Kevin Martin has ended his “Poker From Zero” bankroll challenge with a $500 poker profit, well short of his $5,000 goal. [Image: YouTube.com / Kmart Poker]

Topped out in low four-figures

Poker pro and content creator Kevin Martin has called it a day on his “Poker From Zero” bankroll challenge. Attempting to start from a non-existent poker bankroll and run it up to $5,000, he finished only 10% of the way to his goal.

streamed his life on Twitch 24/7, even when he slept and showered

Playing on GGPoker, for which he is a Brand Ambassador, Martin live streamed his life on Twitch 24/7, even when he slept and showered (the camera was only trained on the upper half of his body in the shower). Each day, his production team posted a daily recap to his YouTube channel.

But in the end, he hit the 500-hour mark with only about $500 in poker profit. At his peak, he hit about $1,300.

“In terms of the poker, I have to be humble about it. We just take the ‘L,’ man, we just take the ‘L,’” Martin said in a closing video on X. “I won, but like we just failed at the challenge.”

Martin added: “We just didn’t get there. We just didn’t crush. I’ll take responsibility, bro, I could have played better.”

A little side hustle to start

To begin the “Poker From Zero” challenge, Kevin Martin moved into a temporary home in an undisclosed location in Ontario, Canada with minimal belongings. Perhaps the biggest obstacle in the run was how to get going with no money.

That’s where it wasn’t exactly poker from zero. Probably because GGPoker offers little to no opportunity to win money in freerolls (and even if it did, it would be a daunting way to start), Martin allowed himself to earn a starting bankroll by other means. Right off the bat, he gave himself $0.10 for every new YouTube subscriber. Then he took a few items to a pawn shop and sold them for $200 and it was off to the races.

Kevin Martin is no stranger to having every moment of his life filmed. He was a contestant on Big Brother Canada twice, winning the competition in Season 5.

He finished Day 1 with $89, so he lost quite a bit. On Day 2, he took some gig work to make some more money in addition to hitting the GGPoker tables. So again, it wasn’t a pure poker grind from absolutely nothing, but considering the lack of freeroll opportunities, Martin’s flexibility in that regard is understandable.

“Beautiful game of skill”

Martin said the challenge would go until he reached $5,000 or 500 hours, which ever came first. And after three weeks of putting his life out there non-stop for everyone to see, those 500 hours came with his bankroll at just $860, or about $500 from poker alone.

always take care of your money”

“Poker very often is this beautiful game of skill, but there’s a lot of things that can’t go your way,” Martin concluded. “Many good players have busted, and I’d recommend playing the game on the side passionately, just always take care of your money.”

Martin is not going to keep any of the money he made, planning to round it up to $1,000 and award it to one of his YouTube subscribers.