Nik Airball: The Most Hated Man in Poker
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- čas přidán 9. 02. 2024
- Love or Hate him. There is no in between. Nikhil Arcot or better known as ‘Nik Airball’ is a supposed investment banker turned high stakes cash game regular on popular poker stream, Hustler Casino Live.
Besides being a very polarizing personality, Nik Airball is also quite unique in the way that no one really knows much about him.
His past is unclear, leaving many poker fans to wonder - Who is this young guy, where did he come from, and what is his mysterious source of cash?
In this video, we will cover all of that and more, including his many wild appearances on HCL and the feuds both on and off the felt, one of which ended up costing him over $1 million, to finally what his future in poker really looks like.
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Seeing a younger, healthier nik was kind of crazy..
There is no downfall of Nik Airball
Only a typical Friday
Downfall in entertainment for sure.
@@mcfly7pretty much. his name is air ball and he donks off his stack for entertainment.... then gets upset that he's losing, or "running bad" if you're generous
As a former investment banker I can assure his bankroll did not come from his 2-3 years as an investment banking analyst. Kids fresh out of school make $100k-$150k in their first year to $300k in their 3rd year. After taxes and living expenses in NYC, Just do the math.
I agree. And I'm not even from the states. I'm an European and it seems highly unlikely he got that kind of cash out of that type of job as fast as he claims. Which kind of lead me to think it's illegal money somehow. Or inherited. He just doesn't want to admit it because saying it was hard honest earned money is the way to go with the feds.
This should be called "The rise and fall of the ball"
Ball bag
DoucheBall
Yea bag
The “Airball”
Rofl
I play mid stakes at the Hustler in LA. I’ve met Nik Airball, he’s very polite & acts normal away from the cameras. Seems like a genuinely nice dude..
He was drunk when i met him at Aria. He tried to take my grandmother home and even offered her $1000 to do so. Shes 78 years old next month
He’s entertainment that’s why he always gets invited
Nice to hear that
He’s a whale. That’s why he gets invited lol
Yeah he hangs out at the Aria with Charles. Saw bith those cats there last week playing the Sunday 50/100. Didnt see who else was in the game. Maybe Hanks, but thats abiut all I recognized. You hate seeing anyone go on a downswing like that no matter who they are. Will see if he makes it back but it wont be by continuing to play the same style.
“He’s good for the stream”. Sadly, most losing players are. We all loved Reza, we liked Pablo the first 2 weeks of HCL, we liked watching Krish get beat. The difference, they knew when to stop, or at least stop losing on stream!!! He’s a pretty young guy, so hopefully he will learn
Reza was fucking epic. First time I’ve seen a player 4 bet bluff the river for real money.
@@Mauricio-kf8qxyeah pretty awesome.
That Phil Ivey move against the old man heads up with Q high.
That guy is an adult with balls
I remember Reza! I wonder what he is doing now?
@@Alex-ki1jp more than likely still running big bluffs, just not on stream
No he’s charismatic.
Most in depth and entertaining profile of this highly polarising poker figure I've seen. Good work!
I don't think he's that polarizing really. Most people hate him with the distinction that some people couldn't stand him at all and some like watching him loose.
@@loose4bet Nik does have fans though and HCL has certainly brought new players to the tables. I have mixed feelings...
@@Tom_Bee_ He's the "guy we love to hate and enjoy seeing suffer," who "got too big for his britches" and we love those who get him "spanked by the deck" in one rough hand after another.
No matter how he made his money...he absolutely grew up filthy rich
Not necessarily. Dresses and presents himself as a fat slob.
Better than growing up filthy poor.
It seems he hasn't grown up at all.
How did nik make his millions? started with hundreds of millions.
Lol. It reminds me of the old saying about Formula 1 and motorsports in general. How do you make a fortune in motorsports? You start with a larger fortune 😅
There's no way he made his money working for an investment bank for a few years. What job pays 20+ million to a kid for a couple of years? What type of investment bank gives that much money to a new hire freah out of college. The only public information on KAL shows 13 employees, lol.
