Rampage 'Incredibly Unsuccessful' in $1 Million Poker Bankroll Challenge
A disheartened Ethan "Rampage" Yau told his 327,000 YouTube followers in a Sunday video that "it feels like I've been a complete failure" as he reached the end of his $1 million poker bankroll challenge.
The popular vlogger set out last March to crack a seven-figure profit in a year. He posted a video on his YouTube channel on March 26, 2024 explaining why he set such a lofty goal.
Yau explained in the above video that he decided to take on the bankroll challenge "because I just need to keep doing these because I keep punting off money." The ClubWPT Gold ambassador has been heavily criticized by his fans for, as he said, punting in high-stakes games. But he wanted to prove the doubters wrong, which he attempted to do the past year.
Poker Vlogger Gives Brutally Honest Assessment
Rampage, as he said in a March 16, 2025 video, played "hundreds and hundreds of hours" grinding cash games, mostly mid to high-stakes, the past 12 months. He competed on livestream shows such as Hustler Casino Live and Poker at the Lodge along the way.
Yau's performance the past year hasn't been all bad. In fact, he was up over $300,000 not long ago. But then he took some shots in high-stakes livestreams, including one in December at Wynn Las Vegas during the WPT World Championship festival. That game, against players such as Phil Ivey and Matt Berkey, went horrendously for the poker vlogger. The losses mounted the past few months.
Much of Rampage's downfall came just a few weeks ago on Hustler Casino Live. He lost a six-figure bad beat to fellow poker vlogger Mariano Grandoli, which caused Yau to quit the game before the stream concluded.
"I'm not sure how I feel," Yau said in his most recent video, referring to his current slump. "It feels like I've been a complete failure, kind of questioning my whole decision-making process. And it's been really tough for me to go through this challenge, be very transparent and public with it, and also just be incredibly unsuccessful is what it feels like."
Yau's profits plummeted faster than Tesla's stock price the past few months. He showed profits of just $31,000 for year before playing one final $25/$50 game at Aria in Las Vegas. He was up $20,000 in that game at one point, but told his audience that he left the casino down just over $3,000 for the session. That brought his 12-month tally to $28,427, an admittedly disappointing conclusion to a $1 million bankroll challenge.
"I would call it a complete failure," Rampage said of his bankroll challenge efforts. "But maybe that's me being a little too hard on myself."
Rampage, who has $2.9 million in career live tournament cashes, then informed his followers that he will be hosting a $100,000 freeroll on ClubWPT Gold, the social poker site he represents, on March 18.
'Rampage' Quits HCL Poker Game Down Six Figures After Huge Bad Beat
