Ethan 'Rampage' Yau: Shot Taking And Getting Banned From A Casino

Ethan ‘Rampage’ Yau is one of the biggest names in poker vlogging, with more than 500,000 subscribers and followers on YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram. His videos have racked up more than 90 million views and have documented the highs and lows of the professional gambling world.

From big tournament runs to crazy cash game pots, viewers love how he presents his time at the tables. And Rampage is much more than just a YouTube phenomenon and has some real skins on the wall.

At the tournament tables, Yau has $3.7 million in earnings, which include winning a World Series of Poker bracelet online in 2020 for $164,494. He also has five WSOP Circuit rings and a Mid-States Poker Tour championship in 2021 for $230,379.

He grabbed a Poker Masters title in 2022 for $197,600 and scored a World Poker Tour $25,000 high roller win the same year for $894,240. More big finishes followed and he was named a WPT Global ambassador in 2023.

Yau recently appeared on the Table 1 Podcast to talk about how he got into the game and started vlogging. He also discussed getting banned from a casino in Rhode Island and what led to his huge high roller win.

Check out the full episode below. You can also watch or listen to the entire episode on YouTube, Spotify, Apple, or any podcast app.

Art Parmann: You were playing poker in college a fair bit, right?

Ethan Yau: I just started watching vloggers and then I tried to figure out what they were doing. I was just like, ‘Man, poker’s come a long way to where this is kind of how people are getting going.’

And then you’re like, ‘Alright, I watched the video. I got it,’ and then you go to the casino.

I actually started making YouTube videos because one, I’ve always wanted to make content. But two, the other main thing was because I wanted to just learn.

I didn’t have resources and friends that could help me in some way. I had one buddy that introduced me to the game and he was pretty good at the time. He was playing $2-$5 in college. I just didn’t want to bother him with my infinite questions.

So I vlogged my third session ever because I just wanted to learn from the comment section. I learned that someone’s going to watch this and they’re going to give me feedback and they’re going to roast me. I didn’t know how good or bad the information was, but it was going to be something that I could take away. So that was actually the whole point – maybe I can learn from the comment section.

Justin Young: Where were you playing? Mainly online?

Ethan Yau: I was playing $1-$2 live at MGM Springfield, or Twin River in Rhode Island, which I am now banned from. Maybe I’m unbanned because they have new ownership, but I was banned from there.

Justin Young: Why did you get banned?

Ethan Yau: I kept winning in poker, but I had no money to my name. So, I did a bankroll challenge from $1,000 to $10,000. It took me five months to win $10,000 playing $1-$3. The whole point of it was to ‘shot take’ $5-$10 at a $1,000 buy-in with 10% of my winnings.

Then I dusted two buy-ins in a solid hour and a half. So, I’m tilted. I walk out of there, and [at the end of the video] I call it a shithole, which I still for sure agree with.

Three weeks later, I got a letter in the mail like, ‘You are permanently banned. You cannot enter the premises.’

Justin Young: Because you called it a shithole?

Ethan Yau: Probably because I filmed it too, and I didn’t have permission.

Art Parmann: Okay, that kind of makes sense. I guess we’ve got to be careful about what casinos we talk about. We would never get in trouble saying anything about any other casinos. That’s definitely never happened. (laughing)

Justin Young: We truly love all casinos.

I saw your first cash was in an online tournament. At this time, you were 22 and just graduated. How did you get to play at WSOP.com for your first bracelet?

Ethan Yau: I was bored during COVID, and tournaments seemed cool. I wanted to stream something different and get the hell out of the house. So, I picked a weekend with the smallest buy-ins and then went to play.

I drove down to New Jersey from Boston to play and the buy-ins were like $300 to $500. It was like, ‘Okay, I can punt this amount for content.’ So, I went and decided to stream the whole thing and then I ended up cashing a tournament.

Back then I still didn’t really have a big circle or any circle at all in poker. I kept very much to myself. I’m not very good with the networking side or talkative side or social side. I was just doing my own thing. I was busy with trying to make videos on YouTube. That was kind of my life. So I just went by myself and I stayed in some Airbnb.

And then I won the tournament.

Art Parmann: Oh, you didn’t just cash it?