Dads company
Investment banking and government contracts - has access to insider trading
@@krs-fltutorials4487wifes parents*
Dude is a ccp plant
@@mikehoncho2798it's crazy that this comment was missed by everyone, you just hit the nail on the head.
This is fkn top notch content. Captivating from start to finish. Bravo!
This channel is the new source for poker! Love it!!!!!
Thank you sir
I intended to be all thing poker
New vlog coming soon
I’m a beast believe it or not
Investment bankers aren’t making tens of millions. He has a backer. Always has. He is connected somehow. When garret left, they made some calls and got nik to replace garret. I highly doubt he had 30 million bankroll to start. If anything his investment banking job made him half a million, IF that. He also wasn’t working as an investment banker for very long. He has a backer.
His backer is his rich af family / trust fund.
Yeah people are dumb and just hear 'investment banker' and think their salaries are 1m a month.
@David-rq1xj it is simple. The one who also backs the winner.. It is just that simple how high stakes poker is working. It is the purest form of money laundering. Most of these characters you see in games like the HCL are just hired to do the laundering while entertaining the viewers. It is a good business for almost all of them - to have a platform from where they can promote all their own businesses and themselfes..
He couldn’t be considered a profitable investment banker because he never actually worked in the industry. He’s a pure “trust fund kid”. I say kid because he’s a fat immature brat who is torching the money his grandfather and father worked so very hard for. It’s gross how he’s constantly talking about how much money he’s losing, as it’s a trophy.
Family has money, no doubt
First time I saw him play was when he folded KK to Rampage…
That was remarkably crazy.
Seems odd now…
I don't know who you are dude but I just subscribed. I like the quality of your work and the attention to detail. Well done.
The Rounders bit was a nice touch.
Pretty sure he is Iranian, and most likely has really rich parents . Which is why he cannot speak about his " bankroll".
Hes Indian
you put a lot of work into this. keep it up!
Great video. Airball makes some of the streams watchable and more interesting.
Thank you. Love him or hate him, he's the character we all come to watch. Whether your rooting for him to win or go bust...he's the reason we watch. I personally love his style. It's clearly got him calling the shots of who plays and doesn't now. Cuz we'd rather watch chaotic and amusement than his rival and polar opposite G-man. Obviously Ryan and Hustler noticed the same thing.
Unwatchable IMHO
He’s immature and it’s unwatchable. They traded Garrett for this guy
Alex Duvall's videos are some of the best out there now.
Interesting vid on Nik Air!
Thank you!
Agreed
Alex is great love watching his stuff! We just started a channel and hope to be putting out content like him one day!
Imagine losing eight million to basically be a bad guy in the world of poker. That's a huge price to pay to play a role.
He's backed by all of the money he saves not using chapstick.
for the newbs here, look up "sammy any two" who played on all the TV shows in the UK a decade ago. Remarkably similar, dont you think ?
Chef's kiss on the Mike McD edit at the end
"self proclaimed" I love that you added that LOL no one calls him that besides himself.
The sad thing it if starts to play better and tight it up , he is not gonna get invited anymore to privated games
This. He's in a lose-lose situation now.
He’s not hated. They actually love him at the poker table. They love taking his money.
I like Nik. He never pretends to be a good poker player; he just enjoys the game.
lol wtf u mean.. he proclaimed king of La due to poker skills n challenged ppl for hu4rollz n got his ass humbled
@@h2kiLL he knew he will lose
So like anyone can do? lol.
@@Despond Yes, anyone can enjoy poker without being an expert.
where can i find the podcasts and clips of him in this video?
