In the summer of 2010, Mike "PeppSee" Long found the game of poker after playing a game of pickup basketball. A group of guys was heading to a local charity room that night to play in a Texas hold'em tournament, and Long opted to tag along.

"One individual in the group boasted about how much money he had made during the summer from these games," Long recalled. "Being a young individual going to college full-time and working full-time, it piqued my interest. Later that night, I went with the group to the charity room. Being that I had never played any type of poker in an organized setting, I remember being very anxious about the situation."

The tournament was a $30 buy-in and had about four tables filled with players. Long wound up making the final table, though he was ultimately eliminated short of the money.

"But one member of the group ended up taking down the tournament," he added. "I remember thinking, 'If this guy can do it, I’m sure I can figure it out!'"

From that point on, Long was hooked and spent the rest of the summer taking in everything he could about poker. That included reading books, grinding local cash games, and joining the TwoPlusTwo forums.

At the beginning of August 2010, he made my first deposit on PokerStars.

"I did relatively well in the low buy-in tournaments and quickly built a larger bankroll through the end of the month," he explained. "With the end of August comes the restart of college. I knew that my poker playing would be drastically cut down so I could keep up my results with work and school. I decided to take a shot on a Sunday night in a $200 buy-in with over 500 entrants."

Long story short, he took second for his first big online score, which he followed up by winning a tournament outright two nights later. The hook was set even deeper.

After the events of 2011, Long transitioned to live poker exclusively, but that changed when PokerStars returned to Michigan in 2021 as he's been back at the virtual tables, especially during the flagship MICOOP.

"With online poker being back regulated in Michigan, I am able to safely get back to my roots as a poker player," he said. "On PokerStars, I am primarily a tournament grinder across the various stakes. The MICOOP has been an excellent way to kick off volume with solid tournament structures. So far, I have been able to cash in 10 of the events that I have played in. While the win hasn’t come yet, it’s only a matter of time!"

PokerNews will continue to monitor Long's progress in his quest to win a coveted MICOOP title.