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Curious who are the most successful German poker players of all times? If so, this article about the best, most successful German poker players will definitely interest you. Inside, you will find out who are German poker players who have mastered the game, who have cashed out the most and other relevant information related to the subject.
Without any doubt, Germany has produced a number of excellent poker players, especially in recent years. Coming to a top ten of German poker players was not an easy task, but there are several names which definitely stand out such as Fedor Holz and Rainer Kempe. Other names which will appear in this article include professional German poker players who have placed amazingly in major poker tournaments including the World Series of Poker.
When you look at the results of the most prominent online and live poker tournaments, there is always at least one German player placed at the very top or at least very close to the summit. German poker players are closely followed by the Swedes, but their domination is not as strong as the best German poker players have.
Hence, it is safe to say that Germany has actually brought us many amazing things. It is home to some of the finest beers, the great Oktoberfest, awesome football teams, greatly-looking cars, and many other things. Considering what German poker players have done in this industry, Germany also has produced some of the best poker players of all times.
If you want to find out who are the most successful German poker players of all times, then keep reading as further we bring you ten names which have graced us with their supreme talent, awesome poker skills, and excellent winning strategies.
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- German poker players used to dominate the scene for many years
- Germany has produced a great number of amazing poker players
- Poker is an extremely popular game in Germany with a quarter of a million regular players
1. Fedor Holz
Born: 25 July 1993
Nickname: CrownUpGuy
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Specialty: High roller poker tournaments
Fedor Holz is often times regarded as the most successful German poker player of all times. Fedor Holz was born in 1993 in Saarbrucken in Germany. His interest in poker arose from playing poker games at his home with family and friends during his teenage years. By the time he turned eighteen, he decided to transfer his skills into the online poker world. It would not take him long to excel and leave his mark. Young Fedor has easily mastered the game, so today he is the highest earning German poker player of all times.
Playing under his nickname CrownUpGuy, Fedor won his very first cash prize form a prominent live event held in 2012, the No Limit Hold’em GPT II Deepstack Series where he secured around $15,000. After this event, he decided to receive some more coaching at home before he decided to explore other world’s live events in 2013. The next year, his supreme skills came handy when he won slightly over $1.3 million at the World Championship of Online Poker.
After this amazing success, Fedor definitely cemented his reputation as one of the best German poker players as well as one of the most talented players. One year later, amazing Fedor finished 25th at the World Series of Poker which brought him a cash prize of a quarter of a million dollars. As winning millions of dollars became the common occurrence for Fedor at the time, back in 2016 he scored a remarkable $10 million cash prize at the WSOP.
- He is the highest earning German poker player of all times
- Fedor has earned more than $32.5 million from live poker events in his fruitful career
- Finished as runner-up azz he Big One for One Drop for a prize of $6 million
2. Rainer Kempe
Born: 24 July 1989
Nickname: None
Specialty: Live poker tournaments
Rainer Kempe is another prominent name in the industry with total earnings of around $19.7 million mainly from live poker events. He started playing live poker tournaments back in 2011 and made smaller profits until 2015. Back in 2015, Rainer finished 5th at the European Poker Tour No Limit Hold’em Main Event where he cashed out €320,400.
In December of the same year, Rainer won the EPT2 Prague Single Day High Roller and brought home €539,000. Rainer Kempe scored an amazing, career-defining winning back in 2016 at the SHRB’s where he cashed out $5 million. Even before this amazing accomplishment, Rainer was a well-known name thanks to his performance at High Roller in Prague where he scooped around $25,000.
Before this, Rainer was also seated at the final table at the EPT Main Event held in Barcelona. In just three years, Rainer cashed out around $10 million, so he definitely deserves its place at this the best German poker players list. When it comes to Rainer Kempe’s 2018 run, it consists of thirty-eight cashes which totals to around $5.5 million. Rainer also won around $2 million for his amazing game at the Chinese Super High Roller Bowl.
- Rainer Kempe best live cash is $5 million won at the Super High Roller Bowl
- His total live earnings amount to around $19,7 million
- On the global poker index, Rainer is placed 23rd
3. Christoph Vogelsang
Born: 26 July 1985
Nickname: Tight-Man1, 260718985
Specialty: High roller events
This list including the best German poker players would be incomplete without Christoph Vogelsang. Christoph was born in 1985 in Sassenberg, Germany. Before fully focusing on his career as a professional poker player, Christoph studied economics at the London School of Economics and at the Witten Herdecke University. When it comes to his career as a poker player, he started back in 2010 when he made several small deposits at online poker games.
Just four weeks after making $10 deposits, Cristoph was playing online cash games beginning with the $5000 No Limit Hold’em online game. Three years later in October of 2013, Christoph cashed in for the first time at the EPT London Super High Roller. Here, he finished 3rd and brought home $621,321. One year later, he also participated in the Big One for One Drop where he cashed out $4.4 million also as 3rd placed.
