Mark Vos (born 20 October 1983), also known as 'pokerbok', is a professional

poker Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...

player from

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Vos was born in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, and attended Waldorf High School in Constantia. He excelled at mathematics olympiads while in high school, and represented his province in the interprovincial olympiad. Vos permanently deferred his actuarial studies at

Macquarie University Macquarie University ( ) is a public research university based in Sydney, Australia, in the suburb of Macquarie Park. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the metropolitan area of S ...

, to play poker full-time. Starting out online with limit

hold'em Texas hold 'em (also known as Texas holdem, hold 'em, and holdem) is one of the most popular variants of the card game of poker. Two cards, known as hole cards, are dealt face down to each player, and then five community cards are dealt fac ...

in mid-2004, Vos soon turned his attention to no-limit games, and in short time, earned a reputation as being one of the world's top online poker players, such that he can often be found playing in the most expensive

cash game Cash games, also sometimes referred to as ring games or live action games, are poker games played with "real" chips and money at stake, often with no predetermined end time, with players able to enter and leave as they see fit. In contrast, a pok ...

s and tournaments online. When not travelling the world playing poker, Vos plans to divide his time between Australia and South Africa.FullTilt.net Player profile
In January 2006, Vos finished 8th in the main event of the

Crown Australian Poker Championship The Australian Poker Championship, commonly known as Aussie Millions, is a series of poker tournaments held at the Crown Casino, in Melbourne, Australia. The Main Event of the series is the Southern Hemisphere's richest poker tournament with a ...

, winning A$83,600. As of May 2006, Vos represents the

Full Tilt Poker Full Tilt Poker is an Irish online poker card room and online casino that opened in June 2004. Formerly privately owned by Tiltware, LLC and later by the Rational Entertainment Group, the site was acquired by The Stars Group (then known as Amaya ...

online poker cardroom as a friend of Full Tilt Poker. His name is reflected in red on Full Tilt tables. In July 2006, Vos won Event 6 at the

2006 World Series of Poker The 2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP) began on June 25, 2006 with satellite events, with regular play commencing on June 26 with the annual Casino Employee event, and the Tournament of Champions held on June 28 and 29. 40 more events in various ...

(

WSOP The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Paradise, Nevada and, since 2004, sponsored by Caesars Entertainment. It dates its origins to 1970, when Benny Binion invited seven of the best-known poker pla ...

), the $2000 no limit hold 'em event. Outlasting a field of 1,919 players, Vos entered heads up action with Nam Le an almost 3:1 chip underdog. On the final hand, Vos raised to $90,000 preflop and Le made the call. The flop came and Le check-called a $150,000 bet by Vos. The turn was the and Le check-called for $250,000. The river brought the to which Le checked and Vos moved all in. Le, suspecting a bluff, made the call with , but Vos turned over for trips and the win, collecting $803,274 and the gold

bracelet A bracelet is an article of jewellery that is worn around the wrist. Bracelets may serve different uses, such as being worn as an ornament. When worn as ornaments, bracelets may have a wikt:supportive, supportive function to hold other items of ...

, becoming one of the youngest WSOP bracelet winners in history. After his victory, Vos said, "

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...

does not really change things. I mean, it helps. But I still plan to play poker, then n five yearsI'll relax, settle down and decide what I want to do with the rest of my life."PokerPages.com Tournament Report
Vos cashed four times at the 2008 World Series of Poker, including finishing in 80th place out of 6,844 entries in the $10,000 buy-in Main Event, earning $77,200. As of 2023, Vos' total live tournament winnings exceed $1,350,000. His nine cashes at the WSOP account for $977,728 of those winnings.World Series of Poker Earnings
, worldseriesofpoker.com

World Series of Poker

Notes

External links

'Ask Mark Vos' forum at PokerCrackPokerNetwork Player PageSpeed Poker Player ProfileFullTiltPoker WSOP Blog InterviewWise Hand Poker - Act Your AgePokerListings.com interviewAce High Wine - The Notorious BOKHendon Mob tournament results
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vos, Mark 1983 births Living people People from Cape Town Australian poker players South African poker players World Series of Poker bracelet winners Waldorf school alumni