Is Nik Airball a Better Poker Player Than You Think?
Table Of Contents
Matt Berkey cleaned Nikhil "Nik Airball" Arcot's clock for $1 million in a high-stakes heads-up poker match at Resorts World in Las Vegas two years ago.
Airball's reputation as a poker player, at least among livestream viewers and top poker pros, hasn't seemed to change much since 2023. But the data paints him in a more positive light.
HighRollPoker.com tracks player results from livestreams and televised poker shows dating back to the poker boom era. Even games that no longer exist have been tracked. The data on Airball might come as a surprise to his countless haters and those who don't think he's a skilled player.
What's the Data Say on Polarizing Poker Player?
Nik Airball has played most of his public poker sessions on Hustler Casino Live. But he's also played a number of times on shows such as High Stakes Poker and Poker at the Lodge, which takes place at the Austin-area card room he co-owns, The Lodge Card Club.
The Oregon native first appeared on HCL in 2022 and became the pseudo-replacement to Garrett Adelstein as the star of the show after Adelstein was banned following the infamous "jack-four hand."
He made an immediate impression on the show for being talkative and playing an unconventional style of poker. But the viewers didn't seem to give him much credit, and his results didn't justify being considered a high-level poker pro.
Airball, according to HighRollPoker's database, had accumulated more than $800,000 in losses on livestreams entering January 2024. Most of that deficit came in a March 2023 HCL game in which he lost over $750,000.
He's since gone on to win more consistently. Airball, through 1,063 hours of high-stakes poker on livestreams and PokerGO has built up just over $3.1 million in profits. That ranks him third all-time in publicly viewed cash games, only behind Andrew Robl ($4.7 million) and Tom Dwan ($4.1 million).
The data on Airball isn't up-to-date and doesn't include the two consecutive sessions he won big this week on Hustler Casino Live. He turned a $579,100 profit between the Wednesday and Thursday games. Before that heater, he was up $2,555,885 lifetime on televised and livestreamed cash games, averaging $2,404 per hour played and winning 2.51 big blinds per hour.
Poker fans mostly know of Nik Airball from his Hustler Casino Live appearances. But he's also won big on High Stakes Poker ($1.13 million) and Poker at the Lodge ($546,000).
How Does Airball Compare to Adelstein (and Others)?
It's no secret that livestreams often attract recreational players as opposed to the GTO-focused high-level pros. There are exceptions, however, especially with those who entertain the viewers with table talk. Many will point to the competition as a contributing factor in Airball's success.
That argument could hold some merit, so let's compare his results to two players widely considered the best high-stakes cash game players in Los Angeles, if not globally — Adelstein and Andy "Stacks" Tsai.
The comparison to these two crushers makes sense because they play or played in the same games against many of the same opponents at similar stakes. Andy Stacks hasn't appeared on any stream since January 2024, and "G-Man" has only played sparingly since he accused Robbi Jade Lew of cheating in September 2022. But both players have extensive livestream data.
Nik Airball Vs. Other Notable High Rollers
| Player | Hours | Profit/Loss | Hourly Rate | BB per Hour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nik Airball | 1063* | $3,13985 | $2,404* | 2.51* |
| Andrew Robl | 190.25 | $4,711,796 | $24,766 | 10.54 |
| Tom Dwan | 565.5 | $4,097,183 | $7,245 | 2.83 |
| Garrett Adelstein | 610 | $2,733,075 | $4,480 | 10.57 |
| Doug Polk | 639 | ($204,073) | ($319) | -0.63 |
| Taras Bobrovytsky | 182 | $481,760 | $2,647 | 5.06 |
| Jean-Robert Bellande | 253 | $1,330,050 | $5,257 | 3.15 |
| Matt Berkey | 302 | $721,298 | $2,388 | 6.41 |
| Alan Keating | 207.5 | $358,425 | $1,727 | 1.05 |
| Andy "Stacks" Tsai | 704.5 | $1,515,650 | $2,151 | 4.62 |
*Indicates stats that aren't up-to-date.
Adelstein, who recently appeared on PokerGO's No Gamble, No Future, has won $2,733,075 across 610 hours of recorded games, mostly on Hustler Casino Live and Live at the Bike. That comes out to $4,480 per hour in wages, while winning 10.57 big blinds per hour, both superior stats to Airball, but Dwan's the only player ever with over 500 hours in televised poker games who can match Adelstein's stats.
Andy Stacks, who has made $1,515,650 on livestreams, is another HCL and LATB grinder with impressive stats, but Airball's are comparable.
The data doesn't show that Nik Airball is the greatest poker player ever, and it only includes publicly viewed games. For all we know, he's down $10 million lifetime in private games. Or, he could be up millions in those games. But the data does indicate he's likely a significantly better poker player than his reputation suggests. And his results over the past year show improvement as a poker player.
Nik Airball's stats, like anyone who plays at the nosebleed stakes, can be a tad misleading as they are skewed by variance in six-figure pots. During Thursday's Hustler Casino Live game, he won $330,000, and much of that came from a $388,000 pot he scooped with ace-king against three other opponents, spiking the best hand on the river.
Hands such as the one above have helped Nik Airball rack up more than $3.1 million in televised profits. But he's also been held back by losing massive pots, including a $200,000 pot he lost with pocket 10's against jack-four in July 2025, or when he ran ace-king into the pocket kings Ethan "Rampage" Yau held for a $475,000 pot in March 2024.
Some might argue Nik Airball's just on a heater, or he doesn't face tough competition on livestreams. Both takes could have some validity, but they are also both merely opinions. What is your opinion of Airball's poker game? Let us know below.