His biggest success came in June of 2017 when Christoph won the Super High Roller Bowl and cashed out $6 million in prize money. This definitely helped him establish himself as a serious poker player especially on the high stakes scene. When it comes to its online poker success, he has earned around $1.9 million on the Full Tilt Poker and over $600,000 on PokerStars.
- His total earnings amount to around $19,5 million
- His best live cash is $6 million won at the Super High Roller Bowl
- Has four money finishes at the World Series of Poker
4. Dominik Nitsche
Born: 1990
Nickname: Bounatirou, JustLuck1337
Specialty: 888poker, high roller tournaments
Dominik Nitsche started his career by playing online poker back in 2006. It would not take him long before he scooped an amazing cash prize amounting to $3 million. He also made a huge impact on the scene back in April 2009 when he appeared on his very first live poker tournament. At the time, Dominik played the LAPT held in Mar del Plata in Argentina.
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There, he scored an amazing win of €381.030. After this amazing success, Dominik decided to focus more on high roller tournaments. This has proven to be a great decision to make as he won two major poker tournaments in 2011 where he scored six-figure winnings. The following year, Dominik won his very first WSOP bracelet at the WSOP 2012 and cash out around $654,979 at the No-Limit Hold’em that same year.
Dominik also won his second and third WSOP bracelets in 2014. Firstly, he won the WSOP National Championship which brought him $352,800 followed by winning $335,659 at WSOP $1,000 event. His biggest win and his fourth WSOP bracelet came back in 2017 where he won €3.4 million at the High Roller for One Drop also at the WSOP. Thanks to his total live earnings of $18 million, this 888poker player deserves his spot at this best German poker players list.
- He started his career by playing online poker cash games
- Placed 21st on the Global Poker Index (GPI)
- Has four World Series of Poker bracelets
5. Ole Schemion
Born: 12 September 1992
Nickname: wizowizo
Specialty: Live poker tournaments
Fifth on this list of the best German poker players is Ole Schemion. Playing under his nickname of wizowizo, Ole has earned around $15.2 million in live poker events. What makes this poker player stand out from other players is the fact that he has won sixteen live tournaments in just seven years.
What is even more impressive is that these victories came in live poker tournaments with buy-ins at least $1,000 and more. This definitely proves that Ole Schemion is among the very best German poker players of all times. Back in 2011, Ole Schemion won his very first tournament, the EPT Berlin at the young age of nineteen. Since his beginnings, Ole has won over ten major titles in his fruitful career including the European Poker Tour High Roller event where he cashed out $366,124.
His biggest winning amounting to €1.5 million came when he excelled at the €100,000 Super Stakes High Roller. His second best score came at the Partouche Poker Tour event where he won €1.1 million. It also should be noted that Ole excelled at the Master Classics of Poker Main Event held in Amsterdam where he cached out €286,200. When it comes to its latest successes, he won €218,435 at the WTP held in January.
- Ole’s total live earnings amount to $ 15.2 million
- He is still very active preparing for the upcoming PokerStars Player’s Championship
- Three money finishes and one title at the World Poker Tour
6. Steffan Sontheimer
Born: 13 September 1990
Nickname: Goose, Go0se.core!, dbec077
Specialty: online poker at PokerStars
Steffan Sontheimer was born in 1990 in Brighton, Germany. This professional poker player definitely deserves his spot at this list of the best German poker players for a number of reasons. One reason lies behind his total live earnings amounting to $13.2 million. Before deciding to fully focus on his career as a professional poker player, Steffan was invested in playing football and table tennis.
One day his clubmate suggested him to check several online poker websites. Before he made his first appearance on the scene, Steffan attended the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology where he studies industrial engineering. When it comes to his career as a professional poker player, Steffan started playing online poker on PokerStars back in 2012 under his alias Go0se.core! At the beginning of 2015, Steffan decided to test his supreme talent at major live poker tournaments.
Back in April 2016, Steffan was 8th placed at the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown High Roller Event where he won $70,500. After this initial success, he also excelled on several other major tournaments including the Super High Roller Bowl held 2017. That same year, Steffan won the PokerStars Super High Roller Championship held in Monte Carlo which brought him a cash prize of €380,000. In November 2018, he cashed out $3.6 million at the $250,000 No-Limit Hold’em Caribbean Poker Party.
- Winner of the $250,000 No-Limit Hold’em Caribbean Poker Party 2018
- His total live earnings amount to $13.2 million
- He cashed out $1.5 million at the $100,000 No-Limit Hold’em Poker Masters 2017
7. Phillip Gruissem
Born: 30 January 1987
Nickname: philbort
Specialty: High stakes tournaments
Seventh on this list of the best German poker players is Phillip Gruissem. Playing under his nickname philbort, Phillip Gruissem has a reputation for being a specialist in high stakes poker tournaments as he usually plays only in tournaments with at least €10,000 buy-ins or higher.
