Event #38: $250 NLHE [Super Tuesday SE], $50K Gtd
Day 1 Started
2021 Michigan Championship of Online Poker (MICOOP)
Event #38: $250 NLHE [Super Tuesday SE], $50K Gtd
Day: 1
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
2021 Michigan Championship of Online Poker (MICOOP)
Buy-in
$250
Prize Pool
$59,881
Entries
257
Welcome To MICOOP Event #38: $250 NLHE [Super Tuesday SE], $50K Gtd
The inaugural 2021 PokerStars Michigan Championship of Online Poker (MICOOP) continues tonight with the second of two Super Tuesday events. Last week's $200 buy-in has been upped to $250 for Event #38, and the former $30K guaranteed prize pool will follow as a minimum of $50,000 will be up for grabs in this event.
A week ago, "Bout2CrushU" topped a field of 298, one that generated more than a $50K prize pool of its own to earn themselves a five-figure payday of $10,448. A week's worth of tournaments since have also seen their guarantees well surpassed, and it would be of no surprise to see that trend continue throughout the rest of the week as MICOOP races towards its finish line throughout the next week.
Cards are in the air at 8 p.m. ET with late registration remaining open until 10:40 p.m. Players may register up to four total times (three re-entries) during this span should they run out of chips and desire to do so. All players receive 25,000 in chips to start with blinds beginning at 80/160 (20 ante) and increasing every 10 minutes for the duration of the tournament.
Registration is already open with more than a dozen players ready to go well before the start of the tournament. Anybody within Michigan state lines is welcome to compete, regardless of their permanent residence.
PokerNews will be covering all of the action until just one player is left to claim victory, so be sure to catch all the updates every step of the way.
Play Has Begun
Level 1 has begun with blinds of 80/160 and an ante of 20. There are already 69 players registered, and that number is expected to continue climbing throughout the two-hour-and-forty-minute late registration period.
Names and Faces in the Crowd
Play is over halfway through Level 1 (80/160/20) and the field has already grown to 96. There are plenty of familiar recognizeable names, including the likes of Patrick "MSPT-HOF" Steele, Henry "xlzou1990" Zou, Matthew "Luna_Nova21" Davis, and Adam "Red4novak" Novak. Last week's Super Tuesday winner "Bout2CrushU" is also among those in on the action from the get-go.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
25,000 | 25,000 |
|
25,000 | 25,000 |
|
|
25,000 | 25,000 |
|
|
25,000 | 25,000 |
|
|
25,000 | 25,000 |
|
|
25,000 | 25,000 |
|
|
25,000 | 25,000 |
|
|
25,000 | 25,000 |
|
25,000 | 25,000 |
|
|
25,000 | 25,000 |
|
|
25,000 | 25,000 |
|
25,000 | 25,000 |
"justinbrown69" Sends "PowerRanges" Onto Bullet Number Two
In Level 2 with blinds of 100/200 and an ante of 25, "PowerRanges" opened to 400 in the hijack and was three-bet to 1,200 by "justinbrown69" on the button. "PowerRanges" called.
The flop dropped 
and "PowerRanges" check-raised to 3,000. "justinbrown69" called and the turn came 
. "PowerRanges" checked and "justinbrown69" bet 1,600, prompting another check-raise from "PowerRanges". This time, it was for all 11,853 that remained in their stack and "justinbrown69" found a call.
"PowerRanges": 
"justinbrown69": 
"PowerRanges" missed their flush draw and open-ended straight draw on the river 
and were eliminated by the trips of "justinbrown69", prompting them to quickly re-enter and receive a new stack of 25,000 once more.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
42,148 | 42,148 |
|
|
25,000 |
Eric "Eze0302" Rayner Off to Hot Start in Inaugural MICOOP Series
One player off to a hot start in the 2021 MICOOP is 40-year-old Eric "Eze0302" Rayner III, who grew up in Brighton, went to Eastern Michigan, and currently resides in Plymouth with his wife Karina, son Éric IV, and a foster son his family is working to adopt. When not playing poker, Rayner helps run a small brokerage called Midtown Home Mortgage.
"I got invited to a home game that was a $1/$2 limit game on Tuesdays and a $1/$2 mixed game on Sundays. That’s where I learned Omaha 8, my favorite game," Rayner said when asked how he learned the game."I play more mixed games than anything but I play all of them. When going to Vegas, I stay at The Orleans for their mixed games and O8
Prior to the pandemic, Rayner would often play live at Doc's Sports Bar and Greek Town while also dabbling online. That includes now playing on PokerStars, usually $0.50/$1.00 NLH but also taking a seat anytime Omaha 8 has a table running.
