Rob Hollink

Rob Hollink was born on 27 March 1962 in Enschede, Netherlands, and later based in Groningen. As a child, he played tennis, football (soccer), and basketball, but injuries prevented him from pursuing a professional sports career. He studied econometrics in college but soon turned to gambling.

Hollink became a professional gambler in 1985. He and his partners specialized in beating casino games like Golden Ten (a roulette variant), blackjack, and positive-expectation slot machines. However, they were eventually barred from many casinos. After winning a poker tournament in Paris in 2001, Hollink decided to focus exclusively on poker, leaving blackjack and roulette behind.

Hollink built his reputation in pot-limit Omaha tournaments. Notable wins include:

• Master Classics of Poker 2001 (Amsterdam): HFl 400 Pot Limit Omaha, prize HFl 90,763 ($37,187)
• Austrian Masters 2002 (Vienna): €500 Pot Limit Omaha, prize €25,220 ($23,523)
• Euro Finals of Poker 2003 (Paris): €3,000 Pot Limit Omaha, prize €122,440 ($131,798)
• World Heads-Up Poker Championship 2004 (Barcelona): €250 Pot Limit Omaha, prize €23,000 ($27,855)

He also made the final table of the Pot Limit Omaha event at the 2003 World Series of Poker, finishing eighth. In online poker, he won a $109 heads-up no-limit hold'em tournament on PokerStars in 2003 (screen name 'batoelrob') for $12,800.

In no-limit hold'em, Hollink notched two World Poker Tour (WPT) cashes: 12th in the 2004 Grand Prix de Paris (€19,000) and 5th in Season 3 WPT Championship ($377,420).

European Poker Tour Grand Final (2005)

Hollink conquered a 211-player field at the €10,000 EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo, winning €635,000 ($845,190). This made him the first Dutch player to win an EPT title.

World Series of Poker Bracelet (2008)

In June 2008, Hollink won Event #30: $10,000 Limit Hold'em World Championship at the WSOP in Las Vegas, earning $496,931 and his first WSOP bracelet. He became the first player from the Netherlands to win a WSOP bracelet.

In 2005, Hollink won four tournaments, earned the European Tournament Performance of the Year award, and was named European Poker Player of the Year.

Hollink is known for his willingness to play against strong opposition. He once said, "If I know there are a couple of extremely strong players in a game, that doesn't stop me from taking a seat at that table." He has played in tough cash games against Prahlad Friedman, Markus Golser, and Gus Hansen, believing that improvement comes from challenging oneself. Despite this, he values table selection and is recognized as a disciplined, thoughtful player.

Hollink's success paved the way for Dutch poker players on the international stage. As of 2010, his total live tournament winnings exceeded $3.1 million, and his 24 WSOP cashes accounted for $890,659. Updated database records show lifetime tournament earnings of $4,411,336. He remains active in poker, with recent cashes in 2025 and 2026 WSOP events. Hollink also balances his professional life with being a family man.