2017 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, FL
Event 4
$1,100 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em
Entries: 114
Prize Pool: $110,580
March 19-20, 2017

Six-Max no limit hold’em was popularized by the advent of online poker and therefore loved by many of the younger players. But 52-year-old Jean LeBlond showed that the older players can still compete when it comes to short-handed poker.

LeBlond bested a field of 114 entries to earn $32,621, a seat into a freeroll with a $10,000 WPT finale seat at stake, and his first Hard Rock trophy.

There were some discussions about a chop during heads-up play with David Jackson, but LeBlond turned down the numbers because he wanted to finish it out, earn the win, and get a seat into the freeroll.

“My only objective was to win because I wanted the trophy and the satellite seat,” said LeBlond. “If we made a deal, then the chip leader was the winner and he had just a little more than I did. So, I didn’t want to do a deal. And I kind of felt that he was going on tilt because I got lucky a couple times. So I used it to my advantage and I ended up winning it.”

The score is LeBlond’s first outright tournament win and his biggest career score. With the lack of an extensive tournament resume, LeBlond didn’t have much experience with heads-up poker before Monday evening.

“I hadn’t done heads-up that often,” said LeBlond. “I had done it once before at the PCA in the Bahamas, but it’s not something you really get to do. I was kind of learning as I was going along. He was pretty aggressive, but I found a few reads on him, so that kind of helped.”

The real estate agent from New Brunswick, Canada has made his way down to South Florida for the last 20 years as a place to vacation and escape at least part of the Canadian winter. He’s been playing lots of poker along the way, but it wasn’t until recently that he started taking shots at the tournament series here at the Hard Rock.

The tournament was smooth sailing for LeBlond. He took the chip lead into the final table and only extended it from there. It wasn’t until he got heads-up against Jackson that he ran into some trouble.

“I kind of grinded the whole way during the last two tables,” said LeBlond. “But I was chip leader during the last two tables. Then I got lucky heads-up. I got very lucky a couple times. Everything was good.”

LeBlond still has three weeks left on his vacation with family and friends. With his win on Monday, he expects to keep the ball rolling and use this as momentum for the rest of the series.

“I’m going to be playing the $3,500 for sure now. And I’ll play the $570 this week,” said LeBlond. “I’ll cash in other events. You’ll see me again for sure.”

Here is a look at the results:

1st: Jean LeBlond – $32,621 + Freeroll seat
2nd: David Jackson – $20,181
3rd: Andrew Blake – $12,053
4th: Stephen Diamantas – $7,741
5th: Michael Goldfarb – $5,861
6th: Nizzim Gozlan – $4,866
7th: Josh Hillock – $4,202
8th: John DePersio – $3,704
9th: Haibi Lu – $2,875
10th: Brett Bader – $2,875
11th: James Gilbert – $2,875
12th: Staffan Lind – $2,875
13th: Tom Allen – $2,488
14th: Arthur Morris – $2,488
15th: Francois Tosques – $2,488

$1,100 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em (Single Re-Entry)
Level 25: 10,000/20,000 with a 3,000 ante
Players Remaining: 1 of 114

David Jackson moved all in on the button for 230,000. Jean LeBlond called out of the big blind.

Jackson showed and was flipping against LeBlond’s . The board ran out and LeBlond’s pair holds up to win the race.

Jackson took home $20,181 for his runner up finish and LeBlond earned $32,621 and a seat into the freeroll for a $10,000 WPT Finale seat for his win.

LeBlond wanted to say hello to his three children who were following the action to his children back in Canada. A complete recap will be published later tonight.

Jean LeBlond – $1,100 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em Champion
David Jackson – Eliminated

$1,100 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em (Single Re-Entry)
Level 25: 10,000/20,000 with a 3,000 ante
Players Remaining: 2 of 114

Jean LeBlond limped in on the button and David Jackson raised to 55,000 out of the big blind. LeBlond called and the flop was .

Jackson checked and LeBlond moved all in for 511,000. Jackson went into the tank for several minutes and talked to himself about whether or not he wanted to gamble for it all.

“I think I have the best hand,” said Jackson. “Should I gamble for it? What would you do?”

LeBlond never responded to Jackson’s table talk and after several minutes in the tank, Jackson called. LeBlond showed and Jackson was visibly distraught with his call as he showed .

The turn was the and the river was the . LeBlond doubled up with ace-high and takes a massive chip lead over Jackson.

“I really thought you had like ten-eight or queen-ten,” said Jackson.

Jean LeBlond – 1,138,000 (57 bb)
David Jackson – 230,000 (11 bb)

$1,100 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em
Level 25: 10,000/20,000 with a 3,000 ante
Players Remaining: 2 of 114

David Jackson raised on the button and Jean LeBlond called out of the big blind. The flop was and LeBlond checked. Jackson bet 50,000 and LeBlond called.

The turn was the and both players checked. The river was the and LeBlond bet 50,000. Jackson raised to 160,000 and LeBlond folded.

Jackson shows , good for jack-high, and takes the pot. He also opens up a bit of a chip lead on LeBlond.

David Jackson – 963,000 (48 bb)
Jean LeBlond – 405,000 (20 bb)

$1,100 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em
Level 24: 8,000/16,000 with a 2,000 ante
Players Remaining: 2 of 114

Jean LeBlond raised on the button and David Jackson defended his big blind. The flop was and Jackson checked.

LeBlond bet 45,000 and Jackson called. The turn was the and Jackson checked again. LeBlond bet 65,000 and Jackson quickly folded.

