2021 Michigan Championship of Online Poker (MICOOP)

Event #38: $250 NLHE [Super Tuesday SE], $50K Gtd
Day: 1
Event Info
2021 Michigan Championship of Online Poker (MICOOP)
Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
qq
Prize
$11,525
Event Info
Buy-in
$250
Prize Pool
$59,881
Total Entries
257
Players Left 1 / 257
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Jason “TheRealClozer” Kapoor's Decision to Turn Pro Leads to MICOOP

Jason Kapoor
Jason Kapoor

Jason "Clozer" Kapoor, 26, resides in Redford, Michigan and has established himself as one of the state's fiercest players. He spent five years selling cars before opting to play poker full time beginning at the end of 2019.

"I don’t have much family, my mom just passed away five months ago," Kapoor told PokerNews. "I'm really trying my best to ship a tournament soon to dedicate a win to her."

Kapoor started playing poker avidly in 2017. He always knew the basics of the game, but like so many, he wasn't aware of just how in-depth the game could be.

Kapoor didn't graduate high school and actually left home when he was just 14 years old. He spent 70 hours a week working at a Dunkin Donuts when he was 16 years old just to pay rent and bills. To succeed in poker, one has to grind and deal with hardships. Kapoor has real-life experience in both.

"I was in survival mode my whole life, so I had to get good at reading people," he explained. "Knowing how people worked. What they wanted to hear and see. It’s sad but true. In my opinion, this really helps in poker, one of my best abilities is knowing where I’m at a lot of the time."

In regards to PokerStars launching in Michigan where he plays under the screen name “TheRealClozer," Kapoor said: "I’m super excited that we have the chance to play legally online now."

When not playing online, Kapoor sniffs out the action. For the past five months, he's traveled to what little live events there have been. Primarily a cash game player at the $5/$10 level, Kapoor added tournament play to his skillset in 2019. His biggest live tournament cash to date is $12,051 for finishing 19th in the 2019 MSPT Michigan State Poker Championship for $12,051.

"I can’t wait for the world to reopen. I’m beyond blessed to have this ability to make this kind of living considering where I came from and everything I’ve had to overcome throughout my life," he said. "Poker is not just a hobby. It’s a lifestyle, and I can’t see myself ever giving it up. I’ve met some of the best friends I could ever have from poker."

He added: "If you see me at the tables, you will either love me or hate me. I’m a talker, it’s part of my game. I mean no harm, I just want your chips!"

Kapoor is currently in Tampa Bay for a live event but will be returning to Michigan soon to compete in the MICOOP.

"Ideally I would like to ship that [live event] then come back here to Michigan and win the Main Event of the MICOOP."

PokerNews will be keeping an eye out for Kapoor whenever he jumps into online tournament action.

Jason Kapoor
Jason Kapoor

No Longer in the Tournament

Sixty-nine players now remain in Level 16 with blinds of 1,500/3,000 and an ante of 375. The following players are not among those still in contention.

Registration Closes, Prize Pool Information Finalized

MICOOP 2021
MICOOP 2021

Play is midway through Level 15 with blinds of 1,250/2,500 and an ante of 325 and the clock has struck 10:40, meaning late registration is officially closed. An overall 257 entries generated a total prize pool of $59,881.

The top 35 places are set to be paid with a first-level payout good for $552. All nine to make the final table will earn at least $1,106, and payouts will increase from there with the eventual winner earning themseleves $11,525. Complete payout information can be found in the Payouts tab above.

Eighty players remain.

"Owens18853" Doubles Through "chunkypineapple"

"Owens18853"
"Owens18853"

In Level 14 with blinds of 800/1,600 and an ante of 200, action folded to "Owens18853" on the button and they open-jammed for 38,306. "chunkypineapple" called in the small blind.

"Owens18853": {k-Hearts}{6-Diamonds}
"chunkypineapple": {4-Hearts}{4-Clubs}

Upon being called, "Owens18853" was in a near-coin flip and the flop {10-Spades}{q-Spades}{9-Hearts} gave them four more outs to double. Those four outs became chop outs after the turn {k-Diamonds} appeared and they picked up a pair of kings, and the river {a-Diamonds} fell behind to complete the runout and score them the double.

High School Social Studies Teacher Adam "Red4novak" Novak Chasing MICOOP Glory

Adam Novak with his family
Adam Novak with his family

Adam "Red4novak" Novak, 39, hails from Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan where he's lived most of his life. He's been married for nine years and has three daughters with his wife — Hazel (6), Ruby (3), and Marigold (10 months).