Most of these guys on HCL are just rich. Have the balls to put it out there. Get a couple wins from coolers and suddenly are comfortable at extreme stakes. Not the best players, half the issue at these extreme stakes is not being scared money. Nick Airball fits this mold. Garrett and Andy are just super legit and the sharks on these type tables
Great videos👍
So weird. I did not like Airball at first but I checked his recent games and he is growing on me and he gets beter. I like watching him play
The end was epic
Great video
What I consider my “ poker bank roll” is the money I have made from playing poker, minus expenses.
Your definition of a poker star is vastly different from mine.
The preferred method of travel from state to state being Uber is hilarious. It actually makes me want to like him
Beautiful documentary Alex, I play with Nik regularly and he is a great guy and always fun to be around. Keep up the good work.
Glad someone can see this isn’t me hating on the guy!
My only major thing about him is the unsportsman like conduct.
You win gracefully, you lose gracefully and you move on.
I don't need to see his moobs flopping everywhere while he dances because he won a hand.
Also
Don't talk shit to Jungleman, that guy will literally tear your face off and eat it on the felt.
@@jeffshackleford3152 it's your choice to watch or play with him. Don't like it....move on
@@paulcox9366 I am not rolled to play those stakes.
😂😂 Ben calling Nik a professional poker player is like Jeff Bezos calling MGK a professional rapper 😅😅😅
Martin Kabrhel is everyone's favorite guy today i guess😍
If he was a self made man, he would be more than happy to to tell everyone about it. My money is on rich daddy.
I only watch when Airball plays. He’s very entertaining
I really like nick air ball, he’s always ready for action and brings good vibes to the game also doesn’t like wasting time in the show which is golden games wouldn’t be the same without him 💯
Good vibes?? Have you even watched the prick play?? He’s more obnoxious arrogant and whiny than any stream player in history. He cries like a spoilt baby in 90% of HCL streams he’s on recently, and looks as salty as Vertucci most of time
I like him, and I never saw him get rude when he loses. He is interesting to watch too. Let people be interesting and stop judging people you don't know please.
8 million down is not a downswing. Lets be nice and assume he always buys in for a out 100,000. There is no world where a winning player experiences an 80 buy in down swing
holy shit look, someone who knows something about variance. In live poker having a 30 buy in downswing would be far outside of normal statistics. let alone 80. If he was an actual winner he should be winning something like 15-20bb / 100 hands.
@@TheTiltedOneoh, I was thinking, it can happen online.
Live, I have no idea, I don't do it, way too boring
Wtf dude. I'm professional poker player and I see these 80 abi downswings happening all the time with very good players. Its perfectly possible.
@@VASILY.IsMyLoV-rn9kjyeah I’m on a down swing of over 200 buyins. These people don’t know. Maybe I’m a losing player. Or maybe I’m gonna win a few million tomorrow .
@@breezy533 some coaching would help?
Airball is still out here punting he lost 300k just the other night. He is completely fine.
He's not polarizing. That suggest that lots of people hate him and lots of people like him. Not true. Everyone thinks he's a piece of shit.
$8 million downswing is heart-warming. Also, you can't call yourself a pro if you lose constantly. That person is call a degenerate gambler.
So in investments once you hit a certain amount of capital you can lock it up perpetually and if it’s generating 10-15% APY you’re living the life of a 1% if you live on the capital gains alone. That magic number is 4,000,000.
He definitely played on LATB prior to the existence of HCL. He and Garrett played together on LATB also. The idea that he wasn't known of before appearing on HCL is not correct.
Garrett Is SCUMBAG
Nik Airball has been banned from Hustler for breaking their rules about passing/selling chips. After multiple warnings they have banned him for 12 months.
I like Nik. He's seems one of those people who is a totally unredeemable human being but still fun to have around. I don't think he takes life all that seriously. This is the kind of guy you want to play poker with because he has tons of money, tons of gamble, and thinks he is way more skilled than he is. I don't get the hate on him at all. So he's a little bombastic- so what? It's entertaining. This guy is probably the best character going in poker at the moment.
Good points , it's just the arrogance. i personally don't like it , hence i don't like him.
