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

poker Poker is a family of Card game#Comparing games, comparing card games in which Card player, players betting (poker), wager over which poker hand, hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, with varying rules i ...

player from

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Vos was born in

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, 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 university, public research university in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the Sydney metropolitan area. ...

, 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 the most popular variant of the card game of poker. Two cards, known as hole cards, are dealt face down to each player, and then five Community card poker, community cards ...

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" Poker chip, chips and money at stake, often with no predetermined end time, with players able to enter and leave as they see fit. In co ...

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 ...

, 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 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions, Tournament of Champions held ...

(

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

), 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 supportive function to hold other items of decoration, ...

, 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 tea ...

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 The 2008 World Series of Poker was the 39th annual World Series of Poker (WSOP). Held in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino, the series began on May 30, 2008, and featured 55 poker championships in List of poker variants, s ...

, 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

References

External links

'Ask Mark Vos' forum at PokerCrackPokerNetwork Player PageSpeed Poker Player ProfileFullTiltPoker WSOP Blog InterviewWise Hand Poker - Act Your AgeCard Player profileHendon Mob profileWPT profileWSOP profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vos, Mark 1983 births Living people Sportspeople from Cape Town Australian poker players South African poker players World Series of Poker bracelet winners Waldorf school alumni