"I’m a high school Social Studies teacher at AGBU Manoogian High School, where I am also the school’s Athletic Director and have coached girl’s volleyball, cross country, and girl's and boy's basketball," he told PokerNews.

Novak first learned to play poker approximately 20 years ago thanks to his friend Russ Woodruff, who taught him using pennies.

"I almost immediately started playing on PokerStars around 18 or 19 years old in my parent’s house where I turned $20 into $50," he explained. "I was hooked ever since absorbing it online, on TV, and through books like Gus Hansen’s Every Hand Revealed."

Prior to 2011, Noval was mainly a Sit n’ Go grinder grinding approximately 20 SnG tables at a time. Those ranged from $10 to $50 buy-ins and he was simultaneously trying to maximize profit while amassing Frequent Player Points towards Supernova Elite status.

"I also played all types of tournaments starting from the suggestion of a friend starting around age 23," he said. "There have been several nice scores with my best being due to my wife who suggested I play it despite only having around 10 minutes left of late registration. I took third in a $50 tourney with over 7k participants for approximately $21,000."

In regards to legal and regulated online poker coming to Michigan, Novak was among the masses to welcome it with open arms.

"I’m very excited about Michigan’s return to online poker and look forward to getting back on the virtual felt," Novak concluded.

"gabpoker_cc" Shoots Down Top Pair

"gabpoker_cc"
"gabpoker_cc"

In Level 13 with blinds of 800/1,600 and an ante of 200, "ChippewaBadger7" limped under the gun and saw "gabpoker_cc" raise to 4,800 on their direct left. Action folded to "tsaroffish4" in the small blind, who called, and "ChippewaBadger7" called as well to take three-way action to the streets.

The flop was {2-Spades}{6-Clubs}{j-Diamonds} and "tsaroffish4" checked. "ChippewaBadger7" bet 8,800 and "gabpoker_cc" called. "tsaroffish4" then folded, taking action heads up to the turn {3-Hearts} where "ChippewaBadger7" went all in for 13,734 and "gabpoker_cc" called.

"ChippewaBadger7": {j-Hearts}{10-Diamonds}
"gabpoker_cc": {a-Clubs}{a-Spades}

"ChippewaBadger7" had flopped top pair but ran it into a pair of bullets. Needing to hit a five outer to stay alive, the river {9-Clubs} failed to comply and their stack was sent one seat over. They quickly re-entered and received a new 25,000; meanwhile, "gabpoker_cc" is now over 118,000.

"jTizzle450" Nabs "BigBuck1020"

"jTizzle450"
"jTizzle450"

In Level 12 with blinds of 700/1,400 and an ante of 175, action folded to "jTizzle450" on the button and they opened to 4,200. "BigBuck1020" defended their big blind and action went heads up to a flop of {4-Clubs}{5-Diamonds}{q-Hearts}.

"BigBuck1020" checked to "jTizzle450", who made a continuation-bet of 4,200 and was check-raised to 23,100. "jTizzle450" re-jammed for 33,713 effective and "BigBuck1020" called all in.

"BigBuck1020": {a-Hearts}{4-Diamonds}
"jTizzle450": {k-Spades}{q-Clubs}

"BigBuck1020" was in trouble and the runout {7-Diamonds}{6-Clubs} did nothing to bail them out. Their bottom pair remained no good to the top pair of "jTizzle450", who earned the pot and the knockout to bring their stack above 84,000.

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PokerNews Podcast

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"9NINENINE" Loses With Eights

"FarmingYou"
"FarmingYou"

In Level 11 with blinds of 600/1,200 and an ante of 150, "9NINENINE" raised to 2,400 under the gun and "FarmingYou" three-bet shoved for 25,100 in the hijack. Action folded back to "9NINENINE" and a call was made.

"FarmingYou": {a-Spades}{q-Spades}
"9NINENINE": {8-Diamonds}{8-Hearts}

The two found themselves on opposite ends of a coin flip with "9NINENINE" slightly ahead going to the flop {3-Spades}{4-Hearts}{k-Hearts}. "FarmingYou" picked up four more outs to Broadway on the turn {j-Spades}, but needed none of them as the river {a-Hearts} came to give them a pair of aces and score them the dub.

Field Over 200, Guaranteed Prize Pool Soon-To-Be-Passed

In Level 10 with blinds of 500/1,000 and an ante of 125, there have now been 204 entries logged. Just 11 more are needed to surpass the $50K guaranteed prize pool and a little under an hour remains in the late registration period.

"Trying2Donate" is atop the counts with a stack of more than 133,000, and they are one of just four players with six-figure stacks at this point in the tournament. Here's a look at the top 15 counts in on the leader board.