I was a bit surprised to find out this was Jay Dragland's first MTT win. The PLO cash game specialist has a third place from the Deepstacks back in 2015, but he spends most of his time playing cash rather than MTTs.
They were about even when heads up began against Dylan Descheneaux but Dragland quickly chipped up into the lead. He was up by a bit more than 2:1 when he tripped up Descheneaux's suited Broadway wrap after turning trip threes. This marks his first MTT win but will push his career earnings from MTT's over $125k (USD)
The PLO Bounty game is now over and Dylan Descheneaux had to settle for his second runner-up spot in as many days. Last night, he was heads up against Daniel O'Leary in the NLH/PLO mix and now tonight he found himself heads up against Jay Dragland for the PLO Bounty title.
In the final hand, Descheneaux was down more than 2:1 in chips and he got it in with against Dragland's
. Dragland hit his three on the flop and turned trips for the win.
Descheneaux is a regular feature at 4-card final tables here in Alberta with a win, a second, and a third place among his recent accolades with four cards here in the province. This marks his fourth top-three finish in a PLO event since 2023.
Player | Chips | Progress | |
---|---|---|---|
Jay Dragland | ![]() |
1,800,000 | 550,000 |
Dylan Descheneaux | ![]() |
0 | 0 |
Jay Dragland is leading the heads up now by a bit more than 2:1. There are about five minutes left to play in Level 18.
Player | Chips | Progress | |
---|---|---|---|
Jay Dragland | ![]() |
1,250,000 | 270,000 |
Dylan Descheneaux | ![]() |
550,000 | 88,000 |
Dylan Descheneaux raised the button to 20k and Jay Dragland called to see the all-heart flop of . Dragland check-called for 15k and again for 35k on the
turn.
The river was and Dragland checked again, but folded this time when Descheneaux fired out 85k.
Dylan Descheneaux opened the button to 20k and Jay Dragland called to the flop. they both checked the flop and Dragland led for 14k on the
turn. Descheneaux called to see
on the river.
Dragland bet 58k and Descheneaux called but mucked when Dragland rolled over for the turned boat.
They are heads up now in the PLO BOunty game after Eugene Karaev couldn't spin up his short stack and hit the rail in 3rd place for $2,640.
It looks like Jay Dragland has a slight lead going into heads up, but there's very little between them right now.
Player | Chips | Progress | |
---|---|---|---|
Jay Dragland | ![]() |
980,000 | 310,000 |
Dylan Descheneaux | ![]() |
638,000 | 202,000 |
Eugene Karaev | ![]() |
125,000 | 165,000 |
I picked up the action on the flop reading . Eugene Karaev checked the small blind, then called when Jay Dragland fired a bet of 6k.
Karaev check-called again for 20k this time on the turn. The river came
and after a check from Karaev, Dragland bet 75k. Karaev took his time calling, but had to muck when Dragland showed
for the trip fours.
In the final hand of the last level, it was a limped pot preflop between small blind Jay Dragland and big blind Dylan Descheneaux. Dragland led for 10k on the flop and Descheneaux called to see
on the turn.
Dragland fired 24k and Descheneaux made the call. on the river brought in the hearts, and Dragland changed to checking. Descheneaux checked behind but took it down with the heart flush over Dragland's jack.
Player | Chips | Progress | |
---|---|---|---|
Dylan Descheneaux | ![]() |
840,000 | 57,500 |
Jay Dragland | ![]() |
670,000 | 63,500 |
Eugene Karaev | ![]() |
290,000 | 112,500 |
Jay Dragland opened the button to 10k and got a call from big blind Eugene Karaev. Karaev check-called for 14k on the flop of . Similar action for 20k happened on the
turn, and it went up to 30k on the
river.
Karaev check-called the whole way but mucked his hand when Dragland showed king-jack-eight-five for trip fives and the win.
There are now three players left in the PLO Bounty game after Sebastien Fallu ended his day in 4th. I missed the action as I was trying to get the Turbo prizes updated in that one.