He cemented his reputation as an excellent poker player when the World Poker Tour Alpha8 and Super High Rollers came along as he there excelled in every single way. Thanks to his amazing lifetime earnings which exceed $ 11.2 million, Phillip definitely deserves his place among the best German poker players.
This professional poker player from Krefeld started his career at live poker tournaments back in 2009. It would not take him long to show his supreme talent as two years later he finished 28th and won over $240,000 at the World Series of Poker 2011. His biggest success came at the European Poker Tour €25,000 High Roller Main Event when he won $1.3 million. His online presence is also impressive. Back in 2016, Phillip’s live tournament earning surpassed $10 million which put him 7th on the best German poker players of all times list.
- He won the European Poker Tour €25,000 High Roller Main Event
- Started his career in 2009 under his nickname philbort
- His total live earnings amount to $11.2 million
8. Tobias Reinkemeier
Born: 7 April 1987
Nickname: PokerNoob999
Specialty: Live poker tournaments
Tobias Reinkemeier is a well-known professional poker player whose total live earning exceed $ 11.1 million. In fact, Tobias is one of several young players who started their poker careers by placing small deposits into their online accounts before they decided to spice up the game, move up the stake and join some high-roller poker tournaments.
Tobias started his career as a professional poker player back in 2006 when he started playing online poker tournaments with small stakes. It would not take him long to start playing live tournaments for bigger stakes. Four years after emerging on the scene, Tobias scored his very first major victory when he won the EPT EPT €25,000 High Roller Main Event and cashed out €965,000. Another major success came for Tobias in 2014 when he finished 5th at the WSOP $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop event 2014 where he won $2 million.
When it comes to his online presence, he is best known by his nickname PokerNoob999 under which he won the Sunday Millions on PokerStars in 2011 which brought him $135,053. It also should be noted that this thirty-two-year-old was also seated at the Partouche Poker Main Event table followed by significant cashes in Barcelona, Madrid, and Melbourne.
- Winner of the European Poker Tour 2007 held in Dortmund
- His total live earnings amount to $ 11.1 million
- He has four money finishes at the World Series of Poker
9. Pius Heinz
Born: 4 May 1989
Nickname: MastaP89
Specialty: Online poker tournaments
This list including the best German poker players would be incomplete without Pius Heinz. Pius Heinz is a professional poker player born in 1989 in Odendorf, Germany. While he had many successes in his fruitful career, he is best known as the winner of the World Series of Poker Main Event 2011 where he won $8.7 million.
Thanks to this amazing accomplishment, he is the very first German poker player to win the WOP Main Event bracelet. At the event, he definitely excelled in many ways which led him to defeat Martin Staszko and winning the event. Before deciding to fully focus on his career as a professional poker player, Pius Heinz attended the Hochschule Fresenius university in Cologne where he studies business psychology. He decided to put on hold his university degree and pursue his career as a member of Team PokerStars.
After playing a few games with his friends and after watching the High Stakes Poker Main Event on television, he completely immersed himself into the game. This was a good decision to make as Pius Heinz earned over $700,000 on playing online poker. Among his many notable accomplishments, his biggest successes are winning the PokerStars 2011 tournament and Full Tilt Poker Sunday Mulligan held in 2010. When it comes to his live tournament achievements, he finished 7th at the $1,500 No Limit Hold‘em Main Event where he earned $83,286.
- He is a member of Team PokerStars
- Winner of the World Series of Poker Main Event 2011
- Winner of the Full Tilt Poker Sunday Mulligan held in 2010
10. Marvin Rettenmaier
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Born: 1986
Nickname: None
Specialty: Live poker tournaments
Tenth on this list of the best German poker players is Marvin Rettenmaier. This professional poker player started his career back in 2009 when he emerged on the scene as a runner-up behind Payman Mahourvand at the Christmas Poker Festival Main Event held in Wiesbaden. The following year, this excellent poker player performed amazingly through ten prominent live tournament events.
By 2011, Marvin has already cashed twenty-five times as well as scored a major partnership deal with Titan Poker. At this time, he also scored one of his biggest accomplishments as he won the French Poker Series in February 2011. His name became even more recognizable and respected following after he won the WTP Merit Cyprus Classic Main Event and brought home $1.1 million. When it comes to his appearances at the WSOP, he made nineteen cashes.
His first WSOP cash came in June of 2010 at the $1,500 No Limit Hold’em live tournament where he was placed 7th. It also should be noted that Marvin is among the most successful European Poker Tour tournament participants as he has over ten cashes as well as three Main Event EPT cashes. His biggest accomplishment regarding the EPT is winning the €10,300 No-Limit Hold’em – High Roller 8 Handed Event where he scooped €365,300. Marvin also excelled and won the WPT Season X World Championship. Thanks to this victory, he scooped almost $1.2 million in addition to a shiny WPT trophy.
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- Winner of the WPT Season X World Championship
- His total live earnings exceed $7 million
- He has eighteen World Poker Tour cashes