Final Table Takedown: Tournament Phenom Jason Koon Takes Home First Seven-Figure Score

Jason Koon attained his bachelor’s degree in finance and a master’s in business administration from West Virginia Wesleyan College. He quit his job selling group insurance in the fall of 2008 to pursue poker full time. Koon has won a total of four online weekly flagship $1,000 tourneys for a total over $200,000 combined and has a PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) title for $300,000.

One of his biggest online scores came in February 2011, when he chopped event no. 24 of the Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) for $460,000. At the 2010 WPT Festa Al Lago main event he finished fourth for $225,680. Koon is a much sought after instructor at RunItOnce.com as he specializes in super high roller tournaments and high-stakes cash games. The 31-year-old has more than $10 million in lifetime earnings online and live combined.

Event: Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open

Players: 847 • Entry: $5,250 • First Prize: $1,000,000 • Finish: 1st

Key Concepts: Mulit-way pots; Big blind play; ICM

Craig Tapscott: Would you please set up the dynamics of this table up for us Jason?

Jason Koon: Okay. The table was mainly good regulars. The tournament is very deep at this point and we are at about the final two tables.

Brady raises to 100,000 from mid-position. Villain no. 2 calls from the cut-off. Villain no. 3 calls from the button. Koon calls from the big blind holding 6 5.

JK: I make a pretty loose call.

CT: Please explain why you think it’s so loose? A lot of player will call from the big blind because they think they have the odds to in a multi-way situation.

JK: It’s true. Players often times overvalue pot odds in multi-way pots from the big blind. What happens is they end up defending too wide, because they believe they are getting great odds. But they don’t consider the fact that the other players’ ranges are so much stronger and they never get to realize equity with a hand like K-5 offsuit.

Flop: J 6 4 (pot: 465,000)

Koon checks. Brady checks. Villain no. 2 checks. Villain no. 3 checks.

Turn: 3 (pot: 465,000)

Koon checks.

CT: Could you have led out here to represent a strong hand that you had checked deceptively on the flop?

JK: Betting here would be fine. I just wanted to bet less often when there are four players in the pot. If the pot were heads-up I would generally probe the turn here for value and or protection, but multi-way my hand isn’t good as often. Yet it could play extremely well as a check-raise bluff.

CT: I like it.

Brady checks. Villain no. 2 checks. Villain no. 3 bets 260,000. Koon raises to 525,000.

CT: In the Villain’s mind what range is he putting you on? And why?

JK: My range really does crush him here because he is calling a much more structured range preflop. I can have all the two-pair combos plus straight combos that he can’t have; such as J-6 suited, 6-4 suited, 6-3 suited, 7-5 combos and 5-2 suited combinations. It’s also nice to remove one of his strongest hands (a set of sixes because I’m holding a six) and if I am called I have equity to improve to the nuts.

Brady folds. Villian no. 2 folds. Villain no. 3 tank folds. Koon wins the pot of 725,000.

JK: The pot wasn’t massive, but it’s just a good example how we need to leverage range advantage spots, especially when there is ICM (Independent Chip Model) pressure on the line.

CT: Please share some more spots or situations where ICM comes into play to be able to pressure an opponent. Perhaps two or three situational spots you look for and why.

JK: ICM has massive implications at the end of tournaments. Chip-Expected Value is somewhat thrown out the window and players are put at the mercy of pay-jumps. This particular tournament was very top heavy, so ICM didn’t play as big of a role in decision making. Players are incentivized to play for all the chips. In tournaments with steadier payouts, players must avoid being all-in, especially when they already have a good chip stack. This should create tighter preflop play, as well as less betting and raising post flop. Players will want to bet smaller sizes and check more streets to control the size of pots since the upside of gaining chips in marginal spots cannot overcome the downside of losing a significant portion of a stack.

CT: We shared before that both you and I are very much into health and fitness and a basically clean diet. How has your dedication to your personal wellness and fitness paid off in the poker world?

JK: It’s somewhat of an obsession of mine to get the most out of my mind and body. Focusing on nutrition, training, mental awareness, and meditation have helped me endure some of the more challenging times that come with being a poker professional. I also believe that on a day-to-day basis having a solid foundation of physical fitness and nutrition will help you focus for longer periods of time and play your “A” game more often.

Key Concepts: Bet sizing;

JK: There are ten players left and I am the chip leader.

Koon raises from the button to 125,000 holding A 10. Balzano calls from the big blind.

Flop: A 10 3 (pot: 325,000)

Balzano checks. Koon bets 75,000.

CT: Why that bet sizing?

JK: This is a board that favors my range and all of my value hands need very little protection. I like to bet small at a high-frequency on boards such as this one. You will then be able to split your betting strategies on the turn. A hand like A-4 may want to check the turn and call the river to pick off bluffs like J-10. A hand like 5-4 suited may turn a flush draw and decide to bet large. We would also want to bet a larger size on the turn with a hand like A-K. My specific hand is very powerful but also removes most of this made hands, some I would mix up checking and betting the turn with it. Having an ace and a ten would make his flop-calling range much more weighted towards a hand like Q-J.

Balzano raises to 225,000. Koon calls.

CT: When he check-raises you what is going through your mind? I flopped pretty huge, so you have to consider raising, right?

JK: Well I don’t want to raise this flop because all of my value hands need little to no protection; where as if you continuation bet a hand like 9-9 on a 9-7-6 suited flop and get check-raised, sometimes you’re going to want to three-bet the flop. So my entire range that is continuing the flop will be calling in this spot. Since I have top two pair, I block most of his value range. So I am pretty excited about being raised here. He only has three combos of hands that beat me (three combos of threes) and I think he three-bets 10-10 and A-A preflop. So I called to slow play my hand.

Turn: 5 (pot: 775,000)

Balzano bets 290,000.

CT: He didn’t slow down. Does this concern you at all?

JK: Well that card gives him a few more bluffs. But there is still no reason to raise at this point. The turn card only completes a 4-2 suited straight, which I think he folds preflop. So in my mind, it’s a completely safe turn. So I decided to…

Koon calls.

River: 2 (pot: 1,355,000)

Balzano bets 675,000.

JK: After the flop and turn I was pretty confident that he could be value betting A-3. He didn’t bet enormous on the river, so I thought there was still some likelihood that he made a strange check-raise with an Ace wheel hand and could be value betting a worse two pair. The turned flush draw missed, but I still wasn’t happy to call in this spot. I believe this was the gentleman’s biggest cash and being on the bubble of a major final table generally makes people play more conservative. But I….

Koon calls. Balzano reveals 5 4 and wins the pot of 2,705,000.

CT: I’ve read that you have been working with some close friends of yours that are also very successful cash game and tournament players. What have you improved the most within your game over the last two years?

JK: I’ve been very fortunate to be surrounded with a few of the world’s best poker minds. Seeing how well they understand and execute poker theory has kept me very much in love with being a student of the game. I play a lot of big cash games and enjoy being able to go back and forth between them and tournaments. ♠