It’s not every day that nearly a half-million dollars makes its way into your online poker account. However, for Jason JAKoon1985Koon, six-figure scores have become somewhat the norm. Most recently, he chopped a $322 No Limit Hold’em Multi-Entry event held as part of the 19th Full Tilt Online Poker Series(FTOPS) for $458,000. The Las Vegas resident is on the verge of reentering the top 100 in the Online Poker Rankings and sat down with PocketFives.com to rehash the chop of a lifetime.

Koon went for the maximum six shells in the tournament and three found the money. A field of over 11,000 poker hopefuls turned out and a prize pool of $3.4 million, more than double the guarantee, was distributed.

Part of Koon’s success in the Multi-Entry event could have been due to his focus on the tournament: “I am on my own bankroll now for most online MTTs, so I wouldn’t have always max registered, but this one had too much value not to load up on. I’m not a great multi-tabler, so I unregistered from almost all of the normal Sunday tournaments and put all of my effort into this one. I didn’t play the Mulligan, Second Chance, or any $100 rebuys.”

Whatever he did worked, as a three-way chop ended matters that saw Koon walk away with the only payday greater than $400,000. He was, as you’d expect, happy to come away with an incredible sum of money: “I have been very close lately to some nice scores. I’ve made the final two tables in a lot of huge tournaments and just couldn’t get the monkey off my back, so I made it a point to put every single ounce of energy I had into it.”

What kind of field would turn out to a tournament that has a potential investment of nearly $2,000? Koon revealed, “With 11,000 entries, there are going to be some soft spots, although at the end, everyone seemed to be playing really well. It’s funny how everyone is insane now. You used to have one or two crazy people at your table. Now, everyone is 4betting light and being absurd, so it’s fun making adjustments to that.”

Multi-Entry tournaments were introduced earlier this year on Full Tilt Poker and have received a mixed reaction from the industry. Koon pointed out that the format could be considered deleterious for the game: “I obviously like more chances to win, but I hate the fact that we are paying rake for every entry. In the long-term, I think it’s bad for the game because it increases the regular-to-fish ratio. It’s great for the players with huge bankrolls who can handle higher variance, but it puts everyone else at a bigger disadvantage.”

His newfound finances will be applied to the stock market, improving at poker, his nephew’s college fund, and a vacation. He explained, “I haven’t decided on anything yet, but am definitely going to get some nice skiing in with the family and friends.”

Koon has aligned himself with several staples of the industry. When asked who he wanted to recognize, the FTOPS chopper told us, “My improvement in the last six months is due to three great players and friends. First, my roommate and mentor PureCash25. Also, Bryn BrynKenney Kenney has improved my game light-years in the last year. He is, in my opinion, the most dangerous tournament poker player in the world and has been a great teacher.”

Koon added, “Last, but not least, Steve gboro780 Gross (pictured). He is the classiest guy in poker. I try to model myself after the way he carries himself. He’s not only been a great friend, but has also picked me up and kept me going through the tough times of life and the game.” PureCash25 and Gross both cashed twice in the $322 Multi-Entry FTOPS event.

Check out a complete list of FTOPS XIX final table results. Congratulations to Koon and everyone who cashed.