Player | Chips | Progress | |
---|---|---|---|
Sebastien Fallu | ![]() |
0 | 0 |
They are down to the final four players now after Frank Shi hit the rail in 5th place. I missed the action as I was in the washroom, but Shi was left pretty short after the huge hand against Dino Rajabi and Dylan Descheneaux before the last break, and while he managed to chip up a bit in the following level, he was never able to build back to where he was.
Player | Chips | Progress | |
---|---|---|---|
Frank Shi | ![]() |
0 | 0 |
Jay Dragland opened under the gun to 7.5k and got calls from Dylan Descheneaux on the button and Frank Shi in the small blind. Shi checked the flop before Dragland continued for 8.5k.
Only Descheneaux came along to the turn which both players checked. Dragland checked again on the
river and Descheneaux fired out 35k. After a few seconds, Dragland tossed in the call, but mucked his hand when Descheneaux rolled over six-six-five-four double suited in clubs and diamonds for the trips.
The final five players are nearly back for the start of Level 13 and after the massive hand near the end of the last level, Dylan Descheneaux is not the chip leader with close to 800k. That's a couple hundred thousand more than Jay Dragland in second while the other three are playing significantly smaller stacks.
Player | Chips | Progress | |
---|---|---|---|
Dylan Descheneaux | ![]() |
782,500 | 512,500 |
Jay Dragland | ![]() |
606,500 | 236,500 |
Eugene Karaev | ![]() |
177,500 | 85,500 |
Sebastien Fallu | ![]() |
156,000 | 135,500 |
Frank Shi | ![]() |
63,000 | 99,000 |
Dino Rajabi | ![]() |
0 | 0 |
It was a massive hand that saw two players at risk with Frank Shi set to eliminate two players if his double-suited aces held. He was up against for Dino Rajabi and [acjcqs7s[ for Dylan Descheneux.
Rajabi was all in before the flop while the money between Shi and Descheneaux went in on the flop with Descheneaux on the spade flush while Shi flopped a set of aces but needed the board to pair to get the double bounty.
were bricks for Shi and Descheneaux ended up with the massive pot while Rajabi was the first off in the money.
They are now in the money in the PLO Big Bounty game after Joon Park hit the rail on the money bubble. The remaining players are now guaranteed at least $1,070 for their troubles.
I arrived with action on the flop and the board reading . Jay Dragland bet 18k into a three-way pot and Dino Rajabi called from the cutoff before Frank Shi mucked the button.
Dragland fired 30k on the turn and Rajabi stuck around to the
river. Both players checked.
"You win," said Drag;and, showing busted ace-high diamonds with a busted wrap whole Rajabi's double paired hand with king and sixes hit the set sixes on the flop.
Here is a look at most of the final table players with the caveat that Frank Shi and Dino Rajabi asked that their pictures not be used in this event.
The prizes are in and the field is confirmed at 60 entries. That means 6 players will share in the prizes and they are already on the money bubble with just 7 players remaining now and just under 14 minutes to play in Level 11.
Full prize details are available under the Payouts tab.
I'm still waiting on the official numbers, but it looks like Darlene Hernandez jumped into the game during the dinner break to make it 60 entries. Francis Fan busted shortly after dinner and there are now 16 players alive playing on two tables with one empty seat each.
Jay Dragland has the chip lead at the dinner break with 370k. Dino Rajabi is also playing more than 300k while Dylan Descheneaux looks to be third right now with 270k.
The total entries are still sitting at 59 with just a few minutes left before they get back into the action with entries closed. I'll update the numbers in about 30 minutes with the final official figures.
The top three stacks are attached to this post - a full look at the 15 remaining stacks is under the Chip Counts tab.