So basically you like him because he throws around a lot of money and loses most of it. That’s pretty much the running theme.
@@UserX03 I do not like him because he disrespects other players.
Especially ones that have a long proven track record of being successful.
And
My biggest hate, I am pretty sure I have seen him get mad at the dealer for bad cards.
@@UserX03 He seems to have taken an approach to his career that a lot of us would take if we actually tried to implement a plan. He succeeded in the amoral parasitic financial sector and made a pile of money and then basically retired before 30 to do whatever he wants. That's not being good person. It's not overall admirable. But it's something of an achievement. You gotta respect someone who actually does what a lot of people dream of doing but are too lazy and distracted to do.
He's a new twist on the smart businessman vs. poker savant thing because he's younger and probably smarter than most businessmen who can afford those stakes. Who knows he might apply himself and get as good as the top players. The top players ae mostly autistic weirdos and the wealthy people in the high stakes have learned how to be palatable and polite over many years in business. Who else but a guy like this are you going to root for especially now that Garret has been exposed as a piece of slime?
Nik was down around $8 million on stream as of the end of last year. The rumor is that his wife is super-rich.
A rich nurse working night shifts?....
@@ravkue6336supposedly family money. I mean, according to google KAL capital does something like 8-10 million in revenue a year, if that is even remotely close and he was just an employee, no way he was making anywhere near enough money to live in LA and play these stakes. He would be winning and losing a yearly salary on the regular. Maybe he invested well in something like Keating or crypto like Wesley, but he didn’t make it at his 9-5.
His wifes family is super rich, he said it on stream many times, he told Ben what kind of business they are doing
Seems a lot like Dan Blizerian to me. It seems to me like he was born into money but doesn't want to let that information out, he wants the image of a great poker player.
The "fall" is incorrect. Y'all must not know. My man Nik ain't leaving unless he's bored. He's got the money. Just a down swing. 📢 I love you Nik!!!
I became a fan of nick when he showed real concern for Wes after losing that 3 million pot to Dwan
You need to do one on PEPE @ Hustler. Where did he get his bankroll?
Nik is, for sure, a winning player in the HCL lineup. For some reason people have this idea that he’s a massive fish, which definitely isn’t the case. Sure he can’t beat top pros with sound fundamentals, but he’s definitely crushing the likes of Mike X, Sashimi, Pepe, Eric Person etc.
Also, Alan Keating earns a living from Poker. He plays in the softest home games known to man, primarily because of how he punts on stream.
If you are down millions - what are you a fish or a winner. I would say whale.
Anyone plays poker long enough you'll go through a fall. It's happened to every player.
If you're any good it's pretty much mandatory.
@@brettbono6784they get sponsored.
And he tightened up quite a bit from his insane playing
The laugh at the end got me to subscribe.
If you have 4 million in solid investments it’s gonna generate between 400-600,000 a year (that you only have to pay 25% tax on ;). Investment bankers get paid based on the payout of the funds they invest so if he managed or created a fund that saw itself more than double it’s easy to see how his bonus could have easily been 7-8 figures. He could have walked away with 10-20 million, then stuck half in the investment streets wherein he’ll get 1-2 million a year for life. Not unfeasible at all.
Nik said he isn't interested in talking about his bankroll, that tells me that he is LOADED , people with lots of money HATE, DESPISE AND LOATHE talking about how much money they have ! you'd think it'd be the opposite , especially for a braggart , it's not ! I make a measly $50 ,000 a year but i have friends who make 3 and 4 hundred thousand a year and they LOVE talking about money ... just so long as it ain't theirs !
not in america. you cant hide in america. you have to disclose. that is why there is so much curiousity.
And also Nick Vertucci is looking very suspect. He looked very strange during the Robbi debacle with his hand signals and pink sunglasses. Also was running super hot before this hand and then dropped off a cliff after it.
