Eric Reinking

Eric Reinking is an American professional poker player from Minnesota, currently based in the Chicagoland area. Born around 1996 (graduated high school in 2014), he turned professional in early 2025 after a career in freight brokerage. Reinking is recognized for his deep-stack strategy and methodical play, earning a reputation as a "player's player" within the poker community. Reinking discovered poker through the movie Rounders during his junior or senior year of high school and has been passionate about the game for over a decade. Before poker, he worked as a freight broker for C.H. Robinson and later co-founded his own company, which unfortunately failed. After briefly returning to sales, he found his cash game earnings surpassed his salary and decided to pursue poker full-time in February 2025. His early live tournament cashes date back to 2014 in local series in Minnesota and Ohio, with additional cashes in 2015-2018 and 2021-2023, as recorded on The Hendon Mob.

Reinking's biggest live achievement came in April 2025 at the WSOP Circuit Illinois in Elgin. He won the $400 No Limit Hold'em – Monster Stack (Ring Event #8), earning $53,898 and his first WSOP Circuit ring. This event was his first WSOP Circuit experience; he had only played the mini main event prior. The victory was especially memorable as his fiancée arrived on the rail with four players left, and he celebrated with her immediately after winning.

Reinking is known as a "deep stack master," thriving in situations with high starting stacks where he can leverage position and implied odds. His style emphasizes disciplined, analytical play, using detailed range-reading and multi-street pressure. He prefers gut feeling over solvers in certain spots but acknowledges the importance of solver study in the modern game. He considers chess a valuable training tool for poker, recommending players play a match before opening solver software.

Outside poker, Reinking is an avid video gamer, favoring grand strategy titles, and recently took up chess. He lives in the Chicagoland area with his fiancée, who supported him during his WSOPC win. He believes in giving back to the community and maintaining a positive impact beyond poker.

Reinking plays both online and live poker, viewing online as a crucial testing ground and training arena. However, he has historically made his biggest profits in larger live cash games. He currently prefers online for convenience but expects his preference to evolve.

While still early in his career, Reinking represents a new wave of skilled, analytical players who value strategic depth over flash. His WSOPC ring and consistent cashes in regional events mark him as a rising talent, and his thoughtful interview insights contribute to poker education.