Ross Boatman was born in 1964 in Archway, England and is an English (RADA trained) actor, plus a well-known professional poker player, and a member of The Hendon Mob, a poker-playing foursome. Boatman’s unparalleled record win in Vienna’s World Series trial proved that he has what it really takes to push him to the top of world class pro poker players – during the tournament, Ross Boatman made four consecutive finals from 1998 through 2001. Ross Boatman (who also goes by the name “Rocky Ross”) came in 1st place at the 2001 Late Night Poker Series 2, The Irish Winter Tournament, The Christmas Cracker Tournament, and the 2002 European Poker Classics in London, United Kingdom. Boatman is no stranger to worldwide tournaments and has been a regular act at the Irish Open Omaha Tournaments where he was the champion. Furthermore, Ross Boatman also won the British Poker Championship.
As the rest of the Hendon Mob, Ross Boatman has become a regular and familiar face at the World Series of Poker (WSOP). In 2002, Ross Boatman made his very first final table in the Pot Limit Omaha event finishing in 7th place. Ross and his brother Barny are the world’s first brothers to make the same WSOP final table in the same year. As well, Ross Boatman finished in the money of the $10,000 No Limit Texas Hold’em main event, but decided to opt out at 34th place out of the 631 entrants. During the 2006 European Poker Tour (EPT), Ross Boatman made the second grand final table and finished in 6th place winning a prize of €140,000. Boatman is an international figure when it comes to poker; he was won tournaments and made final tables in England, France, Holland, Wales, Slovenia, Spain, Ireland, Austria, Australia, Monte Carlo, and even the U.S.A. On the Hendon Mob website, Ross Boatman has published over 20 articles chronicling some of his famous finishes and wins. Boatman most recently ended his sponsorship by the Prima Poker Network, and is now sponsored by Full Tilt Poker. Ross Boatman’s total live tournament winnings have exceeded $1,100,000 as of 2007. Ross currently resides in Holloway, UK with his partner Stephanie and their 3 children.
Ross Boatman is not your everyday poker player, and has an interesting history that led him to be the famous and noted pro-poker player that he is. Ross Boatman is actually one of the most celebrated contemporary actors in the UK. Boatman has an eight year career of acting behind him, and during those years he appeared in the series “London’s Burning”, in Mike Hodges’ 2003 film, “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead”. Ross Boatman also acted alongside famous actors such as Clive Owen and Charlotte Rampling.
Ross Boatman finished his training at RADA and began working as a television actor in 1988 where he appeared in the “The Storyteller” and “Dramarama” before he earned his fame as an actor through his appearance in “London’s burning”.
So what turned a rising star and actor to turn to poker? In the 1970’s, Ross would observe his older brother Barny playing poker with his friends. Ross Boatman observed quietly from the sides and began to learn how to play and by the age of 12, Boatman was hooked on the game. Ross Boatman became a pro-poker player in 1992. Ross and his brother began travelling regularly to poker game, and attended a poker game in North London which was run by Joe Beevers and Ram Vaswani – the four men quickly formed a friendship that turned to form the “The Hendon Mob” of poker players.
Ross Boatman Major Titles
- 1999 Autumn Tournament: FF 3,000 No Limit Hold’em
- 2001 Christmas Cracker: £100 Pot Limit Hold’em
- 2002 Austrian Masters: €300 pot limit Omaha
- 2002 European Poker Championships: £2,000 No Limit Hold’em
- 2002 Irish Winter Tournament: €400 pot limit Omaha
- 2004 British Open: £200 pot limit Omaha hi-lo
Ross Boatman Tournament Winnings
- 2007 WSOP: No-Limit Hold'em 20th $17,816
- 2007 WSOP: No-Limit Hold'em 10th $29,073
- WPT World Championship 56th $46,410
- 2006 WSOP: No-Limit Hold'em 26th $11,701
- 2006 WSOP: No-Limit Hold'em 180th $2,368
- Monte Carlo Grand Final 6th €140,000
- 2005 WSOP: No-Limit Hold'em 53rd $5,640
- 2005 WSOP: Omaha Hi-Lo Split 30th $3,305
- 2005 WSOP: No-Limit Hold'em 64th $4,520
- 2005 WSOP: Limit Hold'em 73rd $2,170