Player | Chips | Progress | |
---|---|---|---|
Jay Dragland | ![]() |
370,000 | 0 |
Dino Rajabi | ![]() |
321,000 | 0 |
Dylan Descheneaux | ![]() |
270,000 | 0 |
There are about five minutes left to play until the dinner break now which means entries are set to close in about 35 minutes. They are no just shy of 60 entries for combined prizes of more than $28k.
I'll grab chip counts for the field during the dinner break and get them posted for the start of Level 9.
The field is down to 16 players left now, so they've broken the third table and all players are now spread between two tables with an empty seat on each for new entries as required.
Level 8 has just begun and this is the final level of entry. The reg-desk will be open throughout the dinner break following this level and the field will be set when they sit down for Level 9 in about an hour.
There are 58 entries on the board to start the level with 18 players at the felt. They are still on three stables as they want open seats for new entries, but they make break down if more players bust before new entries arrive.
They are up to 57 entries now with Level 7 just underway. There are just under two levels of poker left before dinner and the end of entries following that break.
With 57 entries, the prizes are now at $27,075 with $11,400 in bounties and $15,675 for prizes later tonight.
They are up to 49 entries now in the PLO Big Bounty with 15 minutes to play in Level 6. That puts the end of entries about 90 minutes away with the desk scheduled to close at the start of Level 9.
The prize pool is now up to $21,375 with 45 entries on the board. $9k of that is in the bounty pool while $12,375 is waiting to be won by the top 10% later tonight.
I had a quick look around on the break and there look to be a couple of bigger stacks growing in the room. Josh Meyers looks to be the only player with more than 100k right now with about 115k in front of him, while Peter O'Leary is sitting with about 86k for what looks to be the second-biggest stack in the room right now.
They are up to 39 entries in the field now with about 5 minutes to play in Level 4. They'll go on their first break of the day following this level. Among the recent entries were Josh Wallace, Francis Fan, and DJ Sharma.
Level 4 has just begun and the field is now up to 25 entries with 26 players at the tables. That puts the current total prizes at $16,625 with $7k in bounties and the rest reserved for end-of-night prizes.
They are up to 26 entries in the PLO Big Bounty now, and among the recent entries I've seen in the field are PLO bracelet and ring winner Jerry Li, Paul Brar (Calgary), and Ali Khani who looks to be down from Edmonton for his first event this series.
The field is up to 22 entries now with 21 still at the felt. That puts the prizes at $10,450 in total with $4,400 in bounties and $6,050 in prizes so far.
Among the players in the mix battling for those prizes are Fred Balic, Glenn Tarasoff, Ron Lauzon, Greg Genge, Zeyu Huang, Joon Park, Nick Andreas, and both top finishers from the NLH/PLO Mix last night, runner-up Dylan Descheneaux and winner Daniel O'Leary.
The game is up to 18 players now on two full tables. That puts the prizes now at $8,550 with $3,600 of that reserved for bounties and the rest in prizes at the end of the day.
There was a bit of a discrepancy in the structures, and after consultation with the players, it's been decided that the game should have started with 30k stacks instead of 25k. An extra 5k has been distributed to each active player now, and all new entries will get 30k to start.
The game is now underway with 10 players in their seats and Level 1 action now proceeding. It was a bit of a late start as they waited for 10 players to get going, but cards were in the air at about 1:10 PM today.
As is the case with all Bounty games here, I'll be posting the total prize pool in the widget with both prizes and bounties included. With 10 players to start, there will be $2,750 in prizes with $2,000 in bounties at the moment.
Event #6: $560 PLO BIg Bounty ($300 + $200 + $60)
Apr 11 - 1 PM
Starting Stack: 25k
Blinds: 30 Min
Late Entry: 8 Levels (~5:45 PM)
The Main Game on Thursday is the PLO Big Bounty game. Players get 25k in chips for their $560, and $300 of that will go towards prizes with $200 each for bounty.
Blinds will increase every 30 minutes, and they'll have 8 levels to get into the game. That should put the final chance to enter at about 5:45 PM. This should be my main focus for Thursday's reporting.