Rayner got off to a hot start in the MICOOP finished 10th in a field of 883 entries in Event #1: $100 NLHE Kick Off, Nightly Star SE Event, good for $755. He also placed 34th in Event #3: $50 NLHE 8-Max for $175, and fourth in Event #13: $50 PLO8 8-Max for $975. Not too shabby as he had only played six tournaments up to that point in the series.
In addition, he's already won a satellite into Event #55: $300 NLHE [Main Event], $125K Gtd on March 7-8. Until then, he'll continue to grind when not at his day job or spending time with his family.
"I'll play the limit and mixed game events for sure," he said. "But [loan] rates have dropped so I've been writing loans the last few days."
"Gamestop2012" Gets a Perfect Runout
In Level 3 with blinds of 125/250 and an ante of 30, "GrandKam616" raised to 500 in early position and received calls from "Gamestop2012" in the hijack and "Vaigless" in the big blind. The three saw a flop of 
and action checked to "Gamestop2012", who bet 1,000 and received two calls.
All three players checked the turn 
and the river came 
. "Vaigless" fired 3,250 and got a fold from "GrandKam616", sending action over to "Gamestop2012" who jammed for 22,602. "Vaigless" called all in for just 17 less and saw the bad news.
"Vaigless": 
"Gamesotp2012": 
After flopping the nuts, "Vaigless" fell victim to a runout that paired the board on the turn and gave "Gamestop2012" a full house on the river to earn them the pot and knockout.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
50,082 | |
|
|
22,190 | -2,810 |
|
|
Busted |
Davis Can't Accept the Donation
In Level 4 with blinds of 150/300 and an ante of 40, "Trying2Donate" opened the action with a raise to 900 in early position and action folded around to Matthew "Luna_Nova21" Davis in the small blind, who three-bet to 3,300. "Trying2Donate" four-bet jammed for 14,427 effective in Davis' stack, which Davis wasted no time calling off.
Matthew "Luna_Nova21" Davis: 
"Trying2Donate": 
Davis was not out in front for long as the flop 
gave his opponent top pair, top kicker. He found himself with just three outs to double, and neither came as the turn 
and river 
completed the runout. His elimination only lasted for a few moments, however, and he now has a new seat with a fresh 25,000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
58,432 | 58,432 |
|
|
25,000 |
Window Cleaner Jason "MIpokerproAAAA" Young Looking to Wipe Away the Competition
One player who has been busy grinding Michigan's first major online tournament series if 35-year-old Jason "MIpokerproAAAA" Young, who hails from Macomb Township.
Young, who has been married for three years and has his first child on the way, learned to play poker while attending Western Michigan University and continued on in Tuesday night home games in Kalamazoo.
"I have some friends with great poker skills that taught me a lot," he told PokerNews. "PokerStars gave me the ability to really sharpen my skills. When I moved back home from college, the charity poker scene had just begun to turn into a frenzy. I won my first tournament I entered. A $10 buy-in, with a $2,000 winner-take-all prize pool. I've hooked ever since. "
He continued: "Since then I have spent many hours at the poker table. It’s always been relaxing to me because I’m a professional window cleaner and I’m on my feet most days."
While traditionally a live player, Young hasn't been able to play much due to the pandemic, at least until online poker went live in the Wolverine State.
"I love to play live poker but due to the pandemic, it’s been tough to do that," he said. "So when PokerStars went live in Michigan I was pretty excited. I’ve really enjoyed it so far. I won a satellite ticket to Event 6 earlier in the week and I’m hoping my experience at the table pays off."
PokerNews will keep an eye on Young as he looks to capture a MICOOP title.
"Bout2CrushU" With a Fast Start; "megatron06869" Has the Early Chip Lead
In Level 5 with blinds of 200/400 and an ante of 50, the field has now risen to 148 with 17 eliminations already having occurred. "megatron08689" has already amassed nearly three-and-a-half stacks, while "Bout2CrushU" is second on the leader board. Ten players have already more than doubled their starting stack of 25,000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
83,970 | 83,970 |
|
|
57,872 | 32,872 |
|
|
57,472 | -960 |
|
|
54,218 | 54,218 |
|
|
53,513 | 53,513 |
|
|
53,482 | 53,482 |
|
|
52,940 | 27,940 |
|
|
51,921 | 51,921 |
|
|
50,885 | 8,737 |
|
|
50,584 | 50,584 |
|
|
47,704 | 47,704 |
|
|
45,731 | |
|
|
45,485 | 45,485 |
|
|
43,453 | 43,453 |
|
|
43,055 | 43,055 |