German poker players
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The Best German Poker Players 

When most people think about poker players, they tend to think about casinos in Las Vegas teaming with American players. Yet we often forget that poker is a worldwide game. One that many players enjoy playing from many different countries. And Germany is no different. The country holds a huge number of successful German poker players. If you actually look a little deeper into the rankings of German players, you may be surprised as to the impression they make in the world of poker.

Probably one of the most common attributes by which people judge a successful poker player is to look at their overall gambling income. This way we can see who has actually made a fortune from playing poker. On the whole, the first prizes in tournaments tend to be much greater than the second or third. Meaning that those with the greatest fortune tend to be the best players. Obviously appearing near the top of any sort of financial poker ranking means that you certainly know what you’re doing when it comes to playing poker. 

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Luck vs Skill In Poker

If you’re a regular at playing poker online, then you’ll know that the online casino player would be relying on luck above everything else. After all, it’s just the gambler playing against the AI of a computer. But when gambling at the poker table in a real brick and mortar casino, then you’ll quickly see that it’s equally a game of skill. Some gamblers might even argue that in real table games of poker, there’s a requirement for more skill than good fortune. Below we’ve put together a list of some of the most successful German poker professionals who were born in the country. By studying how they play, you’ll be able to increase your jackpot winning chances the next time you take a seat at the poker table. 

Dominik Nitsche

  • Year Turned Pro 2006
  • Tournament Earnings $18,471,955
  • Best Live Cash $4,064,026
  • All Time Money List 33rd
Dominik Nitsche
Image source: 888poker Spain, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

At the young age of 16, Dominik Nitsche learned to play poker in 2006. Of course, this would make him too young to enter any casino or gamble online. But he was quick to learn and within no time at all he was earning the respect of the top poker players in Germany. It goes without saying, that if you’re going to be breaking records and winning major events, then the respect is going to come your way anyway. Virtually all other poker players now regard Dominik Nitsche as one of the most decorated and respected live poker players in the world. Having said that he enjoys playing online as well. It wouldn’t surprise us if he plays to win the jackpot online at King Billy Casino. After all, they offer one of the best live dealer poker experiences.

To that end, he had two accounts. One with the now-defunct Full Tilt and another with Poker Stars. Through these, he’s managed to accumulate more than $7 million which makes him one of the richest and one of the best German poker players. Believe us, if you didn’t have any real talent, as opposed to simply relying on luck, that would be absolutely impossible. Even if you were using all the online casino bonuses available.

Dominik Nitsche has played many times in the WSOP. In 2014 he became the youngest player to have three titles under his belt. Then in 2017, he won the fourth bracelet with a win at a charitable high roller event called One Drop No-Limit Hold’em. With that title, he scooped up an amazing 3,497,463. Having over 33 WSOP titles to his name, it’s not surprising that Dominik Nitsche is considered the fourth-best German poker player in the whole country.

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Best German Poker Players: Rainer Kempe

  • Year Turned Pro 2011
  • Tournament Earnings $21,420,000
  • Best Live Cash $5,000,000
  • All Time Money List 26th
Rainer Kempe
Image source: World Poker Tour, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

We have to say that the last few years haven’t been the most profitable ones for Rainer Kempe. Having said that, he’s certainly not resting on his laurels. We should point out that Rainer Kempe is still considered the third greatest player from Germany of all time. His total current tournament jackpot poker earnings come in at over $21 million. With that sort of figure, you need a level head for brilliant strategies at the poker table.

Of that total prize money, a fat whack of it comes from finishing in first place at the 2016 Super High Roller Bowl in Las Vegas. But he managed to pocket $300,000 in a no-limit Texas Hold’em event. He managed to beat out some of the best paper players in the world. Further back in time, he managed third place in the Super High Roller Bowl in Macau. He was playing in an $800,000 no-limit Texas Hold’em tournament. With these huge sums of money rolling in you can see that Rainer Kempe has the right attitude and aptitude to be able to remain calm and in control even under considerable pressure. Keeping all this in mind, it’s not surprising that he’s one of the best German poker players.

Christoph Vogelsang

  • Year Turned Pro         2012
  • Tournament Earnings $32,550 000
  • Best Live Cash $6,000,000
  • All Time Money List 8th
German poker players
Image source: World Poker Tour, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

When it comes to grinding in poker, then Christoph Vogelsang understands it better than most. Way back in 2010, he started his poker career with just a $50 investment in an online poker game. It didn’t take him long to move up a notch and start playing games where the stakes and the pressure were much higher. Some would say that Christoph Vogelsang didn’t raise the money himself but had secret backers. But at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter because he was still winning. Moving from a tiny bankroll of just $50 to one of hundreds of thousands of dollars is certainly an interesting story. And one that certainly puts him up there as one of the best German poker players.

After slogging away for 3 years in low paying games, Christoph Vogelsang finally moved on to the live poker tournaments. And it was at his first EPT London event that he managed to score £50,000 in the Super High Roller tournament. This took his total winnings at the time to over $621,000. In doing so, it whetted his appetite for the big stakes games and the big wins that can come from them. It’s estimated that between 2014 and 2017, Christoph Vogelsang managed to pocket more than $10 million by playing High Roller and high stakes poker.

Best German Poker Players: Fedor Holz

  • Year Turned Pro 2012
  • Tournament Earnings $25,064,000
  • Best Live Cash $6,000,000
  • All Time Money List 16th
Fedor Holz
Image source: World Poker Tour, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Fedor Holz was born in Saarbrucken In 1993. He is a cold-blooded specialist when it comes to high pressure and high stakes poker tournaments. As of writing, he is number one at the top of the all-time poker winning list in Germany. Overall, he’s pocketed more than $32 over the life of his tournament playings. The truly bonkers thing about this whole story is that Fedor Holz is a mere baby at poker, being only 27 years old. The website Pocket 5.com labelled him as the best online poker MTT player in both 2014 and 2015.

There’s no denying that Fedor Holz is a force unlike any other. Especially when it comes to the game of high-pressure poker. What’s more, he’s getting better and better. Over the last couple of years, he’s managed to win many of the big tournaments based in Germany as well as across the world. It’s a good idea to watch him play, as you can pick up some helpful jackpot winning strategies

As for the total of prizes, he has a huge number under his belt. Probably the main building blocks As far as his fortune goes comes from the WSAP. He can also thank PokerStars and the EPT tournaments in Macau, China. Probably his biggest cash prize was $6 he won playing in the WSOP in 2018. Be warned, if you’re going to be sitting down at the same poker table to play with Fedor Holz. Whenever he starts playing at the poker table, you can expect a solid performance. And he will definitely be in the top three of the best German poker players.

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