Recently he has folded a nut flush draw 3 way when his opponent had a straight flush draw and ultimately his opponent ended up hitting the one outer.
And then he called with something like 10j 9j in a game with Phil hellmuth, and ran it twice and won both streets.
He has been getting over confident and it starting to show postle like qualities
Add to that Nick V is the most easily offended snowflake in the history of poker. Guy starts his show with a disclaimer that would go a long way for him if he personally followed it
It’s not insulting to say he inherited all this money. It’s what we all wish
There was never a rise, he spawn at top and only went down from there😂😂😂
Lol he was winning lots for a while!
I didn’t know there was ever a rise…
As much as I dislike this guy, the people that emailed his work because of his poker play are just truly pathetic losers.
Wow that ending wtf!!!
Nik grew on me. Like before him it was garret held hcl up. Nik is one of the best people they have on the show funny loud tilts. Keeting prob my favorite on the show tho. gives zero fs
He was good at first, then he became cocky after Garrett left...then he just became a bad losing player. I am sure he is bleeding as you can see it on his face in recent times. No more cloud 9 cocky Nick on air. The ball has dropped
Some people just have money, the pocket watching is crazy
Daddy's credit card embodied to the fullest
who is the skinny guy at 1:30??
I know he ballooned up
Daddys money...no investigation needed. Who pays for a bachelor's degree from NYU in China
He’s a ChiCom?
People who want to suceed in doing business in the largest economy in the world. Poor people like you wouldnt understand international business.
Yes most likely. Some scholarships available too but with all the other stuff added up this makes the most sense
He’s obviously studying and getting coaching. He is not nearly as spewy as he used to be.
No friends at the poker table.
LOL at the rounders clip
i am more focused on being a losing player than making money
Wearing a Rock Lee sweater? He's alright with me
There ain’t no way Nik was the captain of a basketball team and if he was he was the captain of the elementary school basketball team
It was a university team in China. He was probably 3 feet taller than everyone at his college.
his nickname on the basketball court was Nike Air Jordan Baller
He is an amazing guy. Really nice and really smart
Anybody hating on this guy is jealous... If he was a $1-3 regular, he'd be known as a pretty cool dude, a little douchey, but overall a good guy.
He made HCL but it was funny when Matt B schooled him. When they played together with Polk and the others, Nik was acting like an ass and the girl to his left was also trying to belittle Matt. He deserved to get rolled by Matt.
It should be pretty obvious that he plays up a character on streams and it’s not fully reflective of him in normal life. People just believe whatever is seen though
Maybe a mix of both
Now last week's big loses to Mariano and Rampage. He's not a terrible player, but he under estimates his pro opponents.
14:38 👈🏼😠 Let’s fight !!
14:43 👈🏼🥺 I’m just kidding…I didn’t know you was taller than me. 😂
Please do a video on Luda Chris from HCL next!
Hmmmm
No way he made his money in poker.
He was playing in 20k buyin games while in college before he had his "investment banking" job. Did he make a million dollars in high school? None of this makes sense. Him describing it makes no sense. The only thing that makes sense is his parents are super rich and gave him money.
Modern day Jamie gold
Peeps always get what's coming to them I hope he gets humble and studies or dude will be broke soon
You mean the fall and even bigger fall?
This dude was on like a 7 million dollar downswing...
Had a lot of fun making this one. If you want to help with future video ideas like this and discuss all things poker and strategy, join my discord here: discord.gg/TcFDHddYT2
1:32 👈🏼😂 Nik before the 250,873 hamburgers inside his body.
It's not Ivey's room at the bellagio, It's bobby's room.
When did he rise?
Like him or not, I'd say going from working at a hardware store to playing million dollar games is a rise.
@@britishbulldogish No. Thats not a rise in poker.... He just showed up with a bunch of money and gave it all away.
Poker odds boring af without people like him tbh
he might won the lottery.
Im not sure! I feel he’s been playing better recently - more considered, less blindly aggressive 🤷♂️