‘Big Brother Canada 3’ pre-game exclusive: Does Kevin Martin have victory in the cards?
Reality shows do love having poker players in the cast. We’ve seen them on “The Amazing Race,” we had Jean-Robert and Garrett on “Survivor,” and even “The Celebrity Apprentice” had Annie “she’s a poker player” Duke aboard the second season. No offense to the late Joan Rivers, but she should have won!
Now, “Big Brother Canada” is getting its very own addition to the mix in Kevin Martin! Granted, Arlie last season is an avid poker player in his own right, and Kevin is going to remind you a lot of him, even if he is not as big of a lifelong fan of the show. In speaking to him in our exclusive pre-show interview, we could have imagined that this actually was Arlie throwing his voice ever-so-slightly. Let’s make it clear that we did this interview long before photos were released, so we had no idea what he looked like while talking with him. He has a very good mind for the game and the right way to play it; if there is one basic concern we have right now, it is that this guy also seems to realize very much that he is a good player. Confidence is good, but this much confidence? We’re not so sure. (Quick note: Click here to view all of our other pre-game interviews!)
Tell us about yourself: Your name, where you’re from, your age, and what you do for a living.
I’m Kevin Martin, I’m 22 years old. I’m from Calgary, Alberta, and I play poker professionally.
What made you want to try out for Big Brother Canada this year?
‘Big Brother Canada’ to me is such a beautiful, mental competition. Poker is such a beautiful mental competition to me, and I get a kick out of that. ‘Big Brother’ is the ultimate mental competition, so I knew I had to apply.
How big of a fan of the show were you before trying out?
Kind of a casual fan. I’ve seen a couple of American seasons, and the two Canadian seasons.
If you could compare yourself to someone from either BB Canada or BB USA, who would it be?
For sure! The beautiful man himself, Arlie Shaban!
What’s something about you that would surprise people?
Sometimes I come across egotistical, but inside I’m kind of a softie. I’m a little bit of a chill guy. I’m a big, big softie.
What’s your basic strategy going into the house?
My strategy is to relax, to chill! To take things slow. There’s going to be a lot of highly emotional people in the house, and they are going to blow up their [own game]. Come week six, seven, that’s when I am going to step up my game. That’s when I start making big moves!
Is there any one thing you are the most excited to do this season?
I’m so excited for the challenges! I don’t plan on winning any challenges; I know there’s a lot of work thrown into them, so it’s going to be a lot of fun to throw some challenges.
What do you think your biggest weakness could be?
My biggest weakness is, here comes the egotistical thing, sometimes I think at too high of a level. There are going to be a lot of emotional people who think differently than me, so I’m going to need to get inside of their brain versus them getting inside of my brain.
What are hoping to get out of the show: Money, fame, love, or just a good time?
$100,000 would be nice! That’s going to happen. This is such a unique experience, and it’s never going to happen again. I’m hoping to get the experience out of it, for sure.
If there is one message you would pass along to the Canadian public before entering the game, what would it be?
‘Big Brother’ fans, pull out your notebooks. Class is in session.
Overall impression – There’s no doubt that Kevin thinks he is the greatest player in the history of the show already. We remember being really worried about Arlie preseason, too, but he actually played very well until a couple of moves right before his demise. He has the tools to be a very good player, but he needs to stick with his strategy of laying low and not get too excited. Timing is everything for a guy like this.
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