The Table 1 podcast invited Nik Airball for a special episode, where Airball revealed the origin of his wealth. However, Matt Berkey wasn’t convinced by his arguments.
The tension between Nikhil “Nik Airball” Arcot and Matt Berkey is well known, and it seems the animosity is still alive—at least on Berkey’s side. After some bitterness that flared up during a special High Stakes Poker stream, Airball and Berkey agreed to settle their differences with a heads-up challenge. The match took place at Resorts World in Las Vegas with $200/$400 blinds, and Berkey ended up winning more than $1 million.
After the challenge, the two shook hands, and it seemed like things were settled between them. However…
Late last week, it was announced that Nik Airball would appear on the Table 1 podcast, hosted by Justin Young and Art Parmann. The announcement was accompanied by a teaser video where Airball said that many times he participated in the Hustler Casino Live streams (which were halted after the YouTube account was suspended), often playing with 90% of his bankroll on the line. He claimed that losing that money wouldn’t affect his daily life because he had a job that paid him $5,000 a month, and his wife also worked.
Before the full episode was even released, Matt Berkey commented on the teaser:
“Listen to the absurdity of this nonsense:
‘I have a salary of $5,000 a month, so I’m not worried about risking a $500,000 bankroll. Oh, and by the way, I managed to accumulate that at 26 years old without any proof of how I did it, and no, I’m not going to explain, but it’s all legitimate and definitely all mine.’
If you can watch those 30 seconds without calling it BS, you must assume the audience has an IQ below 50.”
The podcast aired on Saturday, and among other things, Airball explained how he accumulated the money that allows him to play at high-stakes tables.
A Finance graduate from New York University, Nik Airball worked as an investment banker. He said that while working, he managed to win about half a million dollars playing online and in private games. The stakes weren’t very high, but he was consistent and made about $5,000 to $10,000 a week.
Then came his appearances on Hustler Casino Live, during which he still worked full-time.
“I’d wake up at 4 AM, go to the office, leave around 6 or 7 PM, and head straight to Hustler. I’d either try to get a spot on the stream’s later hours or play at the non-stream tables. If I had a reserved spot on the stream, I’d tell my boss I had to leave early, get to the game at 4 PM, play until 9 PM, then head back to the office at 2 AM to finish my work.
I remember the first time I played against Keating on the stream—it was a Monday, I think. I only got on the stream for the last hour and a half, but we ended up playing until 5 AM. I won $270,000, my biggest win up to that point. I played really well, took down huge pots, and was thrilled, but exhausted. Still, I went straight to the office and worked all day.”
Although he claimed to make around $100,000 annually as an investment banker, with bonuses that could reach up to $1 million, Nik Airball built his bankroll primarily through poker.
“I was lucky to have the cards on my side early on, and at that time, I was very focused on playing well. I think in my first year, year and a half, I was playing hold’em at a very high level. I felt like I could beat anyone, and I was crushing everyone, both on the stream and off.”
Now, he says he plays in big private games in Southern California and has even played Pot-Limit Omaha with blinds of $5,000/$10,000.
Just days before this podcast, Nik Airball proposed a challenge on his X/Twitter account:
“I’m thinking of creating a YouTube series about a bet.
I’d like to bet that I can turn $20,000 into $1 million playing poker, in less than a year.
Anyone interested in the bet? Do you think it would make interesting content?
I’m open to large or small bets, I’m bored and looking for a new, fun goal.”
