Mark Vos
Encyclopedia
Mark Vos also known as 'pokerbok', is a professional poker
player from Australia
. Vos was born in Cape Town
, South Africa
, 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
, to play poker full time. Starting out online with limit hold'em 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 games
and tournaments online. When not travelling the world playing poker, Vos plans to divide his time between Australia and South Africa. In January 2006, Vos finished 8th in the main event of the Crown Australian Poker Championship
, winning A$83,600. As of May 2006, Vos represents the Full Tilt Poker
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
(WSOP
), the $2000 no limit hold 'em event. Outlasting a field of 1919 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, becoming one of the youngest WSOP bracelet winners in history. After his victory, Vos said, "[Winning] does not really change things. I mean, it helps. But I still plan to play poker, then [in five years] I'll relax, settle down and decide what I want to do with the rest of my life." 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 2009, his total live tournament winnings exceed $1,200,000. His 9 cashes at the WSOP account for $977,728 of those winnings.
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
player from Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Vos was born in Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, and attended Waldorf High School in Constantia
Constantia, Cape Town
Constantia is an affluent suburb of Cape Town, South Africa, situated about 15 kilometres south of the centre of Cape Town. The Constantia Valley lies to the east of and at the foot of the Constantiaberg mountain. Constantia Nek is a low pass linking to Hout Bay in the west.-History:Constantia is...
. He excelled at mathematics olympiads while in high school, and represented his province in the interprovincial olympiad. Vos permanently deferred his actuarial studies
Actuary
An actuary is a business professional who deals with the financial impact of risk and uncertainty. Actuaries provide expert assessments of financial security systems, with a focus on their complexity, their mathematics, and their mechanisms ....
at Macquarie University
Macquarie University
Macquarie University is an Australian public teaching and research university located in Sydney, with its main campus situated in Macquarie Park. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the metropolitan area of Sydney...
, to play poker full time. Starting out online with limit hold'em 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 games
Ring game
Ring game may refer to:*Ring game , a general class of multi-player pocket billiards gambling games*Ring game, a.k.a. cash game, a poker game played with "real" chips and each player's own money at stake, as opposed to a poker tournament with a prize money pool...
and tournaments online. When not travelling the world playing poker, Vos plans to divide his time between Australia and South Africa. In January 2006, Vos finished 8th in the main event of the Crown Australian Poker Championship
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...
, winning A$83,600. As of May 2006, Vos represents the Full Tilt Poker
Full Tilt Poker
Full Tilt Poker is an online poker card room that opened in June 2004 with the involvement of poker professionals Howard Lederer, Phil Ivey, Andy Bloch, Mike Matusow, Jennifer Harman and Chris Ferguson...
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
2006 World Series of Poker
The 2006 World Series of Poker 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...
(WSOP
World Series of Poker
The World Series of Poker is a world-renowned series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2005, sponsored by Harrah's Entertainment...
), the $2000 no limit hold 'em event. Outlasting a field of 1919 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, becoming one of the youngest WSOP bracelet winners in history. After his victory, Vos said, "[Winning] does not really change things. I mean, it helps. But I still plan to play poker, then [in five years] I'll relax, settle down and decide what I want to do with the rest of my life." 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 2009, his total live tournament winnings exceed $1,200,000. His 9 cashes at the WSOP account for $977,728 of those winnings.