Dominick French Hits All-Time #1 Flaghunter Record: ‘It wasn’t my goal, it just happened’

Across this season’s WPT Korea games, Dominick French overcame the challenge of his career, having secured his 52nd flag to become the #1 Flaghunter of All-Time. French’s deciding moment came earlier this week following his 3rd place finish at the Flip and Go side event for KRW 5,040,000 (~USD 3,600).

While French missed out on the WPT title, his cash at the Jeju Festivities earned him a result under the South Korean flag, one count above the late poker legend Casey Kastle’s and Lars Jurgens’ 51-flag top record. In addition to his outstanding feat, the Canadian runner has also over $643,000 in live earnings under his belt with results dating back to 2006, according to The Hendon Mob. 

During the course of his four-day appearance at Landing Casino, Jeju Shinhwa World, Somuchpoker was able to get a hold of Dominick French to give us an inside peek on his journey throughout the years.

Somuchpoker: Congratulations on landing the top spot! How do you feel about this incredible achievement?

Dominick French: We’re here in Jeju, South Korea, and it’s beautiful. This casino is beautiful, isn’t it? I would tell all poker players, you got to come and experience it one time here. It’s awesome. But first and foremost, I want to thank God for my incredible life. I can’t do it without him. And I want to thank my partner, Rhonda, who supports me when I go and do this.

Today (Nov 18, 2024 – the editor) was a very emotional day, because today was the day that I passed Casey Kastle, and he was number one in the world for many, many years with the most flags, and he has 51 flags, and today I got 52 with the South Korea flag. So yeah, it’s bittersweet, because I really have a lot of respect and honor for Mr. Kastle, and obviously it just feels wonderful to actually be the number one spot.

SMP: With results spanning nearly two decades, when did you decide to go for the flag hunter race?

DF: What’s really cool is I was in St Martin about a year and a half ago, and I was looking at the flaghunter list, and I saw that this gentleman named Tim Adams, who was the number one Canadian in the world, and he had 22 flags at the time. And I thought to myself, well, I’d like to be the number one Canadian. I think I could get 22 flags. And so that was kind of where I started. So I started,  a year and seven months ago, I started, I had, like, I’m thinking I had maybe 12 or 13 flags, and Tim Adams had 22 and so my goal was just to get 22 to tie him, and then 23 to pass him, to become the number one Canadian. And that’s how it started for me. I want to be number one Canadian, so that’s what I did.

It didn’t take me that long to pass him. It took me six months.

What’s really interesting is I’ve been to all the continents in the world except Australia and New Zealand. So I’ve cashed in all five continents in the world this year. So South America, North America, Africa, Asia and Europe. So I’ve cashed in all five continents. And another really cool thing that a friend of mine actually pointed out to me is he thinks I’m the only poker player in the world that has ever cashed in three different continents in a week. It was Africa, Asia, and Europe in a week. 

SMP: Which of the 52 flags stands out to you the most? What makes it special?

DF: I would have to say my hardest flag was Chile in 2014 when I went to play the LAPT (Latin American Poker Tour). I was not an experienced player at all, so to get that flag was very exciting for me. I sucked out in spots, but I was so new still that I didn’t even realize how bad I sucked out on people, but I definitely heard about it on the breaks. 

SMP: How did your experience on the tables differ across the regions?

DF: It doesn’t differ that much for me personally,, it really actually helps me at the World Series in the Summer in Las Vegas as you get players from all over the World. I have been lucky enough to experience all nationalities of players, to make those small adjustments to their game.

SMP: How has your journey been affected by this target?

DF: Yeah, it’s pretty good. Because, you know, most of the players, they like, go to one event for a week or two weeks, and then they will travel, mostly like in Asia.

I talk to my friends that are flag hunters in Europe, and I say, You’re so lucky because, you know, you live in, let’s say you live in Germany, or you live in France. You’re in the middle. You’re in the middle. So you literally can, you know, drive your car to Barcelona, in Spain, or you can drive to, you know, so easy all the different spots in Europe, whereas I got a flight from Vancouver, which is on the other side of Canada, to get here. So it just made it that much harder. So, you know, it made me realize I can’t, I can’t go home like my friends can, all you know that I’ve met that live in Europe or live in Asia. Friends in Asia, they literally will play this tournament, like this one, then they’ll go home for a couple weeks, and then they’ll go somewhere else. But for me, because of the time change, if I went back home to Canada, it’s a totally different time change, and it really messes you up. And you can’t, you can’t compete, if you can’t even, like, stay awake at the table.

SMP: Can you shed some light on the hardships you’ve encountered?

DF: A lot of people don’t understand how hard it is. Like, number one, you have to come to the country, so you need to fly there. Number two, you got to figure out the currency, right? So, like, we’re here and it’s, it’s the Korea money. For example, the other day I was in Malaysia, it was Malaysia’s money. So you’re constantly dealing with the different money changes. I’m looking for food, right? I gotta find different foods. So then you gotta find your hotel. So there’s so many things you gotta do, like I’ve said to so many of my friends, I wish I could just land at the poker table and play because it would be so much easier.

SMP: Where are you looking to cash in next?

DF: So I’m flying to Australia tomorrow (Nov 19, 2024 – the editor). I will play in the World Series of Poker in Sydney Australia. If I cash in Australia, then I cash in every continent.

SMP: Any other career goals?

DF: My goal wasn’t to be number one in the world. It just happened, right? But my goal was to be number one this year in 2024 flaghunter, because last year, when I played, I was leading, and then I went into the World Series in the summer, and I played the whole summer at the World Series, and I got so tired that I just basically gave up on trying to do the flag hunter, because I was just too exhausted. And so then this, you know, a few people passed me because I stopped. And I said to myself, next year in 2024 I’m gonna go and win that one. So that was my goal for this year. And then, obviously, you know, I’ve got a World Series Circuit ring. So it’d be nice to get another one of those as a goal. Everybody wants to get a bracelet. You know, a bunch of my friends have bracelets. And so for me, you know, obviously, I want to try and get a bracelet too. So that’s always, I think, I think every poker player’s goal is to, you know, just like everybody who’s here wants to win the main event of the WPT here, right? It’s one of the things that everybody dreams about. 

SMP: Thank you for your time and good luck on your journey!

*Interviewed by Derick Elomina