LeBlond mucked his hand and took the pot. He takes the chip lead back just as the level comes to an end.

Jean LeBlond – 740,000 (46 bb)
David Jackson – 628,000 (39 bb)

$1,100 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em
Level 24: 8,000/16,000 with a 2,000 ante
Players Remaining: 2 of 114

Jean LeBlond moved all in on the button for 268,000 and David Jackson called.

Jackson showed and has LeBlond’s dominated. The board ran out and LeBlond hit his three-outer on the turn to double up and put a dent in what was Jackson’s massive chip lead.

Jean LeBlond – 540,000 (33 bb)
David Jackson – 828,000 (51 bb)

$1,100 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em
Level 24: 8,000/16,000 with a 2,000 ante
Players Remaining: 2 of 114

David Jackson raised on the button and Jean LeBlond called out of the big blind. The flop was and LeBlond checked.

Jackson bet 45,000 and LeBlond called. The turn was the and both players checked to the river.

LeBlond checked and Jackson bet 76,000. LeBlond called. Jackson showed and LeBlond mucked.

David Jackson – 1,100,000 (68 bb)
Jean LeBlond – 270,000 (16 bb)

$1,100 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em
Level 23: 6,000/12,000 with a 2,000 ante
Players Remaining: 2 of 114

Jean LeBlond raised to 30,000 on the button and David Jackson three-bet to about 110,000 out of the big blind. LeBlond moved all in for 373,000 and Jackson called.

Jackson showed and was flipping with LeBlond’s .

The board ran out and Jackson took the lead on the turn, but LeBlond hit a two-outer on the river to double up and stay alive.

Jean LeBlond – 650,000 (54 bb)
David Jackson – 710,000 (59 bb)

$1,100 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em
Level 23: 6,000/12,000 with a 2,000 ante
Players Remaining: 2 of 114

Jean LeBlond raised to 30,000 on the button and David Jackson called. The flop was and Jackson checked.

LeBlond bet 30,000 and Jackson called. The rest of the hand is checked down as the board is completed with the and the .

LeBlond showed , good for bottom pair, and Jackson mucked his hand.

Jean LeBlond – 540,000 (45 bb)
David Jackson – 830,000 (69 bb)

$1,100 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em
Level 22: 5,000/10,000 with a 1,000 ante
Players Remaining: 2 of 114

David Jackson limped in on the button and Jean LeBlond raised to 35,000 out of the big blind. Jackson called and the flop was . Both players checked and the turn was the .

LeBlond bet 35,000 and Jackson called. The river was the and LeBlond checked. Jackson bet 55,000 and LeBlond folded. Jackson showed Kh6h, taking the pot with king-high.

David Jackson – 840,000 (84 bb)
Jean LeBlond – 528,000 (53 bb)

$1,100 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em
Level 22: 5,000/10,000 with a 1,000 ante
Players Remaining: 2 of 114

David Jackson limped in on the button and Jean LeBlond checked his option in the big blind. The flop is and LeBlond checked. Jackson bet 15,000 and LeBlond called.

The turn was the and LeBlond checked again. Jackson bet 30,000 and LeBlond called.

The river was the and LeBlond checked for a third time. Jackson bet 100,000 and LeBlond quickly folded. Jackson mucked his hand, took the pot and a slight chip lead in the heads-up match.

David Jackson – 690,000 (69 bb)
Jean LeBlond – 670,000 (67 bb)

$1,100 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em
Level 22: 5,000/10,000 with a 1,000 ante
Players Remaining: 2 of 114

Jean LeBlond raised on the button to 25,000 and Andrew Blake moved all in out of the small blind for 313,000. LeBlond gets an exact count from the dealer and takes a minute of thought before calling.

LeBlond showed and had Blake’s dominated. The board ran out and LeBlond won the pot with a pair of kings to eliminate Blake in third place. Blake took home $12,053 and LeBlond has about a 2-to-1 chip lead heading into heads-up play with David Jackson.

Jean LeBlond – 910,000 (91 bb)
Andrew Blake – Eliminated

$1,100 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em
Level 22: 5,000/10,000 with a 1,000 ante
Players Remaining: 3 of 114

Jean LeBlond raised to 25,000 from under the gun and Andrew Blake called on the button. David Jackson called from the small blind and Stephen Diamantas defended his big blind.

The flop was and Jackson checked. Diamantas moved all in for 111,000 and LeBlond moved all in for about 300,000. Blake and Jackson both quickly folded.

Diamantas showed , but needed to fade a lot of cards against LeBlond’s .

The turn was the , giving LeBlond a bigger pair and the lead, and the river was the . LeBlond wins the pot with a pair of nines and Diamantas was eliminated in fourth place. Diamantas took home $7,741 for his finish and LeBlond took the chip lead into three-handed play.

Jean LeBlond – 510,000 (51 bb)
Stephen Diamantas – Eliminated

$1,100 Six-Max No Limit Hold’em
Level 22: 5,000/10,000 with a 1,000 ante
Players Remaining: 4 of 114

David Jackson raised from under the gun and Jean LeBlond three-bet to 100,000 out of the small blind. Jackson moved all in for 240,000 and LeBlond called.

It was a race for Jackson’s tournament life with his up against Jackson’s . The board ran out and Jackson’s pair won the race to double through the former chip leader.

David Jackson – 489,000 (49 bb)
Jean LeBlond – 375,000 (37 bb)