Justin Young: He cashed one first and then he won the next one for $164,000.

Ethan Yau: Oh, I didn’t know I cashed something before that.

Justin Young: I would forget about my first cash too if my second one was $164,000. Were you gaining traction before you actually won the tournament? What was your viewership like going into the one that you happened to win?

Ethan Yau: I had like 30,000 subscribers or something at that point. I was trying, but that win certainly helped. It was during COVID, so it was a really good time for me [to gain a following].

Justin Young: A prime streaming time.

Ethan Yau: New Hampshire was one of the first states to allow poker back in, so I just took the opportunity and started vlogging and making content about poker around this niche back when no one was making any poker content. Everyone just wanted to watch videos and stay at home.

I just started posting and playing every day. And the videos picked up steam because no one had anything else to watch besides me. They were forced to watch my videos if they liked poker. Then that parlayed into winning the bracelet online, which helped gain some traction. That was a good day overall.

If you look at the timeline, I won the bracelet. Then the next day I had a video already scheduled, which was my biggest win at that point in my life. I was playing $2-$5 and I won a couple thousand or something.

Justin Young: Your biggest score was a $25,000 WPT [high roller for $900,000]. Please tell us how you decided to pony up $25,000?

Ethan Yau: I don’t know what happened. I was sunning for sure up until that point in cash and tournaments and stuff. Now I have a more jaded view after the past two years. But back then I was sunning and just taking shots and things were relatively going okay.

I remember I sold 25% on StakeKings, so I was responsible. That was the most I’ve ever sold. I thought it seemed reasonable to play for $18,000 or whatever it was.
So I played it. I sold one bullet. That was the only plan. Then I busted in like 30 minutes as I usually do.

There was a dinner break and I was just talking things over with two friends. I was just like, ‘Hey guys, I really want to max this one. You guys want some action, like a degen friendly sweat?’ They both (rejected) me.

Then I was just like, ‘Okay, now I want to play even more just to spite them. Just fuck them, let’s go.’ So I ponied up 100% of myself to play and ended up sunning the entire thing, which was really cool.

Art Parmann: How was the fallout with the StakeKings people who didn’t know it was your second bullet?

Ethan Yau: They all knew it was my second bullet, and I ended up just refunding them anyway, plus doubling their (investment).

Justin Young: That’s awesome.

Ethan Yau: That’s more money than I know what to do with and I only sold 25% and they supported me and this ‘shot take,’ so why not? It seemed like a win.

Art Parmann: That is awesome, and a bad precedent to set. Don’t expect that to be [the norm.]

Ethan Yau: That is what the Twitter people said for sure.

Justin Young: Do you remember your thought process through that tournament, because that’s a huge buy-in. I don’t know if it’s your biggest up to that date.

Art Parmann: Yeah, what was your bankroll? Tell us all the dirty details before you coughed up the $25,000?

Ethan Yau: I’m never rolled to play anything –  at all. Just never. If I’m saying $800,000 from the win is more money than I knew what to do with, then I should not be playing a $25,000.

Justin Young: When you sit down at the table of something you can’t afford to play – and believe me, I’m used to this throughout my career as well – does that kind of stuff just disappear and you just play your game and you’re fine? Then it kind of hits you on the bubble, or at night and you wake up kind of scared?

Ethan Yau: It was a really long second day, but it was only a two-day tournament. I knew this was on my schedule and I had a target number. If this $25,000 got over 100 players, I was like, ‘Okay, I’ll just hop in.’

I justified it for content, a shot take. Things were going well. I was having a good year. Let’s just fire. So there was a lot of anticipation for me leading up to that point.

But then once I bought in and I had the chips, I was like, ‘Alright, it’s just time to play cards and hopefully I just run good and win some all ins and stuff.’ ♠

Follow Yau on Twitter/X and on YouTube @RampagePoker.

About The Table 1 Podcast

Hosted by high-stakes poker pros Art Parmann and Justin Young, the Table 1 Podcast is on a mission to make poker fun again. Tune in to see world-class pros talk poker, gambling, and all manner of life experiences on and off the felt. Visit the website for the podcast, newsletter, or even to get in the game. ♠

*Photos by PokerGO