Michigan Philosphy Student Jack Goodin Has Set His Sights on Poker... And It's Going Well!
For the past several weeks, BetMGM in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey has been qualifying players online for the live $3,500 buy-in, $1,000,000 GTD BetMGM Poker Championship June 23-26 at ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.
One player to win their way in was 26-year-old Jack Goodin. a Philosophy Masters's student at Western Michigan University where he teaches classes in applied ethics and study logic/metaphysics.
"During the pandemic, I spent a lot of time playing chess. I thought if I was going to sink time into learning how to play a strategy game I might as well pick one where I could make some money," Goodin said of learning poker. "I started going to the local cardroom, grinding online, and joining Discord servers to talk strategy. Now I mostly study with video courses, sims, and coaching."
In September 2021, Goodin joined BetMGM.
"One incredible perk of moving to Michigan for school has been access to the BetMGM tournament poker pool, which I think replicates the fun live poker environment better than bigger sites," he explained.
He added: "I’ve picked up some decent final table scores and won two or three mid-stakes events. I still have yet to bink a $215+ but with the volume and study I’m putting in it’s only a matter of time."
While he drove through Las Vegas one time during a summer road trip in college, Goodin didn't stay, so it's essentially his first 'real' visit to Sin City.
"This trip will be my first foray into big live events," he said. "In addition to the BetMGM Poker Championship I’ll play the Aria Poker Classic $50k guarantee, the Mystery Bounty, and the WSOP Colossus."
Goodin may be relatively new to the game, but he's on the rise and is prepared to meet the upcoming challenge of competing in a major live poker tournament.
"I’ve been working incredibly hard this month and have had a string of big final table scores, two high-stakes wins on BetMGM and PokerStars, and a second-place finish in a live tournament at Firekeepers Casino," he said. "I’ve made more money from poker in the past few weeks than I made in two semesters as a teaching assistant. Winning the BetMGM Poker Championship Qualifier prompted me to get coaching and investigate playing other tournaments in Vegas. To play these I’ve had to sell a fair amount of action, and it all went within an hour or two of posting the offer in a handful of chat servers. This month has taken poker from a fun hobby to a viable part-time job and I’m really proud of the work I’ve put in to get there."
He concluded: "I’m particularly excited to be playing the highest stakes I’ve ever played in the BetMGM Poker Championship and contending with other strong players. I’ll also play the [WSOP] Colossus, which is iconic. I would be thrilled to make final tables in either of those events and show off my play on stream."
PokerNews will most certainly keep an eye on Goodin, who could very well surprise a lot of the competition!