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Nik Airball
Nik Airball, (real name Nikhil Arcot) is an American high-stakes cash game player based in Los Angeles, California, and one of the most polarising figures in the modern televised poker landscape. A former M&A consultant who transitioned into full-time poker in late 2022, Arcot quickly became a fixture in the biggest games on Hustler Casino Live, building a reputation for aggressive play, constant table talk, and a string of headline-grabbing moments, including a record-breaking pot, a grudge match at Resorts World, and a publicly documented feud with some of the game’s biggest names. He is an official CoinPoker ambassador.
Career Earnings & Biggest Results
With total live tournament earnings of $232,409 across three recorded cashes, according to The Hendon Mob, Arcot’s career-best recorded score of $209,457 came at the WPT World Championship in 2025. He also recorded a cash worth $20,700 in the $10,400 WPT World Championship event.
Tournament results, however, represent only a fraction of his poker activity. Across livestreamed and televised cash games, Arcot has been tracked at over $4.2 million in career net winnings, averaging approximately $3,170 per hour across recorded sessions on Hustler Casino Live, PokerGO, and other platforms. In 2022 he briefly held the record for the biggest pot ever won on Hustler Casino Live, at $870,000.
Biography & Poker Background
Born in West Linn, Oregon, Arcot was introduced to poker by his father and began playing seriously during his time at NYU Shanghai, where he discovered a thriving underground poker scene and started building a bankroll at micro-stakes. After graduating, he returned to the United States and spent several years working as an M&A consultant at KAL Capital Markets LLC, a boutique firm focused on aerospace and defence transactions, before that role ended in late 2022.
His Hustler Casino Live debut came in February 2022, and the transition from occasional player to high-stakes regular was rapid. His aggressive style and willingness to engage verbally with opponents and railbirds made him an instant talking point on the stream. He ran up a profit of over $1 million on HCL before a series of high-profile losing sessions swung public perception.
Throughout this period he became embroiled in a public dispute with Matt Berkey , which culminated in a heads-up match at Resorts World Las Vegas , a match Arcot lost with Doug Polk serving as his coach. He was later drawn into a separate feud with Polk himself.
Play Style & Strategy
Arcot is a loose-aggressive cash game player with a high VPIP and a confrontational table presence that he uses as a deliberate strategic tool. His game has evolved considerably since his 2022 debut. Critics who questioned his technical ability in his early HCL appearances have found fewer easy angles as his understanding of solver-based play has deepened. He has spoken about studying the game seriously and treating poker as a profession rather than a hobby, though his public persona continues to lean into the “Airball” image that first made him famous.
CoinPoker Ambassador
Nikhil Arcot is an official ambassador for CoinPoker , the cryptocurrency-based online poker platform, a role announced in December 2025. One of the most talked-about figures in the modern cash game scene, Arcot brings his high-stakes profile and streaming presence to a platform built around crypto-native poker and a growing roster of elite professionals.
Social Media & Online Presence
Video Highlights
Callum Jury is SoMuchPoker's Live Content and Social Media Specialist, reporting live from WSOP and Asia Pacific poker festivals including the APT and PokerStars LIVE series. Originally from the Lake District in the UK, he has covered the Southeast Asian poker circuit since 2025, combining day-by-day tournament reporting with the social and digital content that brings the action to fans.
