There are quite a few different ways to measure a poker career. Of course, total money won is the big stat that most people think of first, but there are stats like return on investment, in-the-money percentage, and other measures to stack yourself up against the field.
One of the less discussed leaderboards is the Hendon Mob “Flag Hunters” list. This features the players with the most cashes in different countries around the world and the 2024 global leader for total flags earned is Canadian Dominick “Dino” French.
French is a popular grinder on the Canadian scene who shows up pretty much anywhere cards are being played. While he loves the Canadian poker scene, his focus lately has been on collecting flags on his Hendon Mob profile so he’s been galavanting the world more than his home country.
French Focuses on the Flags
2024 has been all about the flags for French and it shows in the results. The WSOP-Circuit ring winner is not just the leader for total flags in 2024, he’s crushing the list.
| Flag Hunter 2024 | |||
| 1st |  | Dominick French | 35 |
| 2nd |  | Andrew Leathem | 13 |
| 2nd |  | Fabian Bartuschk | 13 |
| 4th |  | Maureen Bloechlinger | 12 |
| 4th | | Samuel Ju | 12 |
French has a massive lead on the flag list with 35 for 2024. That’s almost 3x the second-place players, Scot Andrew Leathem and German Fabian Bartuschk, tied with 13. Swiss player and social media icon Maureen Bloechlinger and German Samuel Ju round out the top five with 12 each.
Among the flags he’s collected so far in 2024 are Italy, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Mexico, Switzerland, and Germany, as well as more exotic spots like the Aland Islands, Andorra, Cyprus, North Macedonia, Croatia, and Madagascar. He also did a stint in Central and South America this year collecting multiple Mexican flags, as well as Argentina and Uruguay.
He is currently in Albania hunting his 36th flag of 2024 at the PLO series in Tirana.
The Story of French
The Alberta native was born in Grande Prairie, a medium-sized city in the northern part of the province but he “went west” nearly 40 years ago and has since made his home in the temperate (for Canada at least) coastal capital of British Columbia, Victoria.
From that base on Canada’s west coast, Dino has staged a relentless attack on the flag database in 2024, but he has a long history with the game. He learned cards young from his grandparents, with his grandfather serving as a ruthless crib teacher at 5. “My grandpa taught me crib when I was 5 and would take my points if I miscounted, he told me ‘my grandson the only way you will learn is if I keep taking your points’. I loved 
From crib he moved on to poker around age 7, also under the guidance of his grandparents and the rest of his family. “We played 7 card stud, high Chicago, low Chicago, Kings & Little ones, & 5 card draw” he added of his early education in the game, and as a fellow Canadian around the same age as French, I can attest that’s a pretty standard list of “poker variants” played in Canadian homes ~40 years ago.
From Burgers to Land
Off the felt, French had a varied life. He started his working career with burger chain A&W and admits to still loving a good burger. From there he moved through a stint with Canadian grocery giant Safeway until he settled on his final career in real estate.
It was his real estate investment company that made him his poker bankroll and gave him the freedom to travel the world playing the game he loves. Off the felt, he is a movie lover and avid swimmer. He looks for a pool everywhere he travels and he fondly remembers an early encounter with a shark (in the movie Jaws, not the water) breeding his love of movies while apparently not impacting his love of the water.
Big Moments on the Felt
His biggest memory from his poker career involves some pretty massive names from the history of the game. It goes back to a Vegas trip in 2006 when he met Eli Elezra and was able to accompany the high-stakes player to the fabled Doyle’s Room at the Bellagio.
He spent the day meeting and watching greats like Elezra, Doyle Bunson, and Jennifer Harmon as they played some of the highest stakes poker around. “They all welcomed me like I knew them forever and allowed me to hang out with them and watch while they all played,” he said. “I was lucky enough to talk with Doyle many times after that meeting & to this day I am still grateful to Eli.”
As for his journey to the top of the flag list, he said his toughest challenge so far was in Chile in 2014 at the LAPT. That was just his fourth flag after numerous early cashes in Canada and the US, plus a couple of scores in St. Maarten.
“I was not an experienced player at all, so to get that flag was very exciting for me,” French said of his first South American flag. “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.”
We still see Dino around the tables here in Canada from time to time, but lately, his focus has been international and it shows. 2024 still isn’t complete, and I’m sure he has his sights set on at least a few more before the new year. After looking at his 2024 to date, I wouldn’t put it past him to cap 40 flags before Father Time rips off a new page.
