Rainer Kempe

Rainer Kempe, a German professional poker player, was born on July 24, 1989, in Berlin, Germany. He competes in high-stakes tournaments for significant amounts of money all over the world. His live tournament accomplishments include two European Poker Tour titles. He is dating Maria Ho, an accomplished poker player and commentator who was born in Taiwan but now resides in the United States.

Rainer Kempe: Early Life

Rainer Kempe started playing poker in his free time while studying business administration at the University of Potsdam. He completed his education in Germany before moving to the United Kingdom. There, he made the decision to make poker more than a hobby—a serious means of support for himself. As a result, he began competing in online tournaments for money.

Rainer Kempe: Poker Career

Kempe began competing in live tournaments in 2011, and his first appearance was at the Triple A Series, Berlin, where he finished 10th. At the Aussie Millions in January 2015, he finished in second place, winning A$93,000 ($76,134) in the A$1,150 NLHE Accumulator event. That same year, in August 2015, he made his first live score of over $100,000. The European Poker Tour Main Event in Barcelona was worth €5,300, and he made it to the final table before he was eliminated in fifth place. It was worth about $364,716 at the time, but he took home €320,400.

He also won the €25,500 No Limit Hold’em High Roller at the European Poker Tour stop in Prague, earning him €539,000.

The following year, in 2016, he won the $300,000 Super High Roller Bowl at the Aria for $5 million. So far, this is his largest payout from a live tournament.

In 2017, he reached the final table of the $111,111 WSOP High Roller for One Drop event, finishing seventh and winning $493,089.

Rainer won a $50,000 Aria High Roller tournament in March of 2017 adding $576,000 to his total winnings.

He won $448k and the trophy at the 2019 EPT Monte Carlo NLHE event, making it his second EPT championship win overall. In addition, in January 2019, he won the $25,000 No Limit Hold’em Challenge at the Aussie Millions, which earned more than $500,000.

In November 2021, Kempe finished third at the PokerGO Tour Aria High Roller Series in Las Vegas, winning over $67,000. He also won first place in March 2023 at the Poker North Masters and Norwegian Championship in Bratislava. His most recent appearance was at the 54th World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, where he finished 64th.

Conclusion

Rainer Kempe’s journey from a university student in Germany to a renowned high-stakes poker player with numerous impressive tournament victories demonstrates his remarkable dedication and skill in poker. His successes include two European Poker Tour titles and a $5 million win in the Super High Roller Bowl. his relationship with fellow poker player Maria Ho adds an intriguing dimension to his career.

Kempe is a frequent player in high stakes poker, it is expected he will continue to play for many years to come.