Poker Player and Mixed Game Enthusiast Mark Dickstein Passes Away
The poker world received sad news on Friday morning as news surfaced that poker player Mark Dickstein, a noted mixed game enthusiast, had passed away.
The news was shared by Ari Engel on social media:
"Sad news to report: my friend Mark B. Dickstein has passed away. Many of you especially mixed game players will have played with him over the years. I only became friends with him over the last year when he was already sick but even in that short time we had some really interesting talks – he had a very different perspective to many issues – which made for some long (and occasionally heated) back and forth and a number of prop bets. I’ll especially remember how he made a number of very generous charitable donations that no one knew about. I’ll miss you Mark- rest in peace my friend. Baruch Dayan Haemet"
Dickstein had $775,874 in lifetime earnings dating back to 2004 according to the Hendon Mob. That included a career-best score of $184,428 for finishing third in the 2006 WSOP $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event, which was won by Lee Watkinson. More recently, Dickstein had seven cashes this summer at the 2024 WSOP including 26th in Event #32: $1,500 Limi Seven Card Stud.
Outside of poker, Dickstein had made a name for himself in the early days of hedge funds. Alongside his business partner, David Brail, Dickstein built the firm Dickstein Partners, which was one of the preeminent hedge funds of the time with expertise in merger arbitrage and bankruptcy investing. Dickstein was so prominent at the time that he was even profiled in the New York Times back in 1994.
News of Dickstein’s passing rippled throughout the poker community with many players offering their condolences on social media.
“I knew Mark well for about 15 years, we did some business together and hung out when he was in town for tournaments,” poker pro Yuval Bronshtein shared. “He had been dealing with severe pain and health issues constantly for numerous years, and several months ago, he told me that he didn’t know how much time he had left. We just didn’t know it would be this soon. He was always a thoughtful, good-hearted, and generous friend, and may his memory be a blessing to those of us who had the good fortune of knowing him. Very sad news, and thanks for informing us.”
“Great guy, different than most people. Thats what I liked the most about him.”
Hameed Hamid wrote: “Very sad. I just met him this WSOP. Very nice guy. We kept getting seated at the same tables together in so many events this summer, that we felt like we were getting pranked. Not just in the small field mix events, randomly in the huge field holdem events too. He was excited to come to AZ and play mix cash games with us after the summer.”
“Mark was always fun to play with and always up for a debate on any topic,” wrote AJ Kelsall. “I had no idea he was sick. RIP Mark!
Jesse Lonis offered: “Great guy, different than most people. Thats what I liked the most about him.”
Ken Po added: “I'm thankful to have met Mark over the past couple years in the mixed game tournament scene. It was always good to see him on the tournament scene.”
PokerNews joins in offering condolences to the friends and family of Mark Dickstein.
Mark Dickstein Top Tournament Cashes
| Date | Tournament | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 2006 | WSOP $10,000 PLO | 3rd | $184,428 |
| April 2009 | Five Star World Poker Classic $1,500 NLH | 2nd | $53,135 |
| Dec. 2009 | Five Diamond World Poker Classic $1,080 NLH | 4th | $53,020 |
| March 2015 | Foxwoods Poker Classic $1,650 NLH | 2nd | $36,700 |
| June 2012 | WSOP Event #10: $5,000 Seven Card Stud | 6th | $33,325 |
| Oct. 2009 | Festa al Lago $3,000 NLH | 1st | $31,045 |
| Dec. 2009 | Five Diamond World Poker Classic $1,080 NLH | 6th | $30,701 |
