game became short-handed and he was forced to post his last blind of the evening and commit himself with K-9 on the final hand. Norbert Hoelting faded the "all-in" bet with K-J and neither player improved -- which put McGuire out in 3rd place with $10,090.
With all the American-based players bounced out of the tournament, it was now down to the two very talented Europeans -- Bjorin from England and Hoelting from Germany. When head-up play started, Bjorin enjoyed a 5-1 chip lead. However, Hoetling would make this into an epic battle which lasted over an hour. Bjorin had a chance to end it early when he called an "all-in" raise with 4-4 against Hoelting's K-Q. The first four cards on board came 2-6-7-2 and it appeared Bjorin would win. Then, a king fell on the river and stunned the crowd, doubling Hoelting up to $69,600, just slightly behind Bjorin. It was now anyone's tournament to win.
The next critical hand occurred just a few minutes later. When the flop came K-5-2 (all diamonds), Bjorin bet $8,000. Hoelting called. A blank 3 came on the turn and Bjorin bet $20,000. Hoelting called again. A five fell on the river (board K-5-2-3-5 with three diamonds) and Bjorin bet $15,000. Hoelting moved over the top with an "all-in" raise and Bjorin for the first time all night was left to ponder a tough call. Bjorin folded, which now meant Hoelting had the chip lead -- nearly a 2-1 advantage. It was an incredible turn of events.
But that would be the high point for Hoelting. Bjorin continued to play just as aggressively, then caught a big hand when he took K-K up against Hoetling's A-3. All the chips went into the pot when the flop came 9-4-3, but Hoetling couldn't catch an ace or another three, which would have won the tournament. Another big hand had survived. Now, it was Bjorin with the 2-1 chip lead.
Bjorin gradually wore Hoelting down and the final hand of the evening came when the German made his last stand with A-7. Englishman Bjorin, with K-6 was delighted to see the final board -- which came Q-9-6-3-5. A pair of sixes was the winner. Norbert (a.k.a. Karl-Heinz) Hoelting took 2nd prize and $20,180. Bjorin is the winner of two previous titles at the World Series of Poker (in pot-limit Omaha and no-limit holdem). His two wins (and three final tables, thus far) at the Four Queens now gives him nearly $75,000 in winnings.
-- by Nolan Dalla
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